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A pivot gun was a type of
File:HMS Sidon 68 pounder pivot gun 1855 LOC 05685u.jpg, Sebastopol from the sea - sketched from the deck of HMS ''Sidon''. The men are operating a 68-pounder 88 cwt smoothbore muzzle-loading gun.
File:RBL_7-inch_Armstrong_gun_on_wooden_carriage.jpg, Armstrong 110-pounder rifled breech-loader mounted as a pivot gun on the forecastle of a Royal Navy ship
File:USSWabashPivotGun1855.jpg, Pivot gun crew of USS ''Wabash''
File:NH 52029 (17141175236).jpg, One of the two 11-inch pivot guns of USS ''Kearsarge''
File:Pivot gun usnavy.jpg, Gunners operating a pivot gun aboard a
Naval artillery
Sailing ship armaments
{{Artillery-stub
A pivot gun was a type of cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
mounted on a fixed central emplacement which permitted it to be moved through a wide horizontal arc. They were a common weapon aboard ships and in land fortifications for several centuries but became obsolete after the invention of gun turret
A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...
s.
History
By mounting a cannon on a pivot, a much wider arc of fire could be obtained than was possible with conventional carriage-mounted cannons. Unlike the latter, however, pivot guns were fixed in one place and could not easily be moved outside of their horizontal arc; they could thus only really be used in fixed positions such as in a fort or on a battleship. There was no standard size of pivot gun, though they tended to be fairly substantial weapons. Like other cannons, they were usually muzzleloaders and could fire either shells orgrapeshot
Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat.
In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...
(or other types of shot). Their calibers ranged from a few inches to the giant 11-inch Dahlgren guns used by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in the mid-19th century.
Pivot guns had a major disadvantage in warfare: they were very difficult to protect in battle and were necessarily very exposed, as they lay close to the surface of a ship's deck and required an open field of view. In the late 19th century they were replaced by "disappearing gun
A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...
s" and ultimately by turrets, which enabled a broad arc of fire while providing the gunners with all-round protection from incoming fire.
Pivot guns should not be confused with swivel gun
The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...
s, a much smaller type of ordnance.
Gallery
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
vessel in the late 19th century
See also
*Apilan and kota mara
Apilan and kota mara are two Malay nautical terms which refers to the structure on a vessel where the cannon is installed. This term is used especially on Malay ships and boats.
Apilan
Apilan (or ampilan) is the wooden gunshield found in Mal ...
* Chase gun
* History of gunpowder
Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been developed. Popularly listed as one of the "Four Great Inventions" of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the Wujing Zongyao, earliest recorded chemical formula f ...
* Naval artillery in the Age of Sail
Naval artillery in the Age of Sail encompasses the period of roughly 1571–1862: when large, sail-powered wooden naval warships dominated the high seas, mounting a large variety of types and sizes of cannon as their main armament. By modern s ...
* Naval tactics in the Age of Sail
Sailing ship tactics were the naval tactics employed by sailing ships in contrast to galley tactics employed by oared vessels. This article focuses on the period from c. 1500 to the mid-19th century, when sailing warships were replaced with steam ...
External links
Sailing ship armaments
{{Artillery-stub