Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War |
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Civil War Artillery | |
by Harry Ridgeway |
Rifled artillery projectile, Whitworth design, English manufacture, solid bolt, hexagonal spiral rifling with no sabot, Whitworth 12 pounder rifle, 2.75 in. Projectile was English manufactured following the invention of Sir Joseph Whitworth. The weapon employed a breechloading gun with hexagonal rifled twist that was more extreme than other conventional rifling systems. The result was that projectiles fired from a Whitworth rifle would achive greater spiral and greater range, however the shells had to be long and narrow and consequently could not carry a meaningful explosive charge in smaller calibers. This weapon system never was accepted by the English government and so all production was exported, most of it to the Civil War in America. However the cannons were difficult to manufacture and the shells and guns required more prescion machining than was typically practiced at the time, so few actually made it into the field, most were sold as surplus stocks after the war through Bannerman. Projectile measures: diameter 2.73in., length 9.5in., weight 12 lbs. Research Center: Artillery5911-Whitworth, Ref: Dickey & George, Field Artillery (1993 Edition), pg. 329. Details click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery5911-Whitworth.html. |
Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War. Artillery Research center, artillery, click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery0000-Index.html. Research center, artillery, click: http://relicman.com/artillery/Artillery0000-Index.html. |
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