Tracy, is that 137 lb. projectile an approximate scaled down weight of the original? Or was the original a shell and maybe lighter?
Thanks Ron
Thanks again, Ron for those nice photos of the cannon on the Naval Base at Norfolk, Virginia. We really liked the Brooke, but I guess that would be expected. There is a very interesting story behind the use of Le Mortier Monstre at the battle of Antwerp in 1832. It's all on-line and pretty easy to find, but to answer your question, we have excerpted a bit from our history section of that Jan. 2009 thread:
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,162341.0.html "The experiment having succeeded, it was resolved to bring the mortar into Antwerp, and preparations were made to place it in battery on the covered way of the bastion of the city, between the re-entering place of arms of Montebello and the Malines gate. Eight horses were required to draw the carriage on which it was placed, and eight others to draw the carriage containing the bed. The weight of the empty shells being nearly 1,000 lbs. it is easy to calculate the number of these projectiles that could be moved in any ordinary ammunition wagon. The weight of the bed, which is of timber, is not given in the scale, but it may be taken as at somewhat more than the mortar itself, making altogether about 30,000lbs.; add to this 110 shells for 100 rounds at 1,000 lbs. each, and 110 barrels of 90 lbs. each, and it gives the enormous dead weight of 70 tons, exclusive of gins, triangle, chevalet, carriage, and sundries. The name of Monster-mortar seems to have been well selected, for it is scarcely possible to conceive a more ugly or unwieldy implement. With the exception of the mortar at Moscow, which has thirty-six inches in diameter at the mouth of the cylinder, and was, if ever used, employed for projecting masses of granite, the monster- mortar exceeds any other weapon of the kind hitherto known. The original conception is due to Colonel Paixhans ; it was executed under the direction of Baron Evain, and cast at the Belgian royal foundery at Liege.
Firing.At midnight, the twenty-four-inch mortar was loaded with twelve and a half pounds of powder, and the first discharge took place. The huge projectile, of which the internal charge was fifty-four pounds of powder and combustibles, was watched with anxiety as it made its parabola, and a look-out person stationed on the tower of St. Andre reported that it had fallen and exploded near the great powder magazine at the gorge of bastion Fernando. The success of the experiment was thus demonstrated. At the second shot, which took place nearly an hour later, the shell burst on issuing from the mouth of the mortar, not by explosion from the fuze, hut from the weakness of the projectile itself. Great care was therefore ordered to be taken in selecting others, of which the culots were thicker.
The dimensions are as follows:
Calibre massive, 23.62 in.
Thickness, exclusive of culot .. 2 in ,,
Weight of empty shell 9l6 lbs. ,,
Powder contained in shell .... 99 lbs.
Weight of Shell, full charge ..1015 lbs.
Weight of mortar (metal) 14,700 lbs.
Weight of bed (wood) 16,000 lbs.
Powder in Chamber (full) 30 lbs. ..
The French weight has been preserved purposely for the sake of greater accuracy."
So, you can see that while we built the mortar very close to 2/5 Scale, with an 11-Inch bore that was actually almost 46% of the original's 24", we looked around for a projectile that would fit without making complicated Monster Zinc Casting Molds or even Monster Concrete Molds. The Water-Cooler Jug was the right size and available without a lot of hassle. The chamber is exactly at 2/5 scale, and, when full, holds 2 lbs of powder VS 30 lbs of the full size gun.
Victor, we have always wondered what it would be like to fire the Monster at night. Maybe we will have to plan a campout on the prairie this summer to find out. One thing we know for sure, we won't need the camera's flash to get the photo!
We got this pic off of one of the Montana Model Cannon Shoot movies we took of the monster firing under that big bright blue Montana Sky. This was the fireball that resulted from a pound and a half of 1Fg Goex behind southpaw's bowling ball. We never did see that particular ball again! No pieces rained down either; it was just GONE!
Regards,
Mike and Tracy
