... use in the 16th century were all cast, and in England font metal or bronze was mostly employed. The falcon seems to have been of 2-1/2 inches bore; the minion 3-1/2 inches; the saker about the same; the culverin 5-1/2 inches—the weight of the shot not being proportionate to the bore. The falconet, minion, falcon, saker, and demi-culverin were known respectively as 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9-pounders; while the heavier pieces, or culverins, ranged from 15-pounders up to the "cannon-royall," or 63-pounders. Mortars were first introduced in the reign of Henry VIII. According to Stowe, those ... — The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, • Richard Hakluyt
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