Falconet
Various cannon foundries · Rifle · Out Of Production · 1500
Also known as: Falcon, Falconette
Overview
The falconet was a light black-powder muzzle-loading cannon that bridged the gap between the heavy musket and full field artillery. Named after the falcon, in keeping with the period habit of decorating gun barrels with animals scaled to the piece, it typically had a bore of about two inches and fired a one-pound iron round ball, or grapeshot for anti-personnel work. Lighter and cheaper than culverins and sakers, it served from the late 15th to the 17th century as mobile light field artillery and as a swivel-mounted anti-boarding gun aboard light warships.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 90718 g (3200.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1622 mm (63.86") |
| Barrel Length | 1200 mm (47.24") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Effective Range | 190 m (208 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 1500 m (1640 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Smoothbore |
| Frame Material | Wood |
| Barrel Material | Bronze |
Calibers
- 1-pounder round shot (~50mm) · primary — also known as 1-pounder, iron round shot, grapeshot
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Touch Hole Ignition, Linstock Fired, Two Wheeled Carriage, Muzzle Loaded, Grapeshot Capable
Service history
Operators
- European land armies
- Naval forces
Conflicts
- Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)
- English Civil War (1642-1651)
- American Revolutionary War (1775-1783)
Production
Production years: c.1490-1700
Cast in numerous European foundries; no consolidated production totals exist.
Origin
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Discontinued: 1700
Notes
Specifications drawn from surviving bronze examples (overall length ~162cm, bore ~47-50mm) and the Royal Artillery Museum field gun (1.9-inch bore). Piece weight ranged 80-200kg; the value here (~90kg) is a representative figure. Range estimates vary widely between sources; Spanish gunnery doctrine of 1592 gave an effective range near 190m and a maximum near 690m, while other sources cite a maximum closer to 1,500m. A breech-loading falconet appeared in 1620s Germany.
Background
Falconets earned their name from a fashion of casting reptiles and birds of prey onto gun barrels sized to the animal, with some pieces given a falcon's open jaws at the muzzle so the shot seemed to fly from the bird's mouth.