A rifled breech loader (RBL) is an artillery piece which, unlike the smooth-bore cannon and rifled muzzle loader (RML) which preceded it, has rifling in the barrel and is loaded from the breech at the rear of the gun.
The spin imparted by the gun's rifling gives projectiles directional stability and increased range. Loading from the rear of the gun leaves the crew less exposed to enemy fire, allows smaller gun emplacements or turrets, and allows a faster rate of fire.
Read more about Rifled Breech Loader: Overview, Early Breechloaders, Armstrong Screw Breech, Interrupted Screw Breech, De Bange System, Krupp Sliding Block, Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt Sliding-wedge Quickfiring Guns, Elswick Coned Interrupted Screw, Bofors Ogival Screw, Welin Stepped Interrupted Screw Breech, Summary
Famous quotes containing the word rifled:
“We got our new rifled muskets this morning. They are mostly old muskets, many of them used, altered from flint-lock to percussion ... but the power of the gun was fully as great as represented. The ball at one-fourth mile passed through the largest rails; at one-half mile almost the same.... I think it an excellent arm.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)