Development
The characteristics of a quick-firing artillery piece are:
- Buffers to limit recoil, so the barrel can quickly return to position after being fired.
- A breech mechanism which allows rapid reloading
- Single-piece ammunition, e.g. a cartridge containing both shell and propellant. (This criterion was sometimes taken as the definition of quick-firing, but many quick-firing guns dispensed with it).
These innovations, taken together, meant that the quick-firer could fire aimed shells much more rapidly than an older weapon. In 1887, an Elswick Ordnance Company 4.7-in gun fired 10 rounds in 47.5 seconds, almost eight times faster than the equivalent 5-inch breech loading gun.
Another important factor was the introduction of 'smokeless powder' - nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine or cordite - which created far less smoke than gunpowder, meaning that gun crews could still see their target.
Read more about this topic: Quick-firing Gun
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