The word cannon is derived from the Old Italian word cannone, meaning "large tube", which came from the See more

The cannon may have appeared as early as the 12th century in China, and was probably a parallel development or evolution of the fire-lance, a short ranged anti-personnel weapon combining a gunpowde… See more

Cannons in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding an explosive charge and a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive c… See more

In the 1770s, cannon operation worked as follows: each cannon would be manned by two gunners, six soldiers, and four officers of artillery. The right gunner was to prime the piece and load it with powder, and the left gunner … See more

Historically, logs or poles have been used as decoys to mislead the enemy as to the strength of an emplacement. The "Quaker Gun trick" was used by Colonel William Washington's Continental Army during the American … See more

Cannon sounds have sometimes been used in classical pieces with a military theme. One of the best known examples is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The overture is to be performed using an artillery sec… See more