Guns & Ordnance — 20th century

About this collection

This collection covers 38 guns and ordnance objects from the 20th century, delivered across 425 images in 31 ZIP assets. The 20th century transformed artillery beyond recognition — from the horse-drawn field guns of WWI to the self-propelled howitzers and guided missile systems of the Cold War era. The collection spans representative examples across both World Wars and the subsequent decades of rapid technical evolution.

Why it matters

20th-century artillery development was driven by the industrial scale of modern warfare — the experience of WWI, where artillery caused the majority of casualties, drove intensive innovation throughout the century. This collection documents the evolution from recognisable descendants of 19th-century cannon into integrated weapons systems of extraordinary complexity.

Use cases & time to value

• Military history research: Primary visual source for artillery development, ordnance technology, and siege warfare
• Game & film production design: Accurate cannon, mortar, and ordnance reference for period productions
• AI training: Large-format military hardware dataset for scale and morphology training models
• Publishing & editorial: Ready-to-license museum-quality imagery for works on artillery and ordnance history
• Heritage interpretation: High-quality imagery for exhibitions and publications on the technology of war

Data schema

Collection stats

31 assets · 38 objects · 425 images · 20th century