Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 24:41-25:06

What an age-of-sail three-pounder would do to a medieval cog

Even a small later naval cannon would give its crew an overwhelming range and destructive advantage against an unarmed medieval cog, though one hit would not necessarily destroy the ship instantly.

Age Of SailCogsMedieval ShipsNaval Gunnery
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Question

What would an age-of-sail three-pounder cannon do to a cog from roughly 1100-1300?

Short answer

It could batter the cog from well beyond any useful response, but would not necessarily destroy it with a single instantaneous hit.

Notes

The comparison places a three-pounder far outside the technological setting of an eleventh- to thirteenth-century cog. The gun could smash the wooden vessel from a range at which the cog had little means to reply, although the result would not be an instantaneous cinematic destruction. A later example imagines a 48-gun vessel with 24 three-pounders per broadside on a hull around the size of HMS Cherub or slightly larger. This separates decisive weapons overmatch from the slower physical process of disabling a wooden hull.