Grasshopper cannon

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Grasshopper was the nickname for a cannon used by the British in the late 18th century as a light battalion gun to support infantry. It was designed for service in rough terrain such as the frontiers of British North America.

Its barrel was made of bronze instead of iron. Bronze is less brittle than cast iron, and so the barrel could be made thinner and lighter than that of an iron gun. If a bronze gun developed a defect it would rupture; an iron gun with a flaw would shatter, at great cost to its own crew. It fired a three-pound (1.4 kg) ball (or same weight of canister shot).

Using the conventional bracket or split trail, the gun could be moved by its own crew using drag ropes and wooden shafts much like a handcart. Two straight shafts were placed on each side of the cheek pieces facing forward, and two angled ones at the trail. The appearance of the shafts when fixed in place led to the nickname of Grasshopper.

http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/threepdr.html

This article relating to artillery is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e