Chapter 19 Section 11 Short Barrel Cannon

The short-barreled gun is the predecessor of modern mortars or mortars. The ballistic trajectory of the shells it shoots is curved. It is mainly used to kill the enemy's vital forces behind the city walls and tall buildings, and destroy the enemy's equipment and fortifications. A powerful weapon for cottages and stone blockhouses.Its main products are Weiyuan Cannon and Sky Cannon in Qing Dynasty.Although their names are different, their basic structure and usage are the same. Weiyuan Cannon is General Weiyuan Cannon. The cannon is two feet three inches long and weighs 750 kilograms.The Palace Museum in Beijing has a General Weiyuan Cannon made in the 29th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1690). It is two feet three inches long, seven inches in diameter, and weighs 560 jin. Three catties of gunpowder were carried on a four-wheeled cart.Its length and weight are similar to those recorded in the literature.The inscription engraved on the cannon body shows that the cannon was manufactured in Jingshan by the Gunner of the Manufacturing Office at that time.The range of this kind of artillery is determined by the amount of charge and the pitch angle of the gun body.