![]() Lighter peices were said to be able to manage four or five rounds per minute during a mad minute, and larger peices two or three. At that point the point the French practice was to initiate what they called a 'Mad Minute' during which rounds would be shovelled into the gun as fast a humanly possible and all pretext at aiming or using the marks abandoned. ![]() This pace was only really increased in the final build up towards an assault, or if the gun was threatened. ![]() Griffiths in his book on French Artillery states that one shot every three or four minutes would not be considered unacceptable and in seige operations one shot every thrity minutes was not uncommon. The gunners and their infantry assistants went through the loading and relaying process at a steady but unhurried pace, making sure that the gun was properly aligned to its marks and carefully loaded to ensure maximum consistency in performance. The normal rate of fire at least for French artillery was quite leisurely, at least during the bombardment phase. ![]() I agree that overheating is a factor, but from reading actual accounts I get the imporession that fatique was also a major influence on the rate of fire. ![]()
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