A brief history of the development of artillery
As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, China had used a projectile machine. After gunpowder began to be used in the military in the 10th century AD, this trebuchet was used to throw gunpowder packets and gunpowder bombs. In the Song Dynasty, in the 1230s, a tubular jet firearm with a giant bamboo tube - a musket - appeared; in the 1350s, a bamboo tubular shooting firearm - a musket - appeared. The emergence of this barrel-fired firearm was of great significance to the emergence of modern artillery.
As late as the Yuan Dynasty, China had produced the oldest artillery - the fire gun. The Chinese History Museum displays a bronze cannon made in the third year of Zhishun (1332) in the Yuan Dynasty. It weighs 6.94 kilograms, is 35.3 centimeters long, and has a muzzle diameter of 105 millimeters. The cannon has the words "In February of the third year of Zhishun, the auspicious day is Sui to pursue the bandits." There are inscriptions such as "Army No. 300 Mashan". There are two square holes at the tail of the gun for installing trunnions. The government of the Ming Dynasty in China had two bureaus of "war" and "weaponry" to manufacture firearms. There were dozens of types of artillery manufactured during the Zhengde to Jiajing years (1506-1566) alone. The "Tiger Crouching Cannon" uses iron claws to limit recoil. When shooting, the recoil is no more than five inches, and it can hold more than a hundred small lead bullets. The "attack cannon" was mounted on a vehicle and fired, making it easier for mules and horses to pull it, and an anchor was used to limit recoil. The "Invincible General Cannon" weighs a thousand kilograms, is mounted on a vehicle, can hold 500 iron bars, and has a strike width of more than 20 feet. The "Poison Fire Flying Cannon" and "Flying Destruction Cannon" can fire explosive bombs. This kind of artillery shell is a hollow body made of iron, filled with gunpowder and other agents, and equipped with a fuse that places the powder wire in a bamboo tube. When firing, the projectile is loaded into the barrel, the fuse is ignited first, and then the propellant in the barrel is ignited. The projectile explodes after reaching the target.
After Chinese gunpowder and firearms spread westward, artillery began to develop in Europe. In the first half of the 14th century, Europe began to create artillery that fired stone projectiles. In the early 16th century, the Italian N. Tartaglia discovered the law that the range of artillery shells is maximum when launched in a vacuum at an angle of 45 degrees, which laid the foundation for theoretical research on artillery. In the middle of the 16th century, smaller-caliber bronze long-barreled cannons and long-barreled cannons made of wrought iron appeared in Europe, replacing the previous mortars (a large-caliber short-barreled cannon). A front car is also used to facilitate quick movement and passage over undulating terrain. At the end of the 16th century, shotguns made of bullets or metal fragments packed in iron cylinders appeared and were used to kill people and horses. Around 1600, some countries began to use package-type propellants, which improved the firing speed and shooting accuracy. In the 17th century, Galileo's ballistic parabola theory and Newton's research on air resistance promoted the development of artillery. During the reign of King Gustav II of Sweden (1611-1632), he adopted methods to reduce the weight of artillery and standardize the artillery, thereby improving the mobility of the artillery. In 1697, Europe replaced the loose powder in the ignition hole with a tube filled with gunpowder, simplifying the aiming and loading process. By the end of the 17th century, most countries in Europe used howitzers.
In the mid-18th century, King Friedrich II of Prussia and French Artillery Director J. B. v. Gribovor was committed to improving the mobility of artillery and promoting the standardization of artillery. After many experiments, Britain, France and other countries unified the caliber of artillery and made the metal weight ratio of each part of the artillery more appropriate: a ballistic pendulum used to measure the muzzle velocity of artillery shells also appeared. At the beginning of the 19th century, Britain adopted shrapnel and used air-explosion fuses to ensure that the shrapnel exploded in time, thus increasing the power of artillery.
From the emergence of artillery to the mid-19th century, artillery was generally a smooth-bore muzzle-loading cannon that fired solid spherical projectiles. Some artillery fired spherical explosive shells, shotgun shells and slug shells. The original rifled gun was straight-rifled, and its main purpose was to facilitate front-loading projectiles. This type of artillery fires slowly, has low shooting accuracy, and has a short range. In order to increase the range of artillery, European countries conducted experiments with rifled artillery in the early 19th century. In 1846, Italian Major G. Cavalli made a spiral rifled gun that fired cone-head cylinder long explosive bombs. The spiral rifling makes the projectile rotate and fly stably, which improves the power and shooting accuracy of the artillery and increases the range of the artillery. At the same time as the rifled gun appeared, the breech block was improved, the artillery was rear-loaded, and the firing speed was significantly increased.
The adoption of rifled guns was a major change in artillery structure. Until now, rifled gun bodies are still widely and effectively used.
Smoothbore barrels continue to be used by mortars and the like.
The creation of the anti-recoil device. Before the end of the 19th century, the gun body was connected to the gun mount through a trunnion. The gun mount of this kind of artillery was called the Ganglian gun mount. The rigid gun mount bears a large force when the artillery is fired. The artillery is bulky and has poor maneuverability. It destroys the aiming when firing. The firing speed is slow and the increase in power is limited. At the end of the 19th century, an anti-recoil device appeared, through which the gun body was connected to the gun mount. The gun mount of this type of artillery was called an elastic gun mount. In 1897, France manufactured a 75mm field gun equipped with an anti-recoil device (hydraulic gas station retreat and recoil), which was later imitated by other countries. When the elastic gun mount gun is fired, due to the buffering of the anti-recoil device, the force acting on the gun mount is greatly reduced, the weight of the gun is reduced, the gun does not shift during firing, and the firing speed is increased. The use of elastic gun mounts eases the contradiction between increasing the power of artillery and improving mobility. The structure of the artillery tends to be perfected, which is a major breakthrough in the history of artillery development.
At the end of the 19th century, wire-wrapped barrels, barrel-tight barrels, higher-strength gun steel and smokeless gunpowder were successively adopted to improve the performance of artillery. The use of strong explosives and composite fuses increases the weight of the projectile and improves the fragmentation lethality of the grenade. At the beginning of the 20th century, the general range of 75mm field guns was 6,500 meters, the range of 105mm howitzers was 6,000 meters, the range of 150mm howitzers was 7,000 meters, and the range of 150mm cannons was 10,000 meters. The artillery also widely used peripheral sights and angle measurement. fuse and fuze setting machine.
During World War I, mortars and small-caliber flat-fire cannons were widely used in order to fire at hidden targets and machine gun positions. To deal with aerial targets, anti-aircraft guns were used extensively. Air cannons began to be installed on aircraft. With the use of tanks, tank guns appeared. The emergence of mechanically towed artillery and self-propelled artillery has an important impact on improving the mobility of artillery. Mule-horse-drawn artillery is still in heavy use. At that time, in addition to using a large number of small and medium-caliber artillery, the belligerent countries also attached great importance to the development of large-caliber long-range artillery. Generally used are 203-280mm howitzers and 220-240mm cannons. French 1917 220mm cannon with a maximum range of 22 kilometers. A 420mm howitzer made in Germany in 1912. The shell weighs 1,200 kilograms and has a maximum range of 9,300 meters. Countries have also used railway guns that move and fire on railways.
In the 1930s, artillery performance was further improved. The range has been increased by improving ammunition, increasing the firing angle, and lengthening the barrel. The range of the light howitzer is increased to about 12 kilometers, the heavy howitzer is increased to about 15 kilometers, and the 150mm cannon is increased to 20 to 25 kilometers. Improved the performance of the breech block and loading mechanism, increasing the rate of fire. An open-frame large frame is used, and mechanical traction is generally implemented to reduce the weight of the artillery and improve the maneuverability of the artillery. As the power of the artillery increases, self-tightening barrels and movable barrel barrels are used to solve the problems of insufficient strength and short lifespan of the barrel. Anti-aircraft guns have increased muzzle velocity and firing height, improved time fuses, and the caliber and direct firing range of anti-tank guns have continued to increase. In World War II, as aircraft flew at higher altitudes, large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, proximity fuzes, and fire control systems including gun-sighting radars appeared. As tanks and other armored targets became the main threat to armies, recoilless guns and more powerful anti-tank guns emerged.
While artillery technology in Western countries was developing rapidly, advanced artillery manufacturing technology in Western countries also began to spread to China. During the Ming Dynasty in China, the scale and combat effectiveness of artillery development were further improved. Artillery before the Ming Dynasty were mostly front-loaded guns. This kind of gun had a short barrel, no strict standards for caliber and ammunition, and a short range. It also had slow firing and loading speeds, low hit rate, and low power. In the Ming Dynasty, breech-loading guns began to be used, and giant artillery appeared. Some of the artillery were equipped with gun mounts and could be mounted on special artillery carts and transferred to the battlefield. Some guns were even equipped with relatively complete aiming devices. From the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th century, some artillery shells developed from solid blades to explosive shells, and the types of artillery shells also became diversified. Smoke bombs, poison gas bombs, incendiary bombs, and explosive bombs were successively used in combat. After improvements, the artillery barrel was lengthened, the range was increased, the rate of fire was accelerated, and the power and maneuverability of the artillery were significantly improved.
During the Ming Dynasty, while stepping up the production of cannons, the Ming army also began to purchase artillery from the West. In the third year of Qi tomorrow (1623), 26 artillery pieces were purchased. Because Ming court officials called the Dutch "Red Yi" and mistakenly thought they were made by the Dutch when contacting them for purchase, they called the Western cannon "Red Yi". In fact, these 26 artillery pieces are an early type of British cannon that was transformed and unified in the late 16th century. The gun has a caliber of about 80 to 130 mm. It has a front sight and a rear sight for easy aiming. There are lugs in the middle, which can keep the gun body stable when mounting the gun. It can shoot at high speeds and control the range of the gun. It was the most powerful gun at the time. . Another foreign cannon called the Fran cannon was also captured by the Ming army when they fought against the Portuguese who invaded Guangdong. Compared with the artillery equipped by the Ming army at that time, the Portuguese Franco machine was superior in structure and performance. Fran machines are equipped with sighting equipment such as rear sights and front sights, thus improving the hit rate. The rear of the Franco machine is usually equipped with gun lugs so that the gun can be placed on the mount. By rotating the gun lugs, the gun's downward angle can be adjusted, the range can be controlled, and the hit rate can be improved. Before that, early artillery in ancient China usually did not have aiming devices. It was only after the introduction of Fran machines from Europe that sights began to be installed, which greatly improved the hit rate of the artillery. During the Ming Dynasty, only large-scale artillery included Tianzi cannon, attack cannon, Ye Gong Shengun, Qianzi Thunder Cannon, Baizi Lianzhu Cannon, Hongyi Cannon, Tiger Crouching Cannon, Shenfei Cannon, Fran Machine Cannon, etc. The number There are dozens of species.
In the Qing Dynasty, artillery equipment experienced changes from ancient cannons to foreign cannons. In particular, the Westernization Movement enabled China to introduce and produce a considerable number of foreign cannons and complete the transformation to foreign cannons. Chinese artillery has entered a new period of development.
The development from rifled guns to special-purpose artillery
Since the 19th century, with the development of industry and science and technology, artillery has developed rapidly. The most obvious sign is the adoption of rifled guns and the production of special artillery such as mortars and self-propelled artillery.
From the emergence of artillery to the mid-19th century, artillery was generally a smooth-bore muzzle-loading cannon that fired solid spherical projectiles. Some artillery fired spherical explosive groups, shotgun shells and slug shells. The original rifled gun was straight-rifled, and its main purpose was to facilitate front-loading projectiles. This type of artillery fires slowly, has low shooting accuracy, and has a short range. In order to increase the range of artillery, famous European countries conducted experiments with rifled artillery in the early 19th century. In 1846, Italian Major G. Cavalli made a spiral rifled gun that fired cone-head cylinder long explosive bombs. The spiral rifling makes the projectile rotate and fly stably, which improves the power and shooting accuracy of the artillery and increases the range of the artillery. At the same time as the rifled gun appeared, the breech block was improved, the artillery was rear-loaded, and the firing speed was significantly increased.
In the history of artillery development, the adoption of rifled guns was a major change in artillery structure. Until now, rifled barrels are still widely and effectively used. Smoothbore barrels continue to be used by mortars and the like.
Before the end of the 19th century, the gun body was connected to the gun mount through a trunnion. The gun mount of this kind of artillery was called a rigid gun mount. The rigid gun mount bears a large force when the artillery is fired. The artillery is bulky and has poor maneuverability. It destroys the aiming when firing. The firing speed is slow and the increase in power is limited. At the end of the 19th century, an anti-recoil device appeared, through which the gun body was connected to the gun mount. The gun mount of this type of artillery was called an elastic gun mount. In 1897, France manufactured a 75mm field gun equipped with an anti-recoil device (hydraulic gas station retraction machine), which was later imitated by other countries. When the elastic gun mount artillery is fired, due to the buffering of the anti-recoil device, the force acting on the gun mount is greatly reduced, the weight of the artillery is reduced, the artillery does not shift during firing, and the firing speed is increased. The use of elastic gun mounts eases the contradiction between increasing the power of artillery and improving mobility. The structure of the artillery tends to be perfected, which is a major breakthrough in the history of artillery development.
At the end of the 19th century, wire-wrapped barrels, barrel-tight barrels, higher-strength gun steel and smokeless gunpowder were successively adopted to improve the performance of artillery. The use of strong explosives and composite fuses increases the weight of the projectile and improves the fragmentation lethality of the grenade.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the general range of 75mm field guns was 6,500 meters, the range of 105mm howitzers was 6,000 meters, the range of 150mm howitzers was 7,000 meters, and the range of 150mm cannons was 10,000 meters. The artillery also widely used peripheral sights and angle measurement. and fuze setting machines.
At the beginning of the 20th century, with the development of generations of experts, the types of artillery gradually increased, and special artillery appeared.
During World War I, mortars and small-caliber flat-fire cannons were widely used in order to fire at hidden targets and machine gun positions. To deal with aerial targets, anti-aircraft guns were used extensively. Air cannons began to be installed on aircraft. With the use of tanks, tank guns appeared. The emergence of mechanically towed artillery and self-propelled artillery has an important impact on improving the mobility of artillery. Mule-horse-drawn artillery is still in heavy use. At that time, in addition to using a large number of small and medium-caliber artillery, the belligerent countries also attached great importance to the development of large-caliber long-range artillery. Generally used are 203-280mm howitzers and 220-240mm cannons. French 1917 220mm cannon with a maximum range of 22 kilometers. A 420mm howitzer made in Germany in 1912. The shell weighs 1,200 kilograms and has a maximum range of 9,300 meters. Countries have also used railway guns that move and fire on railways.
In the 1930s, artillery performance was further improved. The range has been increased by improving ammunition, increasing the firing angle, and lengthening the barrel. The range of the light howitzer is increased to about 12 kilometers, the heavy howitzer is increased to about 15 kilometers, and the 150mm cannon is increased to 20 to 25 kilometers. Improved the performance of the breech block and loading mechanism, increasing the rate of fire. An open-frame large frame is used, and mechanical traction is generally implemented to reduce the weight of the artillery and improve the maneuverability of the artillery. As the power of the artillery increases, self-tightening barrels and movable barrel barrels are used to solve the problems of insufficient strength and short lifespan of the barrel. Anti-aircraft guns have increased muzzle velocity and firing height, and improved time fuses. The caliber and direct range of anti-tank guns continue to increase. In World War II, as aircraft flew at higher altitudes, large-caliber anti-aircraft guns, proximity fuzes, and fire control systems including gun-sighting radars appeared. As tanks and other armored targets became the main threat to armies, recoilless guns and more powerful anti-tank guns emerged.
Since the 1960s, due to the development of science and technology and the improvement of production processes, artillery has been significantly improved in terms of range, rate of fire, power and maneuverability. Artillery, known as the "God of War", has entered a more glorious period of development.