Naval Artillery - Age of Sail

Age of Sail

For more details on this topic, see Age of Sail.

From the 16th century, the cannon became the most important weapon at sea. Around the same time sailing warships began to carry an increasing number of cannon, most of them firing to the side. As the number of cannon steadily increased throughout the 16th and 17th century, tactics shifted and were no longer geared entirely to boarding. Transition era ships, such as English king Henry VIII's Mary Rose, carried a mixture of cannon of different types and sizes, many designed for land use, and using incompatible ammunition at different ranges and rates of fire. A perier might throw a stone projectile 4,000 feet (1.2 km), while cannon could throw a 32-pound iron cannonball 1 mile (1.6 km), and a culverin might throw a 17-pound cannonball 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Swivel guns and smaller cannon were often loaded with grapeshot for antipersonnel use at closer ranges, while the larger cannon might be loaded with a single heavy cannonball to cause structural damage.

In the reign of Queen Elizabeth advances in manufacturing technology allowed the English Navy Royal to start using matched cannon firing standard ammunition, allowing firing of coordinated broadsides. While the cannonball remained the standard projectile for structural damage, other types of ammunition were used for special purposes. The cannonball might be heated on a bed of coals until it glowed cherry-red before loading so it might set fire to sails, rope, wooden splinters or stored gunpowder on the target ship. Cannon might be loaded with chain-shot or bar shot to increase damage to sails and rigging. Cannon might be double-shotted by loading two cannonballs to increase damage at close range.

By the 1650s, the line of battle had developed as a tactic that could take advantage of the broadside armament. This method became the heart of naval warfare during the age of sail, with navies adopting their strategies and tactics in order to get the most broadside-on fire. Cannon were mounted on multiple decks to maximize broadside effectiveness. Numbers and caliber differed somewhat with preferred tactics. France and Spain attempted to immobilize ships by destroying rigging with long-range, accurate fire from their swifter and more maneuverable ships, while England and the Dutch Republic favored rapid fire at close range to shatter a ship's hull and disable its crew. British crews trained to fire a broadside every two or three minutes, while French and Spanish crews typically took twice as long to fire an aimed broadside. An 18th century ship of the line typically mounted 32-pounder or 36-pounder long guns on a lower deck, and 18- or 24-pounders on an upper deck, with some 12-pounders on the forecastle and quarterdeck. By the late 18th century, British and American warships began using carronades to maximize damage at close range.