Online Collection

The Online Collection showcases a selection of our objects for you to discover and explore. This resource will grow as the Museum's Collection is catalogued and computerised, and as new acquisitions are added.

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Canister Shot from the Waterloo battlefield, 1815

These are balls from a canister shot, a kind of short-range cannon ammunition fired at the Battle of Waterloo. Canister shot - named because these iron balls were packed inside a tin canister for firing - was designed to as a weapon of last resort, used by desperate cannon crew to fire on enemies as they charged at the guns. Like a giant shotgun shell, the canister would explode and fire out these iron balls in a devastating blast.

NAM Accession Number

NAM. 1999-05-10-1

Copyright/Ownership

National Army Museum Copyright

Location

National Army Museum, Study Collection

Object URL

https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1999-05-10-1