Cannon

Cannon, general term for large military weapons supported on carriages or fixed mounts, as opposed to small arms. In modern military usage the term is synonymous with artillery. The invention of cannon is generally credited to a German monk, Berthold Schwarz (flourished early 14th century). The first cannon used gunpowder charges to fire stones or metal balls. Early cannon were smoothbore metal tubes loaded from the muzzle and aimed and elevated manually; recoil was absorbed by allowing the carriage to run backward. The modern cannon, loaded through the breech (at the rear of the bore), consists of a forged steel tube, rifled (that is, having a grooved bore) to give the projectile a spin in flight, and enclosed for strength in a steel jacket. The carriage is equipped with mechanisms to absorb the force of recoil on firing and return the cannon to firing position. Elevating and traversing mechanisms provide for accurate aiming by hand, by electric power, or by a completely automatic system that locates and tracks targets by radar. In 1975 the U.S. Army demonstrated a laser-guided artillery shell, or “cannon-launched guided projectile,” that can be fired with great accuracy.

Ammunition includes high-explosive shells, antitank shells, smoke and signal shells, shells containing chemical agents, and shells with nuclear warheads. Shells filled with propaganda leaflets or that deliver vital medical supplies to isolated troops are also fired by cannon.

See also Artillery; Projectile.