Columbiad
A Columbiad , German also Kolumbiade called, is a heavy cannon of a certain type as especially during the American Civil War was used. An improved version of the Columbiad is the Rodman cannon .
Technically, a Columbiade is a heavy muzzle-loading cannon with a long and smooth barrel . Due to their dimensions and weight, Colombiads were stationary weapons and mounted in such a way that they could be fired at both a very shallow and steeper angle (up to about 30 °). This gave them a comparatively long range, but could also be used for direct firing at a relatively short distance. Colombiads could fire both cannonballs and grenades . They ranged from 7.25 to 20 inches (184 to 508 mm) in caliber, weighed up to 60 tons, and could fire up to 8 km. The highest figures apply to the larger rodman cannons.
The Columbiade was developed in 1811 by George Bomford, a colonel in the United States Army , and was first used in the War of 1812 . Later they were improved by Thomas Jackson Rodman, which especially increased their durability and thus allowed larger calibers. In addition, the powder chamber that was separate from the classic Columbiade was dispensed with. They were used almost exclusively as coastal defense guns from fortified forts , from which they could repel enemy ships due to their long range, but at the same time could be used at short range to defend the fort. They gained particular importance in the American Civil War, where they were used by both the Union and the Confederate States . At the end of the 19th century, some Colombiads were retrofitted with trains and tested against modern ship armor, but they were no longer able to withstand this. The last Rodman Colombiads were retired at the beginning of the 20th century and replaced by modern breech loading guns.
They were rarely used outside of America. Especially the Rodman columbiads made during the civil war had a bad reputation in Europe at this time and were considered inferior, especially because of their allegedly low shelf life.
In his novel From the Earth to the Moon , Jules Verne has a 274 meter long and 61,700 ton heavy Columbiade shoot a missile manned by three space travelers to the moon.
Remarks
- ^ Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition, article “Geschütz (Geschichtliches)”, available online at retrobibliothek.de
