Was the superlative 5"/38 firing a "super-heavy" shell like some of the other US naval guns designed during the Treaty Era? If so, that would explain the disparity in weight.Originally Posted by Stephanie B
Was the superlative 5"/38 firing a "super-heavy" shell like some of the other US naval guns designed during the Treaty Era? If so, that would explain the disparity in weight.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
Definitely. Reminds me of a story told on one of the podcasts I listen to.
Family had a Civil-War era cannonball, think the dad found it when cleaning up some ditches and it was all over the place for years. From what he said, it sat over the fireplace, it got passed back and forth as a gag gift at Christmas, banged around by the kids, etc. Eventually it ended up in the shop by the welding bench. A family friend who was EOD or something saw it and commented on the dangerous nature of those and that it had the indications of being a live/explodey cannonball.
They called the sheriff who called the state police who subsequently flipped their wigs because it was supposedly one of the more unstable pieces of ordnance from its era. They sent the bomb squad out, bomb squad got it and took it out to a remote portion of the county where the VFD blocked off the roads to give them a proper stand off and safe distance away from things that don't respond well to things going high order.
In the words of Leeloo from The Fifth Element, "big bada boom." The guys were pretty stunned given how they'd beat that thing around for years.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
Disclaimer: I have previously worked in the firearms industry as an engineer. Thoughts and opinions expressed here are mine alone and not those of my prior employers.
I don’t know. What I recall is that the 5” BL&P rounds weighed about 70 pounds. The warshots were supposedly the same. Those early guns were manual feed and it took strong sailors to lift the shells (and powder shells) up from the ready magazine under the mount. And do that at 15-20 times a minute.
If we have to march off into the next world, let us walk there on the bodies of our enemies.
I've got a nice old round cannonball with a threaded (?)(can't remember) hole in it that's been a decoration on our farm for a LONG time. It's not that big, probably 4-5" diameter, entirely possible that's a fuse hole of some kind....looks like it probably had a cover plate at one time or something. Anyhow, makes ya think! I have no idea if it's originally from our farm or not (my family moved there in 1774)
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