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bamaranger · September 4, 2011, 11:58 PM

There was a period of time when I was working a "cannon ball park" and did quite a bit or reading. One thing I recall was the unreliability of explosive balls, the flash of the propelling charge not igniting the fuse.

Percussion fuses from the rifled guns were supposedly much more reliable.

JamesK I'm not so sure about "burying in the ground". I would think velocity would be low, and a 3" shell, detonating on impact......how deep could it get? A big percussion shell, maybe that would be different.
I dunno, one man's guess is all.

I can recall at least one account commenting on 3" percussion fused shells being lobbed from " the Round Tops" onto Confederate forces forming and advancing on the 3rd day at Gettysburg and how effective the Confederate officer claimed they were.

Course there are lots of accounts of roundballs bouncing through and along formations too.

Back on track, we had the #'s for Ord Disposal from a nearby base and the std reply to anybody that called about a shell was leave it alone, clear out and wait for the Army.

September 4, 2011, 11:58 PM	#15
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,303	more dangerous There was a period of time when I was working a "cannon ball park" and did quite a bit or reading. One thing I recall was the unreliability of explosive balls, the flash of the propelling charge not igniting the fuse. Percussion fuses from the rifled guns were supposedly much more reliable. JamesK I'm not so sure about "burying in the ground". I would think velocity would be low, and a 3" shell, detonating on impact......how deep could it get? A big percussion shell, maybe that would be different. I dunno, one man's guess is all. I can recall at least one account commenting on 3" percussion fused shells being lobbed from " the Round Tops" onto Confederate forces forming and advancing on the 3rd day at Gettysburg and how effective the Confederate officer claimed they were. Course there are lots of accounts of roundballs bouncing through and along formations too. Back on track, we had the #'s for Ord Disposal from a nearby base and the std reply to anybody that called about a shell was leave it alone, clear out and wait for the Army.