Editing Carronade (section)

==Ordnance==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Carronade (schematics).jpg|thumb|Diagram of a carronade mounting. The lack of a nozzle or muzzle cup suggests this carronade pre-dates ca. 1790, and it must date to 1785 or earlier as a copy of this drawing in the Dutch archives bears that date.]]
[[File:Carronade mg 5103.jpg|thumb|Model of a carronade with [[grapeshot]] ammunition]]
A carronade was much shorter and a third to a quarter of the weight of an equivalent [[Naval long gun|long gun]]. A 32-pounder carronade, for example, weighed less than a ton, but a 32-pounder long gun weighed over 3&nbsp;tons. Carronades were manufactured in the usual naval gun sizes: 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, 32-, 42-, and 68-[[Pound (mass)#Use in weaponry|pounder]] versions are known.

The smaller carronades served in three roles. First, they often constituted the entire armament of unrated vessels. For instance, the [[Ballahoo-class schooner|''Ballahoo''-]] and [[Cuckoo-class schooner|''Cuckoo''-class schooners]] were armed only with four 12-pounder carronades. Second, [[gunboat]]s such as those that the Americans deployed at the [[Battle of Lake Borgne]] often had one large 18-, 24-, or 32-pounder gun forward on a pivot, and two smaller carronades aft. Finally, larger vessels carried a few 12-, 18-, or 24-pounders to arm their ship's boats—[[cutter (boat)|cutters]], [[pinnace (ship's boat)|pinnaces]], [[launch (boat)|launches]], [[barge]]s, and the like—to give them firepower for boat actions. For instance, each of the 42 larger British vessels at the Battle of Lake Borgne carried a carronade in its bow; only the three gigs were unarmed.

At the other end, even a quite small vessel might carry the 68-pounders. For instance, Commander [[William Layman]] of the [[Cruizer-class brig-sloop|''Cruizer''-class brig sloop]] {{HMS|Raven|1804|6}} replaced her two forward 6-pounder guns and 32-pounder carronades with a single 68-pounder on a pivot, and then did the same with two of the aft 32-pounder carronades. By doing this, he replaced 70&nbsp;pounds of broadside with 136&nbsp;pounds (assuming that both 68-pounders would usually fire on the same side), and ensured that ''Raven'' would have less dead-space to her front and rear.

Carronades were not counted in a ship of the line{{'}}s rated number of guns. The classification of Royal Navy vessels in this period can therefore mislead; they would often be carrying fewer guns but more pieces of ordnance than they were described as carrying. The same applied to the French and American navies when they adopted the carronade.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The carronade, like other naval guns, was mounted with ropes to restrain the [[recoil]], but the details of the gun mounting were usually quite different. The carronade was typically mounted on a sliding rather than a wheeled [[gun carriage]], and [[Elevation (ballistics)|elevation]] was achieved with a [[turnscrew]], like [[field gun]]s, rather than the [[wikt:quoin|quoins]] (wooden wedges) usual for naval guns. In addition, a carronade was usually mounted on a lug underneath the barrel, rather than the usual trunnions to either side. As a result, the carronade had an unusually high [[centre of gravity]]. Towards the end of the period of use, some carronades were fitted with trunnions to lower their centres of gravity, to create a variant known as the "gunnade". Gunnades, introduced around 1820, are distinct from the earliest carronades, which also featured trunnions.

In the late 18th century, a new type of cannon was developed in Britain which was a cross between a cannon and a carronade, called a "cannonade" (not to be confused with the term ''cannonade'' which refers to rapid and sustained artillery fire or the act of firing as such). An example was the "medium [[18-pounder short gun|18 pounder]]", which was shorter and lighter than a gun, yet longer than a carronade. While seemingly a good idea in theory, it was found that the gun was less accurate and shorter-ranged than a long cannon, less powerful than a carronade, and -at 28 [[Hundredweight|cwt]] - too light for the powerful charge, meaning recoil was excessive and often broke the breachings or ropes which attached the gun to the hull timbers. They were quickly removed from service in most cases, although a number were retained on ships in merchant service, such as the [[East India Company]], which were not generally expected to engage in combat. A number of the merchant ships in the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]] were armed with cannonades. This was a fight between a fleet of East India Company [[Merchant vessel|merchantmen]] under command of Commodore [[Nathaniel Dance]] and a French naval squadron under [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois|Admiral Linois]]; it was unusual for merchant ships to engage in combat, but they successfully beat off the French in series of engagements, convincing them they were actually facing a powerful force of Royal Navy vessels; this action was later used as the basis{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} for the climactic battle in the book ''[[HMS Surprise (novel)|H.M.S Surprise]],''  part of the famous [[Aubrey–Maturin series|Aubrey and Maturin series]] by [[Patrick O'Brian]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyVEAAAAYAAJ|title=The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. |last=James|first=William |date=1878 |publisher=R. Bentley }}</ref>

[[File:GovHseCarronade1.jpg|thumb|Carronade on a garrison mount, used to defend fortifications. Government House, Bermuda]]

The East India Company (EIC) also used carronades, and these appear to be larger, and heavier than those that Royal Navy used. In his discussion of the [[single-ship action]] in which the French frigate [[French frigate Piémontaise (1804)|''Piémontaise'']] captured the [[East Indiaman]] [[Warren Hastings (1802 EIC ship)|''Warren Hastings'']] on 11 June 1805, the naval historian  [[William James (naval historian)|William James]] compared the 18-pounder carronades on ''Warren Hastings'' with the 18-pounder carronades that the British [[Royal Navy]] used. The EIC 18-pounder was {{convert|5|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} long, and weighed 15.5 cwt; the Royal Navy's 18-pounder carronade was {{convert|3|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}} and weighed 10.5 cwt ({{convert|1176|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}}). James's figures show the EIC's 12-pounder carronades were  {{convert|3|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}} long, and weighed 8.5 cwt ({{convert|952|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}}); the Royal Navy's 12-pounder carronade was {{convert|2|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} and weighed 6.5 cwt ({{convert|728|lb|kg|1|abbr=on}}).<ref name=James>James (1837), Vol. 4, pp.239–44.</ref>