Shooting Chains

By James Rummel

Ever hear of chain shot?

Clearly, it is a couple of cannon balls connected by a chain. I mean, DUH!

It was used mainly during the great Age of Sail.

The idea was to load that bad boy in a cannon, and use it to chop up the rigging. It would act as a giant buzzsaw, ripping through sails, masts and ropes.

It also did a pretty good job against enemy combatants.

The problem was that cannons, like any gun, can only be loaded with so much propellant before going kaboom. Double cannon balls, with a length of chain, would be moving significantly slower when fired than a single cannon ball. This meant that the range was severely curtailed, and one would have to get really, really close to some extremely angry strangers before letting loose with the noisy balm that was sure to calm them down.

So what to do?

A long time reader sent me a link to an interesting site that discusses a rather curios cannon. (Hi, Greg!) It seems that a double barrelled cannon …Read the Rest

Source:: Hell In a Handbasket