The Canon-obusier (literally "Shell-gun cannon", "

gun-howitzer Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill the roles of both an ordinary cannon or field gun, and of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct fire, direct and indirect fire. Mo ...

") 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 during th ...

developed by France in the 1850s. The canon-obusier was a

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...

cannon using either explosive shells,

solid shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the caliber, bore of the gun barrel, barrel from which it is shot. A round s ...

, or canister, and was therefore a vast improvement over previous cannon firing only solid and canister shot, such as the

Gribeauval system The Gribeauval system (, ) was an artillery system introduced by Lieutenant General Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval during the 18th century. This system revolutionized French cannons, with a new production system that allowed lighter, more u ...

. The very first canon-obusiers were naval shell guns, invented in 1823 by

Henri-Joseph Paixhans Henri-Joseph Paixhans (; January 22, 1783, Metz – August 22, 1854, Jouy-aux-Arches) was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century. Henri-Joseph Paixhans graduated from the École Polytechnique. He fought in the Napoleonic ...

and introduced in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

in 1842. This invention was related to the origin of the development of the Dahlgren shell gun in the United States in 1849. The

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

introduced the

canon-obusier de 12 The Canon obusier de 12 (officially the "Canon obusier de campagne de 12 livres, modèle 1853"), also known as the "Canon de l’Empereur" ("emperor's cannon"), was a type of canon-obusier (literally "shell-gun cannon", "gun-howitzer") developed b ...

in 1853. The US version of this type of canon-obusier, commonly called the "12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857", was one of the most-used cannon in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Over 1,100 of these "Napoleons" were manufactured by the Union, and 600 by the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. The

was followed by rifled cannon of the Treuille de Beaulieu system which had been introduced in 1858."...the introduction by the French army of the Beaulieu 4-pounder rifled field-gun in 1858: the new artillery, though much more accurate and long-ranged than the smoothbore 'canon-obusier' it replaced (which, incidentally, was the most prevalent artillery piece of the US Civil War), was not suited to firing anti-personnel case-shot (which, in French, is called 'mitraille')." in ''The Mitrailleuse'' by Dr. Patrick Marde
Military History Online
/ref> The term "Canon-obusier" remained in use after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to designate various gun howitzers of the French Army.

References

{{French weapons of the 19th century Artillery of France

See also

References