The next type of ammunition we will
discuss is the exploding shell.
There were two types of exploding
ordnance during the Civil War era, common shell and case shot. The
basic methods of production were similar but their use and
effectiveness were considerably different. In both cases the
projectile was cast with a hollow core and some means of fuse
installation so it would detonate at the proper moment,
In common shell the cavity is often not
very large relative to the body of the projectile. Unlike in later
wars the only filler was Black Powder which as previously stated is
not an extremely powerful explosive compared to later developments.
As such, the destructive power of the common shell was limited. When
the round detonates it would often burst into as few as six large
fragments, thus limiting the destructive potential. As such it was
primarily meant for anti-material work, such as buildings and
artillery batteries.
Case shot was produced slightly
differently. The central cavity was made larger than common shell and
the bursting charge was made smaller. This made for a thinner shell
wall so the actual powder charge was sometimes reduced to avoid the
risk of it shattering inside the barrel of the cannon. In addition to
the Black Powder filler there were iron or lead balls inside as well.
The idea was the round would explode over the heads of enemy troops
and they would suffer a hail storm of iron to inflict many
casualties. As a side note, case shot was invented in the late 18th
century by a British artillery officer named Henry Shrapnel. Adopted
first by the British in 1803, the basics of the round remained
through World War I. Today, any fragmentation is referred to as
“shrapnel,” a generalization of the inventors name.
In the post on solid shot we talked
about how the rifled projectile was referred to as bolt. While they
did exist, they weren't as common as the shell. Indeed, according to the ordnance
returns of June 30, 1863 there were no solid projectiles in any
Federal rifled batteries with the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg.
Instead there were a high proportion of common shell. The feeling
being that the weight was similar enough that if the fuse wasn't
armed the effectiveness was much the same as solid shot. Indeed, in
November of 1863 the orders were to include 25 shells, 20 case and 5
canister rounds per gun. No solid shot included.
Next ammunition post will be on the
most deadly artillery ammunition of all... canister. We will get to fuses, but that will be another post.
-Corporal
No comments:
Post a Comment