The 30-pounder short gun was a piece of artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of sail.
They were the middle-sized component of the unified system standardised on the 30-pounder calibre, replacing both the 24-pounders and 18-pounders in many usages.
The differences in weight were obtained by fielding a large 30-pounder long gun, a shorter 30-pounder with a thinner barrel, and a 30-pounder carronade.
This allowed a much simplified handling of ammunition, and significantly increased the broadsides of warships.
A first-rank 60-gun frigate of the 1840s thus armed had a heavier broadside than a 74-gun ship of the line of the 1780s.