Span-Am artillery piece

[Artilleryman]

Someone asked a question about a Span-Am artillery piece at Grayling.  The question involved a video of the gun being fired in which a piece was seen to fly off with each shot.  The question was what was the piece.  I found out today that it is a home made vent shield.  The vent is located directly to the rear of the breech and the friction primer flies directily to the rear endangering anything in that area if there wasn't a vent shield of some sort.  I don't remember if someone already answered this question or not.

[Double D]

That was the universal guess, Norm, now we have it confirmed.  Thanks!

[subdjoe]

Thank you.  I think I was the one who asked the question about it.  In slow motion, or the frame capture someone did, it looked like a KABOOM! with the flash and that piece flying off. 

[seacoastartillery]

     What we don't understand is:  Why should they have to fashion a deflector shield for axial vent debris and hot gas?  Were the designers of the 3.2-inch Field Artillery rifle, Model 1890 or 1897 not as savy as the British ordnance inventor, Whitworth, in the 1850s, with his functional, axial vent debris and gas deflector, which prevented ejecta from going to the rear of his 12 pdrs. breech block??  We did not see such a deflector on the Model 1890s we found at the Route 2 Diner in New Hampshire or at Rockford Arsenal, IL or the hidden one we found at Fort Washington in the District of Columbia.  Anyone know?

Mike and Tracy


Tracy grins like a Cheshire cat after discovering this Model of 1890 rifle, hidden at Fort Washington, DC.

[KABAR2]

I am thinking this is a safety  requirement  like they have with the mortars, if the primer isn't being blown in an upward
direction than you must block it somehow to prevent that primer form hitting someone.

[seacoastartillery]

   Yes, yes, we get that, but what about the second part of the question,  "Were the designers of the 3.2-inch Field Artillery rifle, Model 1890 or 1897 not as savy as the British ordnance inventor, Whitworth, in the 1850s, with his functional, axial vent debris and gas deflector, which prevented ejecta from going to the rear of his 12 pdrs. breech block?"

T&M

[KABAR2]

Maybe American artillerymen were smart enough not to stand behind the gun and get hit with debris...... what we need is to find someone
with an original manual and see if it is listed in the equipage for the gun,  Cannonmn do you have such a manual?

[cannonmn]

Yes Allen, right here but don't have time to look thru it now, be my guest:

http://books.google.com/books?id=-mxXSyO3aDUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=dyer+light+artillery&ei=_6GISq6UEqP8yATS3anxDQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false