Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. The term generally refers to powder-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes self-propelled projectiles such as torpedoes, rockets, and missiles and those simply dropped overboard such as depth charges and naval mines.
USS Iowa fires a broadside of nine 16"/50 and six 5"/38 guns during an exercise
The cannon shot (c. 1680), by Willem van de Velde the Younger
The line of battle was used from the beginning of the 16th century by the Portuguese, especially in the Indian Ocean, and from the 17th century, by the other Europeans in general, beginning with the Dutch and the English, in the English Channel and the North Sea. Pictured, the battle of Öland between an allied Danish-Dutch fleet under Cornelis Tromp and the Swedish navy.
Firing of an 18-pounder aboard a French ship.
Artillery are ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower.
US Artillerymen fire-off an artillery round with the newly fielded M777 Lightweight 155-millimeter Howitzer
French soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War 1870–71
British 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loaded (RML) Gun on a Moncrieff disappearing mount, at Scaur Hill Fort, Bermuda. This is a part of a fixed battery, meant to protect against over-land attack and to serve as coastal artillery.
7-person gun crew firing a US M777 Light Towed Howitzer, War in Afghanistan, 2009
