A cannon was a primitive projectile weapon that fires cannon balls, shells, or other projectiles. The term cannon has also been applied to some types of mounted directed energy weapons with a fixed or limited firing arc. (TOS: "Arena"; ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
Projectile cannons[]
Cannons were in use in the American Civil War, as witnessed in the Time stream. (ENT: "Storm Front, Part II") Cannons were also part of the history of the mirror universe Earth, where they were used as artillery and on sailing ships. (ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")
A cannon stood looking out at the ocean near a Los Angeles boardwalk frequented by the time traveler Braxton in 1996. (VOY: "Future's End")
In 2267, James T. Kirk managed to defeat a Gorn by creating a primitive makeshift cannon. He made gunpowder out of potassium nitrate, sulphur and coal, and used a bamboo stick as the cannon and a diamond as the projectile. (TOS: "Arena") In 2293, the president of the Federation had a model of a cannon on his desk. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
In 2364, a Q recreation of a Napoleonic marshal's camp included a cannon. (TNG: "Hide And Q")
Some aspects of the 2373 Q Civil War were represented by cannons when it was perceived by Humans. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")
During 2376, cannons were in use on Kelemane's planet, where the Central Protectorate was attacked by a neighbor state using cannons, destroying several buildings, and starting a short war. The Central Protectorate's Tactical Air Command responded. A new treaty was signed after a few weeks. (VOY: "Blink of an Eye")
During the Dominion War, the Remans were used by the Romulan Empire essentially as "cannon fodder" against the Jem'Hadar. (Star Trek Nemesis)
Directed energy cannons[]
The term cannon has also been applied to several types of directed energy weapons. These have ranged from smaller vehicle-mounted turrets (Star Trek Nemesis) to starship-mounted weaponry. (ENT: "Broken Bow") A common feature in these directed energy cannons is that their emitter needs to be physically aimed at the target (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) where as directed energy weapon banks and arrays usually have a more omnidirectional firing arc and the direction of fire can be programmed without moving the actual weapon. (TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom", et al.)
List of directed energy cannons[]
- Disruptor cannon
- Isokinetic cannon
- Laser cannon
- Particle cannon
- Phase cannon
- Phased ion cannon
- Phaser cannon
- Photonic cannon (fictional technology)
- Plasma cannon
- Pulse cannon
- Ultrasonic cannon
External links[]
- Cannon at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Cannon at Wikipedia