Maximum Firing Distance of 12-pounder Napoleon Cannon

[No Bias FTW]

According to Wikipedia, the 12-pounder has a maximum range of 1,480 meters when shot from a 5 degree angle of elevation.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_obusier_de_12]Canon obusier de 12 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Do any of you guys know the absolute maximum distance of the cannon when fired from a 45 degree angle of elevation?

Thank you

 

[rehabnonono]

According to Wikipedia, the 12-pounder has a maximum range of 1,480 meters when shot from a 5 degree angle of elevation.

Canon obusier de 12 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Do any of you guys know the absolute maximum distance of the cannon when fired from a 45 degree angle of elevation?

Thank you

You can try this software... JBM Trajectory Calculation Page

While it is a little more difficult than you might imagine, I suggest rather than just guessing all the numbers to fill in, you work backwards from the numbers you know. I'll help you with the weight of the ball in grains (84,000) but you have to try all the adjustments with other figures until you come up with what 5 degree elevation gets you near 1480 meters then you can adjust elevation another 40 degrees and see what distance the calculator comes up with... good luck!

 

[Tapio the king of forest]

Maximum distance can be completely impractical. Challenges are inaccuracy (not effective on the enemy, can't be used near own troops) and, if the line moves forward, artillery needs to be moved too, which takes time and the guns need to be "calibrated" again to archieve maximum accuracy.

 

[No Bias FTW]

You can try this software... JBM Trajectory Calculation Page

While it is a little more difficult than you might imagine, I suggest rather than just guessing all the numbers to fill in, you work backwards from the numbers you know. I'll help you with the weight of the ball in grains (84,000) but you have to try all the adjustments with other figures until you come up with what 5 degree elevation gets you near 1480 meters then you can adjust elevation another 40 degrees and see what distance the calculator comes up with... good luck!

Thank you very much for your help, rehabnonono.

 

[No Bias FTW]

Maximum distance can be completely impractical. Challenges are inaccuracy (not effective on the enemy, can't be used near own troops) and, if the line moves forward, artillery needs to be moved too, which takes time and the guns need to be "calibrated" again to archieve maximum accuracy.

I know that maximum range is not always viable. But shouldn't any military organizationd still be interested in it?

I was hoping that there are charts/records about the range of most 18th - 19th century cannons firing at various angles of elevation.

 

[Frank81]

16th century 12 pounder demiculverins could shot as follow: 833 yards at low position and a maximun of 5000 yards NPS Interpretive Series: Artillery Through the Ages

But a culverin was designed to shoot long distances, because the long barrel could take all the advantage of gunpowder blast, while cannons shot shorter distance.

 

[QUESTOR]

When did cannon shells start exploding and not just skipping along skipping out troops?

 

[Haakbus]

When did cannon shells start exploding and not just skipping along skipping out troops?

Shells in the West were first used in the 1500s, I believe, but weren't the main projectile until the 1700s or 1800s, I think, but I'm not very schooled on this.

I know that maximum range is not always viable. But shouldn't any military organizationd still be interested in it?

I was hoping that there are charts/records about the range of most 18th - 19th century cannons firing at various angles of elevation.

@No Bias FTW: this might help Tables for Artillery Projectiles


By the way, to get maximum ranges for cannons firing round shot, one must aim it not at 45 degrees, but more like 30-40 degrees, depending on the muzzle velocity.



One thing I find confusing is that apparently Collado's Spanish data (which the site Frank81 provided mostly draws from) is significantly from Gentilini's Italian data from the same time period. I've wondered why there was the discrepancy (unless I'm wrong on the units of measure).