Also known as: separate loading.
| Form | Powder charge and projectile loaded separately |
|---|---|
| Loaded | Charge first, then projectile |
| Use | Heavy siege and seacoast guns |
Loading in pieces
With separate-loading ammunition the powder charge, in a bag, and the projectile were loaded one after the other rather than as a single round. The charge went in first and was rammed home, then the projectile.
This suited the heavy siege and seacoast guns, whose projectiles and charges were too large and heavy to be handled together as fixed rounds, and it let the gunner vary the charge for range.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.