Cannon Designs:

Pre-1800 Cannons:

Chinese "Fire-spurting lances"

“The Fire-spurting lances" was invented during the 10^th century in China. During its earlier years bamboo was used as the barrel, but later, metal was used for the barrels. Some of them had narrow barrels so they could be used individually. There were also larger ones that could be mounted and had cast iron barrels. These were called “eruptors”. They fired gun powder bombs. These were one of the first cannons"(Firearms)." One of the important battles that the "Fire-spurting lances" was used at was the siege of Yangzhou in 1276.” (Fire lance ).



"Flying-cloud thunderclap eruptor”[Picture from (Firearms)]



Trebuchet

            The Trebuchet can be considered to be cannon. The most common was counterweight trebuchets, but there were also traction trebuchets. Counterweight trebuchets are usually a long beam that was mounted half along. They use momentum in the form of the downward motion of a counter weight, to throw an object kept in a sling.” It is believed that the first traction trebuchets were used by the Mohists in China during the early 5th century BC. The earliest account of the counterweight trebuchet was in the works of the 12h century Byzantine historian, Niketas Choniates. These were used in the siege of Zevgminon in 1165. Trebuchets were also used at the siege of Burgos in 1475 to 1476 and the siege of Rhodes in 1480. The last account of a military use of a Trebuchet was by Hernan Cortes in 1521 during the siege of Tenochtitlan. “(Trebuchet).  Trebuchets can fire many things, from boulders to pumpkins. Also, trebuchets could be made by anybody.



Counterweight Trebuchet [picture form (Trebuchet)]


1800-1900 Cannons:
Howitzer
              "The howitzer was a hybrid between a cannon and mortar. Also they were very mobile so they could be moved from place to place on the battles field and other places. They were designed to launch cast-iron shells and bombs which were very effective against infantry” (Cannon).“Howitzers are shorter trails than other field guns which mean they had less stability when firing. This decreased the amount of powder that could be used .Howitzers were invented around the 17^th century in Sweden. The most famous was the Napoleon 12-pounder that was used extensively during the American Civil War. There was also a mountain howitzer that was used in the Warwith Mexico till the Spanish American War" (guns, the early ).


Napoleon 12-pounder [picture form (Cannon)]


Griffen Gun
                  "“The Griffen gun was invented in 1855 by John Griffen. During the Civil War, 1000 Griffen-designed 3” Ordnance Rifles were made by the Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, of Pennsylvania. The cannons had a iron barrel that weighed 820 pounds that were made using the company’s unique rolling process that made them extremely durable and highly resistant to bursting which was a problem for other cast iron gun tubes during the time” (Phoenix Iron Works). "They fired solid bolts, cases,common shellsand cannisters. The 3” Ordnance gun was used during the Civil War and was used by both sides. It was the most common cannon during the Maryland Campaign. During the Battle of Sharpsburg, September 17 1862, 87 3” Ordnance were in Federal services and around 48 in Confederate services"(The Battle of Antietam on the Web).


3-Inch Ordnance gun [picture from (Phoenix Iron Works)]


1900-Modern-Cannons:
Kaiser Wilhelm Gun
             “The Kaiser Wilhelm gun or “Paris gun, was developed by Krupp. It was a, super heavy field cannon. The barrel was 98ft long and could fire 81 miles away. It was mounted on a special rail-transport carriage so that it could be moved. It was used by the German Empire during WWI. It was used in the shelling of Paris, were 320-367 shells hit the city. The gun was taken back when advancing allied troops threatened its position. It was later brought back to Germany were it was destroyed" (Paris Gun." Wikepedia. N.p).

Paris Gun/Kaiser Wilhelm Gun [picture from(Paris Gun." Wikepedia. N.p)]

M1 Abrams
              “Made in the United States, was named after General Creighton Abrams. It is a main battle tank that is heavily armed and highly mobile. It has been in service since 1980 and is still in service today. It was designed by Chrysler Defense and Manufactured by Lima Army Tank Plant and the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant. Each one weighs 67.6 short tons and is 32.04 feet long with the gun forward. Also, it takes 4 people to operate the M1 Abram. Its primary weapon is its 105mm L52 M68 rifled cannon that fires a variety of high explosive anti-tank, high explosive, white phosphorous and anti-personnel rounds. It also has a 1x.50-caliber M2HB 900 rounds heavy machine gun. Plus, it has a Honeywell AGT1500C multi-fuel turbine engine that can move at a top speed of 45 mph on a road and 33 mph off road. The M1 Abrams was used throughout the Gulf War, War in Afghanistan, and the Iaq War" (M1 Abrams ).


M1 Abrams [picture from(M1 Abrams)]