range of cannon shot

[Mackaydon]

To the 17th C gunner, a cannon was designed to shoot a heavy load a short distance, while a culverin was designed to propel a light load a long distance.
A good source about naval guns is Robert Gardiner's article on Guns and Gunnery in The Line of Battle in Conway's History of the Ship Series. The table he gives is not exhaustive, but gives these figures.
CANNON OF SEVEN 7 inches bore 47 lb shot (replaced by the 42lbr)
DEMICANNON 6 25 lb (replaced by 32lbr)
CULVERIN 5 18 lb
DEMICULVERIN 4.5 9 lb (Ancestor of the 9lbr)
SAKER 3.5* 5 lb (replaced by 6lbr)
Two more elements can affect the range of a cannon:
1. By ricochet firing, ranges could be increased considerably :- At 1deg elevation the 800 yds for a 32lb long gun could be increased to 2900 yds after 15 grazes. Ricochet firing (of course) requires a perfectly smooth sea. The closer the gun is placed to the water (in a smooth sea), the farther it ranges the shot.
2. "Windage"--the distance between the projectile and the walls of the cannon. The greater the windage, the shorter the range.

http://home.att.net/~ShipmodelFAQ/smf-q037.html

 

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[mad4wrecks]

1. By ricochet firing, ranges could be increased considerably :- At 1deg elevation the 800 yds for a 32lb long gun could be increased to 2900 yds after 15 grazes. Ricochet firing (of course) requires a perfectly smooth sea. The closer the gun is placed to the water (in a smooth sea), the farther it ranges the shot.


very interesting concept....like skipping a rock...they could get more distance out of it. That would be pretty neat to see, esp. if it hits its target!

 

[Mackaydon]

In WW II, British bomber pilots used the same concept of ricochet firing (skip firing) when they attacked certain dams at very low altitudes; allowing specially designed bombs to skip over the flat resevoir's surface into the back side of the dam structure.