Cannon operation Cannon operation required specialised crew and gunners , who were first enlisted by the Spanish in the 14th century . The nature of cannon operation often depended on the size of the cannon and whether they were breech - loading or muzzle - loading . English cannon of the late 14th century became mobile , while the largest cannon ( such as the heavy siege cannon of the Ottoman Turks or the Jaivana cannon of India ) required huge crews to transport and operate them . As the " giant gun " trend disappeared in Europe , in favour of lighter , more manoeuvrable pieces in larger numbers , and cannon operating crews became smaller , heralding the early use of true field artillery . While the medieval Dardanelles Gun had required 200 men just to operate it , 18th - century English cannon required only a dozen men , including two gunners , while during the Napoleonic Wars five gunners were used . Overview . Cannon operation is described by the 1771 " Encyclopædia Britannica " . Each cannon would be manned by two gunners , six soldiers , and four officers of the artillery . The right gunner was to prime the piece and load it with powder , while the left gunner would fetch the powder from the magazine and keep ready to fire the cannon at the officer ' s command . Three soldiers stood on each side of the cannon , to ram and sponge the cannon , and hold the ladle . The second soldier on the left was charged with providing 50 rounds . Prior to loading , the cannon would be well cleaned with a sponge to remove all sparks , filth , and dirt . The powder was added , followed by a wad of paper or hay , and the ball was thrown in . After ramming , the cannon would be aimed with the elevation set using a quadrant and a plummet . At 45 degrees the ball had the utmost range – about ten times the gun ' s level range . Any angle above the horizontal line was called random - shot . The officer of artillery had to ensure the cannon was diligently served . Water was available to dip the sponges in and cool the pieces every ten or twelve rounds . In the late 1770s it was said that a 24 - pounder could fire 90 to 100 shots a day in Summer , or 60 to 75 in Winter . However , French artillery officers managed to have a cannon fire 150 shots daily during siege . A 16 or 12 pounder would fire a little more , because they were more easily served . The " Encyclopædia Britannica " mentions " some occasions where 200 shots have been fired from these pieces in the space of nine hours , and 138 in the space of five . " Cannon instruments . Several instruments are used to service a medieval style cannon , as noted in the 1771 Encyclopædia Britannica . Leaden plates are used to cover the touch - hole , when the piece is charged , to keep dirt from entering the touch - hole . History . Pre - Renaissance cannon . In 1248 , Roger Bacon ' s " " Opus Maior " " described a gunpowder recipe and recognised its military use : In Spain , the specialised nature of cannon operation was first recognised , and the Spanish kings at the initial stages enlisted the help of Moorish experts : Certainly cannon were used at the Battle of Crécy , but how they were deployed , or how many crew were assigned , is unclear . It is known that in the 1380s , however , the " ribaudekin " clearly became mounted on wheels , offering greater mobility for its operation . Wheeled gun carriages became more commonplace by the end of the 15th century , and cannon were more often cast in bronze , rather than banding iron sections together . There were still the logistical problems both of transporting and of operating the cannon , and as many three dozen horses and oxen may have been required to move some of the great guns of the period . Each had its crew of gunner , matross es and drivers , and a group of " pioneers " were assigned to level to path ahead . Even then , the gunpowder mixture used was unstable and could easily separate out into sulfur , saltpetre and charcoal during transport . Once on site , they would be fired at ground level behind a hinged timber shutter , to provide some protection to the artillery crew . When the Ottoman Turks used stationary " falcons " at the 1422 Siege of Constantinople , for example , they had to build barricades " in order to receive … the stones of the bombards . " Timber wedges were used to control the barrel ' s elevation . The majority of medieval cannon were breechloaders , although there was still no effort to standardise calibres . Larger cannon were used in greater numbers during the Fall of Constantinople : Sultan Mehmet II used 68 Hungarian - made cannons , the largest of which was 26 feet long and weighed 20 tons ; this fired a 1 , 200 pound stone cannonball , and required an operating crew of 200 men , as well as 70 oxen and 10 , 000 men just to transport them . For the defenders , the Walls of Constantinople could not be adapted for the operation of artillery , and towers were not good gun emplacements . There was even worry that the largest Byzantine cannon could cause more damage to their own walls than the Turkish cannon . The changing needs of cannon operation thus led to the development of " trace italienne " of Italy and the Tudor s ' Device Forts in England , using specially built cannon batteries to their greatest effect . Renaissance to early 19th century . While " coal and sulfur " had been recognised as the best weapon for naval warfare as early as 1260 , cannon saw their first real naval use in large numbers during the Renaissance . The French " culverin " , adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century , was of relatively long barrel and light construction , and fired solid round shot projectiles at long ranges along a flat trajectory . The Tudor carrack the " Mary Rose " was equipped with 78 guns ( 91 after an upgrade in the 1530s ) , and was one of the first ships to have the theoretic ability to fire a full cannon broadside . Its Scottish counterpart , the " Great Michael " , mounted 36 great guns and 300 lighter guns , with 120 gunners . The former included Mons Meg , making her the warship with the largest - caliber gun in history . In Niccolò Machiavelli ' s " The Art of War " , the Italian Renaissance writer observed that " small pieces of cannon … do more damage than heavy artillery . The best remedy against the latter is making a resolute attack upon it as soon as possible … " As was the case at Flodden in 1513 , the Scottish siege artillery could only fire one round a minute , while the English field gun s could fire twice or even thrice as many . Guns also had to be moved back into position after recoil , and the speed of this would reflect the gunners ' experience . A description of the Gunner ' s techniques is given during the English Civil War period ( mid - 17th century ) by John Roberts , covering the modes of calculation and the ordnance pieces themselves , in his work " The Compleat Cannoniere " , printed London 1652 by W . Wilson and sold by George Hurlock ( Thames Street ) . In the 17th century , large wheels were typical of field guns , as opposed to the lighter carriages used for fortress and naval cannon . At coastal fortifications , furnaces would be used for heating red - hot shot to be used against ships . The lower tier of English ships of the line at this time were usually equipped with demi - cannon — a naval gun which fired a 32 - pound solid shot . A full cannon fired a 42 - pound shot , but these were discontinued by the 18th century as they were seen as too unwieldy . The introduction of carronade s at the end of the 18th century also resulted in guns that were easier to handle and required less than half the gunpowder of long guns , allowing fewer men to crew them than long guns mounted on naval garrison carriages . During the Napoleonic Wars , a British gun team consisted of 5 numbered gunners - fewer crew than needed in the previous century . The " No . 1 " was the gun commander , and a sergeant , who aimed the gun . The " No . 2 " was the " spongeman " who cleaned the bore with the sponge dampened with water between shots ; the intention being to quench any remaining embers before a fresh charge was introduced . The " No . 3 " , the loader , inserted the bag of powder and then the projectile . The " No . 2 " then used a rammer , or the sponge reversed , to drive it in . At the same time , the " No . 4 " ( " ventsman " ) pressed his thumb on the vent hole to prevent a draught that might fan a flame . The charge loaded , the " No . 4 " pricked the bagged charge through the vent hole and filled the vent with powder . At the " No . 1 " ' s command the " No . 5 " would fire the piece with his slowmatch .