History of cannons

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Cannons
History Artillery in the Song dynasty Artillery in the Middle Ages Naval artillery in the Age of Sail Field artillery in the US Civil War Siege artillery in the US Civil War
Operation Breech-loading List of cannon projectiles Muzzleloading
By country English cannon Cannons of Maritime Southeast Asia Japanese cannon Filipino cannon Korean cannon Majapahit cannon Mughal cannon
By type Anti-tank gun Artillery Autocannon Basilisk Bombard Breech-loading swivel gun Carronade Coastal artillery Coilgun Culverin Demi-cannon Demi-culverin Double-barreled cannon Falconet Field gun Gun-howitzer Gun-mortar Hand cannon Hand mortar Helical railgun Howitzer Infantry support gun Large-calibre artillery Minion Mortar Mountain gun Naval artillery Railgun Railway gun Recoilless rifle Rifled gun Saker Self-propelled artillery Siege cannon Smoothbore Swivel gun Tank gun
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The history of cannons spans several hundred years from the 12th century to modern times. The cannon first appeared in China sometime during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was most likely developed in parallel or as an evolution of an earlier gunpowder weapon called the fire lance. The result was a projectile weapon in the shape of a cylinder that fired projectiles using the explosive pressure of gunpowder. Cannons were used for warfare by the late 13th century in the Yuan dynasty and spread throughout Eurasia in the 14th century. During the Middle Ages, large and small cannons were developed for siege and field battles. The cannon replaced prior siege weapons such as the trebuchet. After the Middle Ages, most large cannons were abandoned in favor of greater numbers of lighter, more maneuverable field artillery. New defensive fortifications such as bastions and star forts were designed specifically to better withstand artillery sieges. Cannons transformed naval warfare with its deadly firepower, allowing vessels to destroy each other from long range. As rifling became more commonplace, the accuracy of the cannon was significantly improved, and they became deadlier than ever, especially to infantry. In World War I, a considerable majority of all deaths were caused by cannons; they were also used widely in World War II. Most modern cannons are similar to those used in the Second World War, including autocannons—with the exception of naval guns, which are now significantly smaller in caliber.