Author Topic: Bronze Napoleon (Read 944 times)

Artilleryman · « **on:** January 25, 2006, 05:45:26 PM »

http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/album_pic.php?pic_id=1134">

This is a bronze Napoleon being fired at Camp Grayling with a full service charge. The report, smoke, and recoil are impressive.

Powder keg · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2006, 05:52:29 PM »

OOOOOH AHHHHHH Me like smoke :grin:

Thanks for sharing!

intoodeep · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2006, 06:19:02 PM »

You gotta love those still action shots. It's always amazing how far the tube lifts of the elevating screw with those full service charges..... Nice photo! :grin:

GGaskill · « **Reply #3 on:** January 25, 2006, 09:38:07 PM »

Imagine several batteries side by side firing continuously; truly the fog of war.

Cpt Ed · « **Reply #4 on:** January 26, 2006, 02:11:03 AM »

Here is a 3Â” Ordnance Rifle with a full service charge and a 10-pound Paulson made projectile firing at the Friendship, IN range during the NMLRA Cannon School.

Notice the position of the barrel from the elevating screw at the time of ignition. . The carriage recoiled back approx. 15 feet.

Send email address if you wish to see the video this frame was taken from.

Try this link for the video.
http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=41561&cdate=20051109&ctime=160125

opatriot · « **Reply #5 on:** January 26, 2006, 06:29:12 AM »

Nice pics Norm and video Capt. ED ........curios why did the barrel from the one cannon drop way down , then back up again during fireing and the others in the video did not ...?? ....was it because the barrel is not balanced proporly ......trunions in the wrong spot ..?? ...is that common ..?? ...........davey

Cpt Ed · « **Reply #6 on:** January 26, 2006, 11:07:50 AM »

opatriot:

The other cannons you saw were just firing a reduced blank charge (no real recoil), used in the training of the students around the gun in the different cannon crew positions.

Some cannons were just firing blanks as for demonstration.

The Lyle gun belongs to and was fired by Paul Barnett owner of South Bend Replicas.

The 3" Ordnance rifle in the video was fired by Matt Switlik.

Artilleryman · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2006, 11:29:17 AM »

Quote from: opatriot

Nice pics Norm and video Capt. ED ........curios why did the barrel from the one cannon drop way down , then back up again during fireing and the others in the video did not ...?? ....was it because the barrel is not balanced proporly ......trunions in the wrong spot ..?? ...is that common ..?? ...........davey

It is thought that when the gun is fired the breech pushes down and the trail flexes causing the breech to rebound. Some of the slow motion videos show that as the gun recoils the wheels do not turn for the first few inches as the wheels either slide or are lifted up slightly.

Dictator · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2006, 01:58:46 PM »

Hey Cpt Ed,
What are your loads in your 3" guns? We shoot a 3" full scale Ordinance with 14oz of fg. Elephant in a 6 layer foil bag & 16 oz. of fg Elephant in the same foil bag in our 3" Parott, both full scale. The Ordinance weighs about 2800 lbs. & the Parott goes around 2300 lbs. Velocities through the chronograph run around 1100-1300 fps. with a cast round ball from wheel weights @ about 6.250 lbs. It's amazing to see the penetration of these round. We just set up a range with an 8' thick earthen backstop only to see the round blow through them & skip across the barren Iowa ground. Maybe need more sand :lol:

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Joe

Powder keg · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2006, 03:26:21 PM »

I have a stupid question. A lot of the pictures I see have the field carriages sitting on a piece of wood or carpet or something. Some have special made boards that the tail and wheels rest on. Why?

Thanks,

Artilleryman · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2006, 03:48:13 PM »

The idea of a platform is to keep the wheels and trails from digging or sinking in. If one wheel sinks lower that the other or point of impact will change using the same sight picture. It is easier to roll the gun back into battery with a platform, although it will also roll back farther.

During the war if you put up a fortification you would put down a platform to improve accuracy, make it easier to move the gun, and to keep your work area from becoming muddy. They would sometimes give the platform a slope toward the front to make it easier to roll the gun back and to keep it from recoiling too far. The nice thing about recoil in a fortification with a muzzleloader was that it got the gun away from the embrasure so that you could load the gun.

Dictator · « **Reply #11 on:** January 27, 2006, 01:44:53 AM »

One thing our guys have fiddled with is a set of shallow curved ramps behind the carriage wheels. It helps reposition the gun when there are two gunners instead of a full crew. The gun rolls up on the ramps and then genlty rolls back to its approximate firing piont so all we have to do is slightly reposition the gun instead of having to push it clear back to the line. This proved handy when there was only two of us shooting the gun in a 10 round, one hour timed shoot with full power loads and no sight-in shots.

Cpt Ed · « **Reply #12 on:** January 27, 2006, 07:43:08 AM »

Hello Dictator:
Some terrific pictures and great guns you have. It looks like you are shooting at the Casper Wyoming Â“Cannon ShootÂ” Range.

Sorry I am unable to provide you with the answers to your specific questions. I was at the NMLRA Cannon Course last November as a student with a camera and also to renew some old acquaintances. The Â“ Ordnance Rifle I believe belonged to Â“BuddyÂ” Townsand the First Vice President of the NMLRA.

Back in the 1970Â’s when I was shooting an original Bronze 6pdr with the NSSA, I only used a reduced charge of 8 ounces of 2FA black powder and was firing a solid round zinc projectile of near the full weight of 6 lbs. In the 1970Â’s, we never had the opportunity to shoot full service charges.

Today at my retired age, I only shoot a half scale Parrott Rifle with a 1.5Â” bore and 1.25 ounces of 1Fg Goex and a 12 ounce solid lead Â“patchedÂ” round ball.

RE: Powder Kegs question,
On the ramps under the wheels and trail. I had noticed that you cannoneers at the Casper shoot were doing this so I made three 12 x 24 inch ramps for our December 2005 shoot. Shooting in the soft sand environment that we have here in Florida, it really made a difference in the overall accuracy. This shoot because of the uniform level platforms I was able to have 70% of my rounds hit the target. At all of the previous shoots I was lucky to have 10% hit the target.
What also helped me at this shoot was not using the period style scale breech sight I had made and replacing it with a removable fixed peep sight placed into the vent hole.