List of medieval and early modern gunpowder artillery

A wide variety of gunpowder artillery weapons were created in the medieval and early modern period.

List

Name Image Notes
Base
 A long, narrow 15th–16th century cannon[1]
Bombard
 First recorded use in 1326, made of brass.[2]
Culverin
 A long-range cannon, first mentioned in 1410[3]
Curtall cannon
 A type of cannon with a short barrel.[4]
Demi-culverin
 A medium cannon, smaller than a culverin
Drake
 A 3-pounder cannon; alternatively, an adjective to describe a lighter variant of another cannon.[5]
Falconet
 A light cannon
Minion
 A small cannon used in the 16th and 17th centuries
Portpiece
 A large naval cannon
Saker
 A medium cannon firing a 5 to 8 lb shot[3]
Serpentine [ru]
 A cannon similar to a culverin[3]
Sling
 A long, narrow 17th century cannon[1]

Citations

  1. ^ a b Needham, p.368
  2. ^ "Artillery in Medieval Europe". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. ^ a b c Kinard, p.53.
  4. ^ Pam Combes, "Wealden Iron" (PDF), Wealden Iron Research Group, p. 5, ISSN 0266-4402
  5. ^ Henry, p.10

General and cited references

  • Henry, Chris (2005). English Civil War Artillery 1642-51. Oxford: Osprey.
  • Kinard, Jeff. Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact.
  • Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China: Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic.
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