Early Breechloaders
The very first cannons of the Middle Ages were breech loaded, with gunpowder and shot contained in pots dropped at the back of the barrel, but the poor seals made them dangerous, and they wore quickly and could not be scaled to larger weapons. Muzzle-loaders were then used until the 19th century.
In 1837 Martin von Wahrendorff patented a breech-loader with a cylindrical breech plug secured by a horizontal wedge; it was adopted by Sweden in 1854.
In 1861 Street & Hungerford Company produced Hughes cannon. It was a breech-loader with the breech of the cannon uniquely like a bolt-action but has no firing pin in its bolt.
Read more about this topic: Rifled Breech Loader
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