La Hitte system
The La Hitte system, named after the French general Jean-Ernest Ducos [de La Hitte|Ducos, Count de La Hitte], was an artillery system designed in March 1858 to implement rifled muzzle-loading guns in the French Army.
Conception
The La Hitte system was developed through the collaborative work of Lieutenant-colonel Treuille de Beaulieu who had developed the principle and General de La Hitte who had implemented it:Specifications
The new rifled guns were used from 1859 during the Franco-Austrian War in Italy. These guns were a considerable improvement over the previous smooth-bore guns which had been in use. They were able to shoot at either regular shells, ball-loaded shells or grapeshot. They appear to have been the first examples of rifled cannons used on a battlefield.The system was muzzle-loading, and the shells could be detonated either on impact, or at one of two set distances with a time fuse. To counter the lack of flexibility given by only 2 different distances, ricochet shots were employed, each bounce slowing the shell down. A six set distances fuse was initially invented but didn't give satisfaction. For ball-loaded payloads, a four set distances fuse was used. The shells, based on the 1847 invention of Captain Tamisier, were oval-shaped, and had small protrusions to follow the grooves of the bore. Previous guns, such as the Canon obusier de 12, were rifled to accommodate the system. The system included newly-rifled siege guns of, and bore, new field guns of and bore, new siege guns of and bore, and a mountain gun of bore.