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Undo revision 197393 by Special:Contributions/As5Rape (User talk:As5Rape)
[[Image:5-54-Mark-45-firing edit.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A modern cannon mounted on a ship.]]
A '''cannon''' is a type of heavy weapon used from the [[Middle Ages]] until the 19th century.
They came about due to the development of [[gunpowder]] and [[metallurgy]]. They consisted of a heavy barrel cast in one piece, generally of [[bronze]] or [[iron]], mounted on a wooden carriage. Ammunition ranged from solid iron balls, to [[chain shot]] and [[cannister]]. They were muzzle loaded and thus slow to reload. Massed batteries were used on both land and sea. Their relatively short range limited them to direct fire only, as opposed to modern [[artillery]] which uses [[indirect fire]].
[[category:weapons]]