Bronze(brass) was traditional for Naval service being resistant to corrosion at sea, and was expected to 'rip' a hole rather than explode into pieces. Iron was more resistant to wear, but had to be made heavier to withstand the pressure of firing. A 12pdr sea cannon was maybe 1800lbs compared to a bronze 12 pdr at 1200. Look at pictures of Iron guns in theCivil War era Union Navy; they're big old hosses. Steel guns replaced Iron and brass into the modern age, but the tradeoff in power is wear. To this day even field guns have to have thier barrels re-lined fairly often, there just isn't a free lunch, hence the advancement of missile technology. Please understand I'm no expert, perhaps others will chime in to correct or add to my post, Geo.
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