The grasshopper cannon is a weapon designed by the British in the 18th century as a light battalion gun to be carried around with infantry. It frequently saw service in rough terrain such as the frontiers of British North America. Its barrel was made of bronze instead of iron. Bronze is less brittle than cast iron, and so the barrel could be made thinner and lighter than that of an iron gun. Further, if a bronze gun developed a defect it would rupture; an iron gun with a flaw would shatter, at great cost to its own crew. It fired a three pound ball (or 3 pounds of canister shot).