Gun salute

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A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (21-gun salute), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world.

History

Firing cannons is a maritime tradition that dates back to the 14th century , when the cannon began to impose itself on the battlefields: a boat entering the waters of a country unloads its weapons and thus marks its intentions peaceful.^[1] The coastal batteries or the boats encountered then respond to this salute. If 7 cannon shots are fired at the start, corresponding to the number of guns on board a boat, in addition to the symbolism of the number seven, this number increases to 21, since it was considered that for a shot fired by a boat, the batteries on land had enough powder for three rounds.

21-gun salute

This section is an excerpt from 21-gun salute.[edit]

A

heads of government, with the number decreasing with the rank of the recipient of the honor. While the 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized, the number of rounds fired in any given salute will vary depending on the conditions. Circumstances affecting these variations include the particular occasion and, in the case of military and state funerals

, the branch of service, and rank (or office) of the person to whom honors are being rendered.

To honor the 75th birthday of King Charles III, a number of special salutes were fired. A 41-gun salute was fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in London's Green Park. This was one of a number of gun salutes on the day, including a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.^[2]

Minute gun salute

The firing of guns at intervals of one minute is a traditional expression of mourning used at sea and at state funerals. In the United Kingdom in 1837 at the funeral of King William IV, guns were fired all day,^[3] but at for Queen Victoria, there was a salute of eighty-one minute guns, one for each year of her life,^[4] a custom that has continued at royal funerals since. In the United States, at noon on the day of presidential funerals, military installations across the country fire a 21 minute gun salute.^[5]

By type

Naval cannon fire

When a cannon was fired, it partially disarmed the ship until reloaded, so needlessly firing a cannon showed respect and trust. As a matter of courtesy a warship would fire her guns harmlessly out to sea, to show that she had no hostile intent. At first, ships were required to fire seven guns; meanwhile forts, with their more numerous guns and a larger supply of gunpowder, were required meanwhile to fire 21 times. Later, as the quality of gunpowder improved, the British increased the number of shots required from ships to match the forts.

The system of odd-numbered rounds originated from

Gun salute by aircraft, primarily displayed during funerals, began with simple flypasts during World War I and have evolved into the missing man formation, where either a formation of aircraft is conspicuously missing an element or a single aircraft abruptly leaves a formation.

A casual salute by an aircraft, somewhat akin to waving to a friend, is the custom of "waggling" the wings by partially rolling the aircraft first to one side, and then the other.

References