Whitworth Gun
in ordnance, a wrought iron or, afterward, steel gun invented by Sir Joseph Whitworth. It had a hexagonal spiral bore, the angles of which were rounded off, and fired a projectile (sometimes called the Whitworth ball), the middle part of which fitted the bore, but the rear part tapered somewhat, and did not touch the rifling, while the point was rounded. Both muzzle-loading and breech-loading patterns were made. There was very little windage, and good ranges were obtained.