How to operate a Cannon in the Age of Sail
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The Naval Gun is often regarded as one of the most important inventions in maritime history. This devastating piece of technology allowed Europe to conquer the ocean. They were used for blasting enemy ships, rigging, and crew.
In movies, video games and artwork, portrayal of the gun is usually relegated to broadsides: full rows of artillery firing all at once. Reality would have been quite different - much slower and methodical. By understanding how these weapons actually worked, and knowing how they were operated, we can paint a very different picture.
Period sources:
The Sea-Man's Grammar - Cpt. John Smith
Les Travaux de Mars - Alain Manesson Mallet
The Seaman's Made Vecum - William Mountaine
The Sea-Gunner - John Seller
Modern sources:
The Sea-Rover's Practice - Benerson Little
Music by Kevin MacLeod
0:00 Introduction
0:52 The Barrel
01:43 Assembling the gun
03:25 Personell
5:10 Preparations
7:08 Firing the gun
8:09 Reloading the gun
8:52 Unloading the gun
9:48 Finishing touches
10:06 Ammo types
#history #cannons #pirates #privateers #goldandgunpowder #
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I don't remember my exact source, but I remember reading that allot of larger, national navys preferred using brass and bronze for their cannons, because 1) the technology to refine and work the bronze was much more advanced, where as iron cannons we more prone to becoming their own bombs (which is where later "proof marking" started) and 2) once the bore was too worn, the bronze could be melted down and reforged much easier and cheaper, where as the iron would often be too contaminated to be properly reused as a cannon, and instead have to be used to make smaller, lower strength iron fittings and the like
I have also heard something similar that larger cast iron cannons wasn’t really popular until the Napoleonic period when they started to belt the breach for extra strength
The Dutch East India company shipwrecks off the Western Australia coast have some brass pieces on them. Usually as swivel guns but I've heard from a well known shipwreck diver that the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) sunk in 1656, had at least one brass cannon on it
It's true brass cannons were preferred and more durable but also way more expensive than cheap iron cannons, so iron was still widely used
They did this for rust reasons.
And the iron rusts while brass is won’t
I appreciate that you mentioned the common practice of cannon's having double-shot as that is often missed in media
I really do appreciate this for writing purposes, as well as the detail of one of the canisters holding a flask and eye with a fork.
“STOP BLOWING ‘OLES IN MY SHIP!”
I don't recall seeing animation in your videos before! Impressive!
Post-script additions:
- Wadding was placed between the cartridge and shot, it seems the cartridge paper was not enough
- I've gotten some requests on how exactly to aim a cannon, so I made a video on it: th-cam.com/video/sQlnZFdxYiQ/w-d-xo.html
- Matross was indeed a member of the gun crew
- The worm wasn't used to remove the shot or cartridge, you could simply remove the last wadding and depress the barrel so they would fall out
- "Bore" is not a synonym for the muzzle but refers to the interior of the barrel
Amount of men needed to crew guns:
Pounder. No. of men.
42 15
32 13
24 11
18 9
12 7
9 6
6 5
4 4
3 3
Good you caught that worm, the worm more common for clearing the piece of fowling after firing of the gun, not completely required and untrained crews commonly skipped the step all together in a real rush. Also use of the ladle could be seen in way of removing hot especially a cartridge which might not simply fall out.
The "Primer" it's simply known as a the pick the order to "Prick, and prime"
Major respect talking about using double shot, which is never ever talked about but it was done. The use of canister or case as you put it, seems to a mix up on the exact name used. Canister refers to the tin can and that is going to be filled with lead shot, not going see glass or nails in that. What you have known as case is called "Buck shot" which would be a bag of mixed items which in most cases was pieces of slag, nails and mostly metal but also in some cases, yes glass and broken pottery.
All of your references seem to be from the late 18th century whereas this video is primarily centered on the 17th and based on manuals from this period. During this period, the different types of shot were much less defined with all of the names mentioned here being used. All the manuals I've used likewise refer to the "Primer" as just that or the "Priming Iron" and it is what I will stick to since my channel focuses on the 17th, even if the names might have changed in later decades and centuries, or varied between cultures.
Fantastic work friend. Cheers 🍻
Two more errors. Instantly after the shot, the touchhole was closed. Either by thumb of one gunner, leather patch or plug. This reduced the moving of air in the bore which is a second method to prevent the premature ignition of the powder.
Second: some of the residue of the burnt gunpowder remains in the bore. Here is helps the salt and the humidity to create a lot of rust.
If you don't clean your gun properly the rust will start within hours after the gun cooled down a bit.
The worm was mainly used to "search"/pull out left over pieces that haven't burned in the barrel properly like cloth or paper pieces of the powder cartridge
I don’t know anything about naval guns but I do own a reproduction flintlock rifle that I’ve fired a few times. A scaled-down worm (corkscrew) on a stick is what must be used to remove a lead ball that cannot be fired out. The lead is so soft that the brass or steel worm can bite into it fairly easily.
A small detail i think is worth mentioning, that has parallels to how things are done today. You mentioned in the video that the Ladle used for loading it with gunpowder had a copper head, i think the reason for that is much the same as why technicians working in areas with explosives (here called ATEX areas) use tools made out of bronze, because bronze on steel does not produce sparks, and i think the same would then apply for copper, and the reason for why it would be made out of copper.
I remember reading how in the British Navy the only people allowed in the powder room during battle were the powder boys, and even then only for brief periods, to keep it from being used as a refuge by scared sailors.
The same account also included the types of punishments dolled out to any powder boy who was found to have hidden in the powder room during battle.😬
what were the punishments?
I am not certain whether sailors trying to hide was a big problem as the sailors were full of booze. (mSailors were drinking a pint of rum every day (I think about 12 standard drinks!),
used to death (most sailors died from disease and accidents rather than enemy fire),
and needed by their mates.
The powder room had no access for anyone to skulk in, and if was probably one of the most dangerous parts of the shio.Some marines were stationed to stop people hiding, but you were part of a gun crew etc, so your absence would be noted.
The penalty for nearly everything was being whacked with a rope, flogging, dunking, losing rum, bread and water...
With more serious options of flogging on every ship in the fleet, or hanging. But They actually flogged a lot less than you think.
@@GoldandGunpowder it was mostly modified versions of adult punishments with notes on what you specifically couldn't do to a ships Boy vs an adult sailor. The only specific one I can recall is that instead of flogging they would receive a still pretty brutal spanking on the bare ass with a wooden rod.
@@wakelamp Sailors rum was diluted with water 3 to 1 which would put the alcohol range on the level of beer. The rum was to disinfect their freshwater rations which would grow slimy with algae between stops at port. Only officers were allowed to be given their rum rations undilluted. And the rations were only given out at specific times of day in plain view and inspection of the commanding officers, there was no self serve.
@@JohnSmith-fq3rg I didn't know it was that weak. Everyone drank a lot of booze on land as well for the reasons you mention
Drink up the rum!
Run out the guns!
Raise the black!
It's time for an attack!
Absolutely love the animations for the Canon
I never thought I’d be interested in this kind of subject matter, but I’m absolutely hooked since finding your channel.
It was the great mystery how to unload the muzzleloader cannons until now.
The hand-held muzzleloading firearms usually use lead bullets, and those bullets can be tapped and dragged out the bullets with rammer/cleaning rods whose one end are attached the wood screw-like tips.
But such manner can execute because muskets usually fire soft lead bullets. Though cannonballs are made with cast irons😅
The cannonball wasn't a particularly tight fit. That was why they put the wadding before and after the ball. When they needed to get it out, they put a kind of curled iron in, and took out the wadding, then the cannon could be tipped forward and the ball would roll out.and
10:00 bruh 😂😂😂 you're too good man i spat out my coffee
I believe this started in the 1700s, but another method for securing round shot in the chamber was to use a sabot. This was a wooden disk attached to the cannonball using metal strips. The whole thing was shoved into the muzzle disk side first. The metal strips kept the ball in place, and the disk sealed the powder gases. I believe the disk could even expand from the pressure upon firing to provide an even better seal
And here I thought sabot rounds were a more recent invention for tank main guns
@@wyattr7982 they are indeed saw much use during main battle tank development until now, however they are around since 17th century and also saw use during ww2 in limited number
The British used flintlocks to ignite the powder not matches, as they were much quicker to ignite the powder, important when the ships were moving up and down with the seas.
One of the skills of the master gunner was to adjust the gunpowder level so the ball would have enough energy to penetrate the enemy hull, but not so much to punch straight out the other side, instead to ricochet around inside, causing far more damage. During the battle of Trafalgar, the ships were up against each other, the British gunners threw water onto the French ships to prevent them catching fire from their guns flames, which would have also engulfed the British ships.
Roy Adkins has written a series of brilliant books on this era.
Used to read the Hornblower books when I was a kid, some 40 + years ago and was ever interested since in british naval and terrestial warfare, reenacted and studied history at university, served in the Bundeswehr (Black Brunswick Hussars 1st Btn Panzerauflklärer) and, blimey, that's a very concise and educating presentation of effects in the way of artillery (though naval)! Enjoyed your video very much, keep up the good work! (By St. Barbara!)😅
That music choice is really something.
As a fan of the Aubrey-Maturin series (Master and Commander), this guide is invaluable.
I just found this channel, but each video I watch makes me want to play that old Sid Meiers game, Pirates Gold. I've loved the game since playing the original Pirates on the Sega Genesis. But Sid Meiers really polished it into to a game that holds up 20 years after its release.
usually the chain shot is for the rigging, and the bar shot to hit the masts
Can you make a video about careening?
God idea !
Very informative and immersive! Loved the music and animation, and the pacing was really nice here. Didn't get bored in the slightest. Well done, sir
My understanding of grape shot is more the size of musket balls and used to sweep the deck of the target. Thus killing the gun crews, sail handlers and officers while minimizing damage to the hull. Pirates may not want to keep the hull but they wanted what was in it and damaged as little as possible! Once they had removed everything they wanted the vessel could be crewed or scuttled. Scuttling would be done by holing the hull below the waterline, rarely set on fire as that may attract rescue vessels.
If you look at pictures and even videos here on youtube, you can clearly see that grapeshot projectiles are about the size described in this video
I revisited some of my sources and yes the only mentioned size was indeed larger than the musket balls of the time. Muskets being about. 70 ca to about. 78 ca, they were also said to be iron. I yield.
Yep, big big. Somewhere between a golfball and a baseball. They were usable as anti-personnel but were often employed into the rigging, where they gave a better chance of hitting blocks and tackle than a roundshot would, but still need to be "beefy" enough to bust up large pieces of wood.
Musketballs in a can or sack were not unheard of, but that falls under the purview of cased shot.
An added. The touchhole/vent often had a raised ridge around it called tge pan. Powder was poured around the vent but not into it. When set off the flash shot down the vent near instantaneous, but if the vent was full of powder there was a delay between flash and shot.
I know this was well known by the seven years war-French and Indian war, forty years after the great age of piracy ended, I suspect it was known earlier
And how careful could one be on a rolling ship.
In muskets, the worm actually dug into the bullet, they screwed it into the bullet and pullet it out. So I think it would've worked like that
cool animations & cut-aways. that hand stopping the flintlock was a chuckle i was not at all expecting from a video like this, thanks
Was wondering why I had not seen a video from you in a while, then this one popped up. Looked back, last one I had seen was pirates loved candy. For some reason the algarythem took you out of my recommended videos. Bright side, I have plenty to watch for a bit now, but annoying your videos were not coming up. Also, this one was noted to me yesterday, when I was too busy. I then searched for it today, and it was like TH-cam was trying to hide it from me.
Either way, great video, thank you. Helps put me in the mood to pull out my Blood & Plunder minis and get them painted.
I just recently found your channel, great stuff! I play a lot of pirate games, both digital and tabletop, and have shared this around with others I play such games with. I have actually had an obsession with pirates since a very young age, part of why I originally wanted, and ended up getting, my ears pierced. It made me pretty happy when as I got older, and grew out my facial hair, different people have said I look like Blackbeard. And yet, I still learned new things watching some of your vids. Or have gotten reminded of piratey things I have forgotten over the years.
The extension at the back of the cannon is the cascable which on British cannon usually had a hole through which the recoil restraining rope was passed.
Amazing video keep them coming G&G your getting better and better
Hence the expression Loose cannon, when the rope breaks.
In London some old posts on the streets are old cannons and newer ones are modelled after them
This is probably my favorite part of algorithms. Did I wonder how to use a cannon? Well NOW I do!
This is my favorite creepy pasta
You missed to mention that in order to use the long sticks (like ladle & ramrod etc) on cannon, sailor would need to sit on the portal with his back to the outside. I winder how many, if any, used a safety harness
Thank you, this will be very helpfull in training my new piratecrew
A good take of the interesting topic. Very clear.🏴☠️Cheers!
9:52 lol bruh, that took me aback, 🎉🎉
Awesome! Thanks again for a cool one!
You always do such a great job. Adding a comment for the algorithm
Thanks for the tips! I have a cannon but I didn’t know how to use it
AS ALWAYS VERY INFORMATIVE !
Question : Which one was more successful? Edward Low, Francis Spriggs or George Lowther?
me
Having not yet watched the video ima take a guess - clean out the barrel, pour in powder, insert wad and tamp, add projectile and tamp- roll up the track to the firing port, move out from behind it, fire, repeat.
Ah. Glad to see keeping one loaded in the chamber is an old timely tradition
I'm not an artillery expert, but here is some food for thought on chain vs bar shot. Barshot is held together with a rigid metal bar which is more durable yet likely to bend when it hits a static object such as a mast or ship hull, I imagine this would cuase the upper ball to be driven up (as opposed to through) its target thus causing it to splinter and snap. The barshot would thus be ideal for bringing down masts and critical strurcture. Chainshot is less durable but probably cheaper, and may have even been able to be makeshifted by a crew at sea (if so, choice ammo for pirates). Its flexible and may work as a bolas when shot. While not as effective at snapping a mast off, the chainshot could do some nasty damage to rigging, sail, and smaller wooden objects such as yards. I have heard of chain shot being used as an anti personal shot by defenders of Magburg in the 1630's, giving its bolas-like shape I can imagine that being quite deadly to a human too.
I have always been under the impression that the term was "Serpentine Powder", an archaic term for the more finely processed and ground "Priming Powder", coming from the times when a matchlock Arquebus, Haakbus or Hackbut used a "Serpentine Lever" or just "Serpentine" to hold the burning match (cord) to drop it onto the priming pan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchlock
This is awesome
Funny enough, the basic way to load Artillery pieces hasn't changed in a few hundred years now. The only real difference is that today we load from the breech. The order is mostly the same, but with some reordering:
1) projectile
2) propellent
3) primer (wadding isn't needed because the components are sealed)
4) pull lanyard to trigger the firing mechanism
5) BOOM
6) use a wet swab to clear the breech of stray embers
If I was engineer at the time, I would have designed a gyro stabilised platform to outrange the enemy and disable her without receiving fire.
I help on a volunteer cannon crew that portrays US indian war feild artillery (1870s) using 3 inch rifles, howitzers and mortars, so I was interested to see how gun operation/technology had changed. Obviously we never load an actual shot, and we use aluminum foil to hold the charge to reduce fire hazard. Because of this, when servicing the piece, we use the worm to ensure that no physical obstruction remains in the barrel before using the mops. Do you know if this ever happened during the era you focus on? The gun covers to keep moisture out would also keep out physical debris, and I assume cloth or any other natural fiber used to hold the charge or shot would mostly burn up, but I was surprised to see that clearing the barrel wasn't mentioned until it came to unloading a gun.
Clearing and cleanig the bore was a thing in the Royal Navy
:) good idea. thanks
The pictures of leg bones from dudes who fired these things… some would have shattered legs because they had to lift the thing manually sometimes and if it went off balance the weight would snap their legs.
They would go back to work, obviously. That’s why we found their bones in the hill of the ship they died on.
My friend, you really need to write some books! Your knowledge on this subject is insane
Good presenation.
Yay new video
Better watch this, you never know if it will come handy
I should book mark this just in case
The guy at 9:57 probably got a big gouge in his hand putting it in front of the flint in the lock likt that lol. Had it happen to me when messing around with a flintlock pistol once.
yeah I got a gash in my thumb from placing it on the frizzen when the cock fell, luckily it didnt have a flint in it
I wonder how desperate you must be in battle to even consider using rope as a ramrod.
The easiest way to unload the gun is to shoot it... but, the worm or wad-hook could pull out the wadding, and a round shot could then be rolled out of a tilted piece. Then it's just a matter of drawing the charge bag with the worm. If you had other types of shot, the safest way to empty the piece was simply to shoot it.
Thanks if I ever get "recruited" by my local band of sea marauders, I will at least have the knowledge to help out in their endeavors!
Having a little bit experience with civil war era artillery. Did pirates utilize thumbstalls on the vent while swapping to prevent embers from possibly surviving being Extinguished?
I bet the lead (I have also seen leather ones) vent cover could be used for that
What is your reference for closing the gun ports in-between shots. Ive never heard of doing that before. I have only ever seen or heard that the gun ports would be kept open during an engagement. Rammers are usually pretty long and there's not a lot of room in a ship. I dont know if it's always the case as there may be exceptions but usually you have to stick the end of the rammer out of the port hole in order to get the rammer or sponge into the muzzle in order to ram the sponge or the cartridge down the barrel and it seems like wasted time having to close then reopen the gun port in-between every shot when every second counts in a fight
Expected more about gunnery. After all it's not a trivial task to lead the moving target from inside the rolling ship while having a delay between ignition and shot.
Cannons in all different types & styles.
Shapes & sizes.
Loving your animations- I'll bet you could use them for demos about sails and rigging and how they're run
Make an opening from the back and put in stuff from there
I didn't know loading two projectiles was common
3:50 Actually, there's a Hungarian word that sound like that, ˝matróz˝. Means sailor, but its a historical footprint that might help confirming it I suppose...
What was the purpose of adjusting the elevation of the gun on a rolling ship? I suspect the wedges were useful in land warfare. A change in elevation of a few degrees would be totally useless on a constantly up and down moving ship.
Sugar... Potassium... Feux! Belier!
I love the pirates of the Caribbean Easter egg. Hint it is at the ammo types :D
The primer needle used to stab the cartridge (6:45) , isn't that where stiletto's originated?
Ready the GUNS!!!
I dont think having a gun constantly loaded is laziness on the part of pirates as much as it is that you dont have time when you spot a ship and close in to load up a gun. You always have to be ready to fire.
Don't have time to load the gun? 😂
Back then when you spotted a sail on the horizon and gave chase for the booty, it could take hours to catch up. Unless you had a really sloppy watchmen up in the crowsnest, those would be of better use as sharkfood if they let some tub get in range unnoticed.
What are the advantages of bronze cannons?
Could you make a video about why pirates didnt use shields or armour when boarding other ships
It's heavy and cumbersome, would lead to the gauranteed death of any boarding party that fell in the water, and they live in an age of military firearms that would easily defeat such armor. There were finelywoven, highly layered silk vests and other garments which actually would stop small handguns of the time, functioning much kevlar; but those were very expensive, still too heavy and cumbersome for even general military use, and could only stop smaller pocket firearms, not full power military arms. There was simply no meaningful advantage, and definitely many disadvantages. Shields even more so.
A flintlock worm bores into the shot to pull it out, perhaps a cannon does the same thing
only one note, never plug your ears next to a cannon, always cover them. plugging them forces the pressure via vibrations through to your eardrums, covering them allows the shockwave to pass through the air in the gap between your hand and your ear and dissipate atleast a little.
also i have a vague memory from doing a british civil war paper during my degree of the word langrange being used, i was skimming and hurrying the essay so i assumed it referred to long range shot for sieges, oops.
I love this Contant so much, but the way you said, chassis is going to never make me trust your pronunciations again 😂
There's an anecdote about a marine aboard a British ship fighting the French. We can assume the French had upset him because this pissed off legend stuck a cask of musket balls into a 64lber cannon and said "Fuck you, Frenchie" by sending a few hundred musket balls and the fragments of the cask at the enemy at near supersonic speeds.
For unloading the gun, the worm would be used to remove the wadding, but the shot would be capable of rolling out of the bore on its own accord. There was usually a significant gap of up to 1/4 inch or about 6mm between the shot and the inside diameter of the bore, referred to as windage. This gap was to allow for variances in manufacture tolerances, as well as any sort of buildup of rust or other fouling inside the bore or on the shot itself. The muzzle would be tipped down and the shot would be able to fall from the piece. The cartridge could then be removed with the worm, and the vent cleared with a pick.
Wow.
I heard that the cannonball can go through forty men in any given land battle. Also usually the gunport is sometimes remains open throughout the battle?
It has been done but it was regarded as stupid since musketeers would fire at them
Can anybody give me a source where it states that you can rotate the guns for aiming / converging on a target
Why did they make the switch from breach loaded cannons to Muzle ?
preindustrial breechloading artillery suffered from a lot of gas leakage, making them less powerful and accurate compared to muzzleloaders, which were able to seal in the gasses
Cannon in D⚔️
Unless the meaning of "bore" has changed dramatically since the times of powder cannons, muzzle and bore are anything but equivalent.
no looks like I misread it
You should make a video on the history of the potryals of pirates. i find the older the work is, the more accurate it is some how.
Interesting breakdown of the operation of the gun but I think you didn't do much to clarify how it's employment in media differs from reality.
At the begging you said the broadsides were much more methodical. Unless you meant specifically regarding how the gun is operated I don't see how this clarifies how a captain would manage his gun crew in combat. Would he order the men to just fire at will or wait to fire a broadside as a volley? How would he employ more than one gun deck? How would he perform range finding?
Of course, in reality guns would take much longer to reload than whats portrayed in video games, but you'd expect anyone with passing interest of this era to already know that and understands this is done for gameplay purposes.
If I were to do two very loose educated hypothesis where the term; Langrage, originates from. It maybe a retrospective name change (or addition) for the 1600's canister shot. due to the later Joseph-Louis *Lagrange* (that being the close Anglicized name for him) in the middle of the 1700's for his works on mathematics, physics and mechanics. But again, That's only a guess.
Or it could mean a combination of, The root Latin word of: ""Dull"" and the Ancient Greek word: ""to come""
So, if roughly put in a contextual sentence: "The shot of Dull to come"" ((It maybe in reference; to the multiple dull objects, that come shortly after.
Or The type of shot, itself and the subsequent description of its usage))
I want a big bolt action cannon
1:00 is this why “piece” is slang for a gun these days?
Just ONE nit-picky little thing to ask about: In my 70 years of reading, the piece of steel that held the Trunnions down in their half-hole was called a "CAPSQUARE." I'm curious about where you picked up Your term.
On the side; I'd never heard of the shot being referred to as a "bullet," until I ran into the German term "kannonenkugel" (cannon bullet").
I heard the term in the captioning of the march FREDERICUS REX with its line "The musket bullet makes a little hole, the cannon bullet makes a larger hole."
Strange where you learn stuff..
I might have misread it, the letters in period manuals are a bit muddled sometimes. You can see my sources in the video description. "Kugel" in german is a catch-all term for spherical objects - there's a type of candy called "Mozartkugeln", and "ball bearing" is called "kugellager"(or "wälzlager")
@@GoldandGunpowder Cool. And, having Tried to read some period manuscripts in the past, I can attest that spelling can be a challenge; the "long s" is a particular bugger.
1:17 Dude, you almost pronounce "chamber" as "shamber". Are you Swedish or Norwegian?
How about sighting?
essentially something only the gunner knew, they used a special tool for aiming and in the manuals I've read there are always lengthy chapters dedicated to simply aiming the gun point blank, aka it's not worth getting into in this video
I hope you like ballistic calculus and measuring with stick.
I like to mention that they stored powder down inside the lower parts of the ship, and so they had Children and short guys to bring it out.. in short, they where all operating on the shoulders of "dwarfs" and child labour.
This is so bad i cry as you dont know how a black powder gun is loaded !
and will you actually say what I got wrong or are you just a dyslectic with schizophrenia?
Well I feel like I am ready to face the French now