The weights of guns of the same denomination, and of the shot for them, nay, even the calibres, seem to have varied considerably, and the windage was greater than was ever allowed in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. In the cannon royal it must have amounted to a full half-inch at least, and if, as some authorities say, the cannon royal threw only a sixty-six pound shot, the windage must have been in some cases as much as three-quarters of an inch. In his preface to the 'Defeat of the Spanish Armada,' Professor Laughton speaks loosely of the shot being "a good inch and a half less in diameter than the bore of the gun." This is surely an exaggeration. Had the proportions been so, the iron shot for an 8-in. gun would have weighed less than 40 lbs.; that for a 7-in. gun less than 24 lbs.; that for a 6-in. gun about 13 lbs.; and that for a 5-in. gun only about 6 lbs. The relatively large charges of powder may be explainued by this great windage, and the excessive badness and weakness of the explosive. In the eighteenth century, twenty-five pounds was a proof charge for a 42-pounder, and the heaviest sea-service charge for it was only seventeen pounds, while the proof
Papers relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada' (Nav. Rec. Soc.), and contains a table from which the following is extracted: —
 | A table should appear at this position in the text. See Help:Table for formatting instructions. |
Height (calibre) of the Piece. Weight of the Piece. Weight of the shot. Weight of the Powder. Point blank (range) by the Quadrant. Random (range with elevation).
Inches. Lbs. Lbs. Score Paces. Paces.
Cannon Royal 8½ 7000 66 30 .. 1930 Cannon 8 6000 60 27 17 2000 Cannon Serpentine 7½ 5500 53⅓ 25 20 2000 Bastard Cannon 7½ 4500 41¼ 20 18 1800 Demi-Cannon 6½ 4000 30¼ 18 17 1700 Cannon Pedro 6 3000 24¼ 14 16 1600 Culverin 5½ 4500 17⅓ 12 20 2500 Basilisco 5 4000 15¼ 10 .. .. Demi-Culverin 4½ 3400 9⅓ 8 20 2500 Bastard Culverin 4 3000 7 6¼ 18 1800 Saker 3½ 1400 5⅓ 5⅓ 17 1700 Minion 3¼ 1000 4 4 16 1600 Falcon of 2⅓ inches 2⅓ 800 3 3 15 1500 Falconet 2 500 1⅓ 1⅓ 14 1400 Serpentine 1½ 400 13 1300 Robinet 1 300 ½ ½ 12 1000 Falcon. 2½ 660 2⅓ 2¼ 15 1500
The charges are for "cannon corn powder" (serpentine meal powder). When "fine corn powder" (small arm powder) was used, 25 per cent. less of it was to be employed. The table and directions ate signed "Jo. Sheriffe."
