content_output-062_3 (Q6391): Difference between revisions

In addition to the primitive breech-loaders, in which the charge of powder was loaded into a separate breech-box and wedged up to the cannon, there were numerous methods employed for closing the breech of the cannon after inserting the charge. One of these is shown in the annexed illustration. (The intercepted screw was used about the same time); but in the seventeenth century, when cannon of greater strength were designed and grained gunpowder was used, it was found impossible to prevent the escape of gas at the breech, and the muzzle-loading