this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2025
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Explanation: During Mehmed the Conqueror's Siege of Constantinople, he managed to bring down the ancient and formidable city by using a large number of a then-cutting-edge technology - cannons!
They are, indeed, lethal.
Those canons were surprisingly ineffective, despite their number (>100) and size (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dardanelles_Gun). It took many months of all of those canon, concentrating on a single spot, to finally make a breach.
The problem was inaccuracy, and very low rate of fire (I think the largest could only fire twice a day maximum). The guns got so hot when firing, they had to be cooled between shots. Using water would cool them too quickly and they'd crack, so they used hundreds of gallons of oil to slowly cool the guns.
They did ultimately work, despite the plucky defenders rebuilding the wall every night, but it was exceedingly expensive, difficult logistically, and very slow.