Muzzle-loading guns (as opposed to muzzle-loading mortars and howitzers) are an early type of artillery, (often field artillery, but naval artillery and siege artillery were other types of muzzleloading artillery), used before, and even for some time after, breech-loading cannon became common. Projectile (early on with shot and then later on with shells) and powder charge are loaded via the muzzle and rammed down the barrel, and then fired at the target. Muzzle-loading artillery came in smoothbore and rifled form, the rifled guns increasingly taking over from the smoothbores as time past and technology improved. Most were made of bronze because of a lack of metallurgic technology, but cast and wrought-iron guns were common as well, particularly later on. Muzzleloading artillery evolved across a wide range of styles, beginning with the bombard, and evolving into culverins, falconets, sakers, demi-cannon, rifled muzzle-loaders, Parrott rifles, and many other styles. Handcannons are excepted from this list because they are hand-held and typically of small caliber.
Smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon Caliber (mm) Weapon name Country of origin Design 40 Hwangja-Chongtong Early 15th century 50 Galloper gun 1740 61 Hyunja-Chongtong Early 15th century 76 Grasshopper cannon 18th century 76 Minion 18th century 83 Saker 18th century 84 Swedish 4-pounder cannon 1725 84 Canon de 4 de Vallière 1732 84 Swedish 4-pounder cannon 1740 84 Canon de 4 Gribeauval 1765 84 So-po Late 19th century 93 M1841 6-pounder field gun 1841 93–96 6-pounder smoothbore cannon various 1716 96 Canon de 6 système An XI 1803 100 Demi-culverin 18th century 100 Hongyi-po Early 17th century 100 Canon de 8 de Vallière 1732 100 Canon de 8 Gribeauval 1765 105 Jija-Chongtong Early 15th century 117 M1841 12-pounder howitzer 1841 117 M1841 mountain howitzer 1841 117 M1857 12-pounder Napoleon 1857 118 Cheonja-Chongtong Early 15th century 120 Jung-po Late 19th century 121 Canon de 12 livres Le Solide 1688 121 Canon de 12 de Vallière 1732 121 Canon de 12 Gribeauval 1765 121 Canon obusier de 12 1853 130 Culverin 18th century 134 Canon de 16 Le Combattant 1674 134 Canon de 16 La Curiosité 1679 148 M1841 24-pounder howitzer 1841 151 Canon de 16 Le Protecteur 1683 151 Obusier de 15 cm Valée 1828 154 Demi-cannon 18th century 155 Canon de 24 de Vallière 1732 162 Obusier de 6 pouces Gribeauval 1765 163 M1844 32-pounder howitzer 1844 178 Ornate Ottoman cannon 1581 204 ML 8-inch shell gun 1820s 206 68-pounder gun 1846 217 Obusier de 8 Vallière 1773
Rifled muzzle-loading cannon Caliber (mm) Weapon name Country of origin Design 64 RML 2.5-inch mountain gun 1879 73 10-pounder Parrott rifle 1861 76 3-inch Ordnance rifle 1861 76 RML 7-pounder mountain gun 1873 86 Canon de campagne de 4 rayé 1858 93 20-pounder Parrott rifle 1861 96 Wiard rifle 1861 97 14-pounder James rifle 1861 121 Canon de 12 La Hitte 1859 140 70-pounder Whitworth naval gun 1860s 160 RML 64-pounder 64 cwt gun 1865 160 RML 64-pounder 71 cwt gun 1870 160 RML 6.3-inch howitzer 1878 178 RML 7-inch gun 1860s-1890s 191 Widow BlakelyOlmstead, Stark & Tucker, pp. 138–139 1861 203 RML 8-inch gun 1866 206 68-pounder Lancaster gun 1850s 227 RML 9-inch 12-ton gun 1865 233 Somerset cannon 1863 254 RML 10-inch 18-ton gun 1868 279 RML 11-inch 25-ton gun 1867 305 RML 12-inch 25-ton gun 1866 305 RML 12-inch 35-ton gun 1873 318 RML 12.5-inch 38-ton gun 1875 406 RML 16-inch 80-ton gun 1880 450 RML 17.72-inch gun 1877
See also Artillery Bombard Cannon Culverin
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