This list contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size. For the purpose of this list, the development of large-calibre artillery can be divided into three periods, based on the kind of projectiles used, due to their dissimilar characteristics, and being practically incommensurable in terms of their bore size:
Stone balls: Cannon of extraordinary bore, which fired stone balls, were first introduced at the turn of the 14th to 15th century in Western Europe. Following a logic of increasing performance through size, they had evolved from small handguns to giant wrought-iron or cast-bronze bombards within a span of just several decades.[1]
Iron balls and shot: By the 16th century, however, a general switch from stone balls to smaller, but much more effective iron projectiles was in full swing. This and the parallel tendency towards standardized, rapid-firing cannon made the enormously costly and logistically demanding giant guns soon obsolete in the European theatre (with the exception of the odd showpiece).[2]
Explosive shells: In the Industrial Age, artillery was again revolutionized by the introduction of explosive shells, beginning with the Paixhans guns. Breakthroughs in metallurgy and modes of production were followed up by new experimentation with super-sized caliber weapons, culminating in the steel colossi of the two World Wars. In the post-war era, the development of extremely overpowered artillery was gradually abandoned in favour of missile technology, while heavy guns are still demanded by various arms of the service.
^ Bown[4] indicates a larger bore of 36 in (914 mm), but Hollenback[5] says that Kritoboulos, a contemporary source, indicates a circumference of 12 spans and concludes that in this case the smallest of three possible sizes of span is the correct unit, giving 0.745 m for the bore. Hollenback also notes that granite cannonballs dating from the siege of Constantinople had a diameter of 0.711 and could have been shot from this weapon using a wooden sabot.
^Schmidtchen 1977a, p. 162; ball diameter is 20 mm less (p. 171, Fn. 41).
^Stephen R. Bown (2005). A Most Damnable Invention: Dynamite, Nitrates, and the Making of the Modern World. Penguin Group. ISBN0-670-04524-1.
^George M. Hollenback (2002), "Notes on the Design and Construction of Urban's Giant Bombard", Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 26 (1): 284–291, doi:10.1179/030701302806932231, S2CID 161056159
^Schmidtchen 1977b, p. 222; ball diameter is 20 mm less (p. 171, Fn. 41).
^Schmidtchen 1977a, p. 164; ball diameter is 20 mm less (p. 171, Fn. 41).
^Journal des Sciences Militaires, 2nd series, Vol. 22, Paris 1838: caliber of 22 pouces = 59,6 cm (p. 49); outer diameter of the barrel: 1 m (p. 54)
Referencesedit
Schmidtchen, Volker (1977a), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte, 44 (2): 153–173
Schmidtchen, Volker (1977b), "Riesengeschütze des 15. Jahrhunderts. Technische Höchstleistungen ihrer Zeit", Technikgeschichte, 44 (3): 213–237
Dasgupta, Gautam Kumar; Biswas, Samira; Mallik, Rabiranjan (2009), Heritage Tourism: An Anthropological Journey to Bishnupur, A Mittal Publication, p. 55, ISBN978-8183242943
November 15, 2023
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This list contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size For the purpose of this list the development of large calibre artillery can be divided into three periods based on the kind of projectiles used due to their dissimilar characteristics and being practically incommensurable in terms of their bore size Stone balls Cannon of extraordinary bore which fired stone balls were first introduced at the turn of the 14th to 15th century in Western Europe Following a logic of increasing performance through size they had evolved from small handguns to giant wrought iron or cast bronze bombards within a span of just several decades 1 Iron balls and shot By the 16th century however a general switch from stone balls to smaller but much more effective iron projectiles was in full swing This and the parallel tendency towards standardized rapid firing cannon made the enormously costly and logistically demanding giant guns soon obsolete in the European theatre with the exception of the odd showpiece 2 Explosive shells In the Industrial Age artillery was again revolutionized by the introduction of explosive shells beginning with the Paixhans guns Breakthroughs in metallurgy and modes of production were followed up by new experimentation with super sized caliber weapons culminating in the steel colossi of the two World Wars In the post war era the development of extremely overpowered artillery was gradually abandoned in favour of missile technology while heavy guns are still demanded by various arms of the service Early 15th century Flemish giant cannon Dulle Griet at Ghent caliber of 660 mm Contents 1 Cannon by caliber 1 1 Stone balls 1 2 Iron balls and shot 1 3 Explosive shells 2 See also 3 Notes 4 Footnotes 5 ReferencesCannon by caliber editStone balls edit Heyday 15th to 17th centuries Caliber mm Name Type Produced Place of origin Made by nbsp 890 CB 1 Tsar Cannon Bombard 1586 nbsp Tsardom of Russia Andrey Chokhov nbsp 820 CB 2 3 Pumhart von Steyr Bombard Early 15th century House of Habsburg nbsp Holy Roman Empire745 CB 3 Basilic Bombard 1453 nbsp Ottoman Empire Orban nbsp 735 CB 4 6 Faule Mette Bombard 1411 City of Brunswick nbsp Holy Roman Empire Henning Bussenschutte nbsp 700 Malik i Maidan Bombard 1549 City of Bijapur Adil Shahi dynasty Muhammad Bin Husain Rumi nbsp 660 7 Dulle Griet Bombard First half of 15th century City of Ghent County of nbsp Flanders Duchy of nbsp Burgundy nbsp 635 Thanjavur cannon Rajagopala Beerangi Bombard 1620 Thanjavur Nayaks Vikas Naikwade nbsp 635 8 Dardanelles Gun or Great Turkish Bombard Bombard 1464 nbsp Ottoman Empire Munir Ali530 9 Galeazzesca Vittoriosa Bombard 1471 nbsp Duchy of Milan Caliber 530 mm ball diameter Mass 8 6 8 8 t Shell weight 209 kg 10 Giovanni Garbagnate520 11 Faule Grete Bombard 1409 Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights Heynrich Dumechen nbsp 520 12 Mons Meg Bombard 1449 Mons County of Hainaut Duchy of Burgundy Jehan Cambier nbsp 510 CB 5 13 Bombard 1480 Knights HospitallerIron balls and shot edit Heyday 16th to 19th centuries Caliber mm Name Type Produced Place of origin Made by nbsp 280 14 Kanone Greif Scharfmetze medium size 1524 Electorate of Trier Master Simon nbsp 280 Jaivana 1720 Jaigarh Fort Jaipur Riyasat nbsp 286 Dal Madal Kaman Dala Mardana 1565 15 16 Mallabhum Malla dynasty Jagannath Karmakar nbsp 152 Jahan Kosha Cannon 1637 17 18 Bengal Subah Mughal Empire Janardan Karmakar nbsp 240 Zamzama 1757 Durrani Empire Shah Nazir nbsp 508 Dahlgren smoothbore cannons 1864 American Civil War John A Dahlgren nbsp 508 Rodman gun 1864 American Civil War Thomas Jackson RodmanTwenty inch 508 mm Rodman and Dahlgren smoothbore cannons were cast in 1864 during the American Civil War citation needed clarification needed The Rodmans were used as seacoast defense Although not used as intended two 20 inch Dahlgrens were intended to be mounted in the turrets of USS Dictator and USS Puritan Explosive shells edit Heyday 19th to 20th centuries Caliber mm Name Type Produced Place of origin Made by nbsp 914 Mallet s mortar Mortar 1857 nbsp United Kingdom Robert Mallet nbsp 914 Little David Mortar 1945 nbsp United States nbsp 800 Schwerer Gustav Railway gun 1941 nbsp Nazi Germany Krupp nbsp 800 Dora Railway gun 1942 nbsp Nazi Germany Krupp nbsp 610 19 20 Mortier monstre Mortar 1832 nbsp Belgium Henri Joseph Paixhans nbsp 600 later 540 Karl Gerat Mortar 1940 nbsp Nazi Germany Rheinmetall nbsp 520 Obusier de 520 modele 1916 Railway howitzer 1918 nbsp France Schneider et Cie nbsp 508 M 1864 20 inch Rodman gun Naval gun 1864 nbsp United States nbsp 480 45 caliber 5 Year Type 36 cm gun Naval gun 1918 1922 nbsp Empire of Japan Kure Naval Arsenal nbsp 460 46 cm 45 Type 94 Naval gun 1940 nbsp Empire of Japan Kure Naval Arsenal nbsp 457 2 BL 18 inch railway howitzer Railway howitzer 1920 nbsp United Kingdom Elswick Ordnance Company nbsp 457 2 BL 18 inch Mk I naval gun Naval gun 1916 nbsp United Kingdom Elswick Ordnance Company nbsp 457 18 48 caliber Mark 1 gun Naval gun 1942 nbsp United States nbsp 450 100 ton gun RML 17 72 inch gun Naval gun 1877 nbsp United Kingdom Elswick Ordnance Company nbsp 420 Big Bertha Howitzer 1910s nbsp German Empire Krupp nbsp 420 42 cm Gamma Morser Mortar 1910s nbsp German Empire nbsp Nazi Germany Krupp nbsp 420 2B1 Oka Self propelled artillery 1957 nbsp Soviet Union KBM Kirov Plant nbsp 420 42 cm Haubitze M 14 16 Howitzer 1914 1918 nbsp Austria Hungary Skoda nbsp 412 8 BL 16 25 inch Mk I naval gun Naval gun 1888 nbsp United Kingdom Elswick Ordnance Company nbsp 410 41 cm 45 3rd Year Type Naval gun nbsp Empire of Japan nbsp 410 Experimental 41 cm Howitzer Howitzer 1926 Empire of Japan Japan Steel Works nbsp 406 16 50 caliber M1919 gun Coastal Artillery 1920 nbsp United States Watervliet Arsenal nbsp 406 16 50 caliber Mark 2 gun Naval gun 1920 nbsp United States Washington Navy Yard Washington D C Bethlehem Steel nbsp 406 BL 16 inch Mk I naval gun Naval gun 1927 nbsp United Kingdom nbsp 406 40 6 cm SK C 34 gun Naval gun 1934 nbsp Nazi Germany Krupp nbsp 406 2A3 Kondensator 2P Self propelled artillery 1956 nbsp Soviet Union KB SM Kirov Plant nbsp 406 406 mm 50 B 37 naval gun for Sovetsky Soyuz class battleships Naval gun 1937 nbsp Soviet Union Barrikady Plant Stalingrad nbsp 406 16 50 caliber Mark 7 gun for the Iowa class battleships Naval gun 1943 nbsp United States Washington Navy Yard Washington D C See also editList of artillery M65 Atomic CannonNotes edit The bombard has a conical bore of 82 5 90 cm The bombard has a conical bore of 76 88 cm Bown 4 indicates a larger bore of 36 in 914 mm but Hollenback 5 says that Kritoboulos a contemporary source indicates a circumference of 12 spans and concludes that in this case the smallest of three possible sizes of span is the correct unit giving 0 745 m for the bore Hollenback also notes that granite cannonballs dating from the siege of Constantinople had a diameter of 0 711 and could have been shot from this weapon using a wooden sabot The bombard has a conical bore of 67 80 cm The bombard has a conical bore of 45 58 cm Footnotes edit Schmidtchen 1977b pp 228 230 Schmidtchen 1977a pp 153 161 Schmidtchen 1977a p 162 ball diameter is 20 mm less p 171 Fn 41 Stephen R Bown 2005 A Most Damnable Invention Dynamite Nitrates and the Making of the Modern World Penguin Group ISBN 0 670 04524 1 George M Hollenback 2002 Notes on the Design and Construction of Urban s Giant Bombard Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 26 1 284 291 doi 10 1179 030701302806932231 S2CID 161056159 Schmidtchen 1977b p 222 ball diameter is 20 mm less p 171 Fn 41 Schmidtchen 1977a p 164 ball diameter is 20 mm less p 171 Fn 41 Royal Armouries Archived 2011 08 05 at the Wayback Machine E Rocchi Le artiglierie italiane nel Rinascimento Rome 1899 L Beltrami La Galeazesca Vittoriosa Milan 1916 Schmidtchen 1977b p 218 ball diameter is 20 mm less p 171 Fn 41 Schmidtchen 1977a p 166 ball diameter is 20 mm less p 171 Fn 41 Schmidtchen 1977b p 236 Fn 103 Archiv fur die Officiere der Koniglich Preussischen Artillerie und Ingenieur Korps Vol 19 Berlin Posen Bromberg 1846 p 101 Dasgupta Biswas amp Mallik 2009 p 55 ASI Kolkata Circle Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh Humanities Volumes 36 38 Asiatic Society of Bangladesh 1991 The Land of the rupee Bennett Coleman 1912 the University of Michigan Meyers Grosses Konversations Lexikon Vol 14 Leipzig 1908 p 160 Morser caliber of 61 cm Journal des Sciences Militaires 2nd series Vol 22 Paris 1838 caliber of 22 pouces 59 6 cm p 49 outer diameter of the barrel 1 m p 54 References editSchmidtchen Volker 1977a Riesengeschutze des 15 Jahrhunderts Technische Hochstleistungen ihrer Zeit Technikgeschichte 44 2 153 173 Schmidtchen Volker 1977b Riesengeschutze des 15 Jahrhunderts Technische Hochstleistungen ihrer Zeit Technikgeschichte 44 3 213 237 Dasgupta Gautam Kumar Biswas Samira Mallik Rabiranjan 2009 Heritage Tourism An Anthropological Journey to Bishnupur A Mittal Publication p 55 ISBN 978 8183242943 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of the largest cannon by caliber amp oldid 1184179043, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
