Just want to know when cannon technology went from just shooting large heavy projectiles to shooting things that exploded on impact.
2007-12-16 17:41:38 · 6 answers · asked by jlsinchina 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Surely you know "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
It records two pieces of innovative British military technology:
The Congreve war rocket, and Shrapnel's explosive artillery projectile.
"Lt. Shrapnel invented his artillery shell in 1784."
But that didn't make standard solid shot obsolete, and non-explosive ammunition was still in the majority at the time of the American civil war.
Not least for considerations of cost and ease of manufacture.
2007-12-16 20:00:43 · answer #1 · answered by Pedestal 42 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cannon Projectiles
2016-10-20 23:53:59 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cannons still fired solid shot for a long time after explosive shells were introduced. The early shells were fired by mortar. They had a fuze that was lit just before the round was dropped into the muzzle. During the revolutionary war this would still have been the standard. By the Civil War artillery had begun to evolve into what we see more commonly now. It was not the standard yet, but howitzers were beginning to supplement and replace the older style cannons.
2007-12-16 21:48:09 · answer #3 · answered by rohak1212 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Howitzers and mortars were widely used in the American Civil War, rounds could explode on impact or in the air before impact.
2007-12-16 21:17:32 · answer #4 · answered by Tim D 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lack of knowledge on your part. There were cannon balls which had internal fuses and a charge which caused them to explode after the fuse burned to the charge.
2016-05-24 07:34:25 · answer #5 · answered by raye 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I couldn't have said it better then the guys above me !!!!!!!
2007-12-17 04:01:34 · answer #6 · answered by chessmaster1018 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋