what is a napoleon gun

Full Answer

What are Napoleon guns?

The M1857 12-pounder Napoleon or Light 12-pounder gun or 12-pounder gun-howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1857 and extensively employed in the American Civil War.

What weapon was called the Napoleon?

Out of those tests came the American copy of the French cannon-obusier: the Model 1857 12-pounder gun-howitzer. To American audiences, it became better known as the “Napoleon.” In the fall of 1857 the first four Napoleons entered service, sent to Ft.

What is range of a Napoleon cannon?

The Canon de 12 Gribeauval or 12-pounder was a French cannon and part of the system developed by Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval....Canon de 12 GribeauvalCarriage2,192 lb (994 kg)Rate of fire1 round per minuteEffective firing rangeShot: 900 m Canister: 600 mMaximum firing range1,800 m (1,969 yd)15 more rows

What is a 12-pounder gun?

12-pounder gun or 12-pdr, usually denotes a gun which fired a projectile of approximately 12 pounds. Guns of this type include: 12-pounder long gun, the naval muzzle-loader of the Age of Sail. Canon de 12 de Vallière, French cannon of 1732. Canon de 12 Gribeauval, French field cannon of the mid-late 18th century.

Why is it called a Napoleon?

2) The pastry was invented by a Danish chef and was first served on the occasion of a state visit by the French emperor. 3) The pastry was first created by an Italian chef in Naples who named it "napoletano" after his city, and the name was later corrupted to "napoleon" in English.

What is a giant gun called?

cannon. noun. a large heavy gun on a ship or tank.

How far could a cannon shoot in 1776?

Cannons had a maximum range of 2,000 yards with an effective range of 1,000 yards; howitzers and mortars had respectable maximum ranges of 1,300 and 1,400 yards with an effective range of 750 yards.

What weapon has the longest range?

The Paris Gun, as it was named, had the longest range of any artillery weapon in history. Nobody really knows what the Paris Gun's full capabilities were because all of them were destroyed by the retreating Germans. All that was ever captured were fixed-gun emplacements.

What is the longest range cannon in the world?

Paris GunBreechhorizontal sliding-blockElevation55 degreesMuzzle velocity1,640 m/s (5,400 ft/s)Maximum firing range130 km (81 mi)15 more rows

What is a gun Bubba?

In gun culture, "Bubba" is a term used for a person who permanently alters or modifies historic firearms, with no regard for its historical value, or as a verb or adjective to describe the act of or an already modified historical firearm.

What were long nines?

The long nine was a class of specific naval cannon during the Age of Piracy. It was a proportionately longer-barreled 9-pounder for increased range.

Why is it called a 5 inch gun?

United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 inches (127 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 38 calibers long.

What was Napoleon battlefield nickname?

The victory at Lodi, which gave Bonaparte his nickname the “Little Corporal”, opened the route to Milan and assured him his conquest of Lombardy.

What was the nickname for the machine gun in ww1?

Maxim MG08 – “The Devil's Paintbrush” Not the best service weapon necessarily, but the best nickname. Man, soldiers in World War 1 went extra with their nicknames, and calling the Maxim MG08 the “Devil's Paintbrush” is certainly extra. The Maxim operated as the world's first true machine gun.

What gun was called the typewriter?

Found in the hands of gangsters, motorized bandits, and the lawmen who pursued them, the Thompson was known as the “Chicago Typewriter”, because the sound of a Thompson being fired resembled the sound of typing on a typewriter in the distance throughout south-side Chicago.

What was the nickname of the gun used to shell Paris?

the Kaiser Wilhelm GunThe German Paris Gun, also known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Gun, was the largest gun of World War I. In 1918 the Paris Gun shelled Paris from 120 km (75 mi) away.

How many guns were in the Battle of Bull Run?

General Barry pointed out that after the First Battle of Bull Run, there were only nine artillery batteries of mixed calibers available, drawn by 400 horses and manned by 650 men. By strenuous efforts, in March 1862 when McClellan's Army of the Potomac took the field, there were 92 batteries containing 520 guns, 12,500 men, and 11,000 horses. Many obsolete guns brought by volunteer artillery units in the Eastern Theater were soon replaced by newer guns. Older guns rejected in the east migrated to the Western Theater and were used to equip the western Union armies. The 1862 inventory by the Ohio Quartermaster General listed only 10 12-pounder Napoleons out of 162 available guns, compared to 44 3.8-inch James rifles, 38 rifled 6-pounder guns, and 30 M1841 6-pounder field guns. As late as the Battle of Prairie Grove on 7 December 1862, fought in Arkansas, the Union forces employed 40 guns, but none of them were Napoleons.

What was the 12 pounder?

The M1857 12-pounder Napoleon or Light 12-pounder gun or 12-pounder gun-howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1857 and extensively employed in the American Civil War. The gun was the American-manufactured version of the French canon obusier de 12 which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. The weapon proved to be simple to produce, reliable, and robust. It fired a 12.3 lb (5.6 kg) round shot shell a distance of 1,619 to 1,680 yd (1,480 to 1,536 m) at 5° elevation. It could also fire canister shot, common shell, and spherical case shot. The 12-pounder Napoleon outclassed and soon replaced the M1841 6-pounder field gun and the M1841 12-pounder howitzer in the US Army, while replacement of these older weapons was slower in the Confederate States Army. A total of 1,157 were produced for the US Army, all but a few in the period 1861–1863. The Confederate States of America utilized captured US 12-pounder Napoleons and also manufactured about 500 during the war. The weapon was named after Napoleon III of France who helped develop the weapon.

How many Napoleons were made in 1864?

The number of 12-pounder Napoleons produced for the Federal government each year were 1861 (179), 1862 (422), 1863 (512), and 1864 (13). In 1864, 39 Napoleons were produced for the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Ohio. The US manufacturers and how many guns they produced are shown in the following table.

Who was the commander of the Union Army in 1861?

One member of the 1855 American military commission was Captain George B. McClellan who became major general in command of US forces in summer 1861. Like Mordecai, McClellan saw the advantages of using a single artillery piece to combine the functions of both field gun and howitzer. In 1861, McClellan approved the plan offered by his chief of artillery Brigadier General William Farquhar Barry, which included the goal to arm Union Army field artillery batteries exclusively with the light 12-pounder smoothbore, the 3-inch Ordnance rifle, and the Parrott rifle. Each battery was organized so as to contain six identical guns, if possible, with no less than four guns per battery. By the time of the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the US Army had only nine 12-pounder Napoleons, and by 1 January 1862, it had only 36 Napoleons. In August 1861, 22 Napoleons were ordered and 153 were ordered in October and November 1861.

What guns did Napoleon use?

Properly trained French infantry were expected to be able to fire three volleys a minute. A trained soldier could hit a man sized target at 100 yards but anything further required an increasing amount of luck, the musket was wildly inaccurate at long range. French officers were usually armed with a .69 pistol as a secondary weapon to their sword. This still had to be muzzle loaded and fired with a flintlock after reloading. Besides guns, soldiers used a variety of pikes, swords and bayonets for close range or melee combat. Officers, sergeants, other higher-ranked officials and cavalry mainly used swords, while the majority of infantry soldiers were equipped with bayonets.

Why did Napoleon use the maneuver in battle?

However, Napoleon used the maneuver in battle to dictate how and where the battle would progress. The Battle of Austerlitz was a perfect example of this maneuver. Napoleon withdrew from a strong position to draw his opponent forward and tempt him into a flank attack, weakening his center.

What was the range of the Girardoni M1780?

A multi-shot breech loader, it only had an effective full charge range to about 150 yd (140 m).

How did Napoleon use his tactics?

Napoleon used two primary strategies for the approach to battle. His "Manoeuvre De Derrière" ("move onto the rear") was intended to place the French Army across the enemy's lines of communications. Using a "pinning" force to keep the opponent stationary, he would swing around onto his opponents rear with the bulk of his army, forcing the adversary to either accept a battle on Napoleon's terms or push further into the pinning force and hostile territory. By placing his army into the rear, his opponent's supplies and communications would be cut. This had a negative effect on enemy morale. Once joined, the battle would be one in which his opponent could not afford defeat. This also allowed Napoleon to select multiple march routes into a battle site. Initially, the lack of force concentration helped with foraging for food and sought to confuse the enemy as to his real location and intentions. This strategy, along with the use of forced marches created a morale bonus that played heavily in his favor.

What was Napoleon's main strategy?

His main strategy was focusing on one part of the enemy, quickly defeating them, and continuing onward. His success was made possible not only by his ambition, but also through the dynamic composition of his army. Napoleon would see his equipment being gained through provisional control of the armories of France, thus allowing the weapons direct control by government

Why did the French gain the most weapons?

Most weaponry provided would be gained due to the French hosting absolute control over all armories even if this control came from district and provinces command.

What was Napoleon's weaponry?

One of the major components in Napoleon's arsenal of weaponry was his artillery. With the development and improvement of combat weapons throughout the Seven Years' War prior to Napoleon, artillery had expanded to almost every European country, including France with 12-lb and 8-lb cannons. "The Gribeauval guns developed between 1765 and 1774 were 12-pounders, 8-pounders, 6-pounders and 4-pounders with 6-inch and 8-inch howitzers ."

What was the name of the cannon that fired a 12 pound ball?

Napoleon. The Napoleon cannon more officially known as the 12-pounder bronze gun model 1857 was a smooth-bore cannon that fired a twelve-pound cannon ball. The gun weighed 1,200 pounds but ironically was considered a light gun. This cannon could fire either an explosive shell or solid shot all the way up to a mile in distance.

How far can a cannon fire?

This cannon could fire either an explosive shell or solid shot all the way up to a mile in distance.

Overview

Background

Production

Specifications

History

Notes

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Overview

Artillery

Movement

Strategy

Firearms

Special weapons

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