20-pounder Parrott 15° 4,400
30-pounder Parrott 25° 6,700
100-pounder Parrott 25° 7,180
In accuracy and range the rifle of the 1860's far surpassed the
smoothbores, but such tremendous advances were made in the next few
decades with the introduction of new propellants and steel guns that
the performances of the old rifles no longer seem remarkable. In the
eighteenth century, a 24-pounder smoothbore could develop a muzzle
velocity of about 1,700 feet per second. The 12-inch rifled cannon of
the late 1800's had a muzzle velocity of 2,300 foot-seconds. In 1900,
the Secretary of the Navy proudly reported that the new 12-inch guns
for _Maine_-class battleships produced a muzzle velocity of 2,854
foot-seconds, using an 850-pound projectile and a charge of 360 pounds
of smokeless powder. Such statistics elicit a chuckle from today's
artilleryman.