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Thread: What kind of shot used inside Napoleon canister round?

  1. #1
    cannonmn is offline
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    What kind of shot used inside Napoleon canister round?

    I need to know the exact kind of ball used in the canister rounds that would have been supplied to the 12-pounder Napoleons at the Battle of Gettysburg. Books I've looked in give specs for the 12-pdr. field howitzer round and some others but not for the 12-pdr. M1857 Napoleon, unless they are referring to that weapon by some other name.

    Diameter of balls? Material cast from? Number of balls to one canister round? Exterior dimensions of canister round? What reference to cite for that info?

    Thanks

  2. I have a minor reference from Curt Johnson and Richard C. Anderson,Jr. book "Artillery Hell" The Employment of Artillery at Antietam page 27.The balls were cast iron. Long range canister had 27 balls for the Napoleon and 92 for short range. Long range being up to 600 yards per Johnson and Anderson. Good luck on your quest. Tom B

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    cannonmn is offline
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    Thanks, that's the kind of info I was looking for. The "long range" canister with the 27 iron balls is well-documented so I know all the specs on the round and the balls, but now I know there was the short-range version as well. I suspected there was something like that but this is the first time I've heard any numbers put to it. Thanks, will keep looking.

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    Jim Brady Knap's Battery is offline
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    If you want to see a good visual of a modern canister round check this web site. It's being fired out of a 120mm smoothbore gun on an M1 Abrams tank at several thousand feet per second but the effect probably would be the same.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6wxBQ3f_0


    Jim Brady
    2249V
    Knap's Battery
    Jim Brady
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    CUM CATAPULTAE PROSCRIBEANTUR TUM SOLI PROSCRIPTI CATAPULTAS HABEANT

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    The tank cannister is much more effective. Thanks for putting up the link.
    Norm Gibson
    Charter member of the 1st South Carolina Vol. Inf. ACWSA

  6. Cannonmn,you would think the field manuals of the era would provide the above answers-they probably do but I don't have the right manuals. I tried some highschool math and this assumption. That is let the weight of the balls per canister round=12lbs. Convert to metric with 454g/lb-why? specific gravity and density are = in metric. I can find sp. gravity more often than density. 12lb=5448g/# of balls round=wt per ball. Wt ball/specific gravity= volume of ball(iron sp g=7.874) vol in cu cm. To put vol in sphere use the formula v=4.189xr 3rd power. Let the magic of a TI do the cube root for you.The r is in cm convert with 1in=2.54cm. I tried this method for a 12lb solid shot and came up with a bore diameter of Napoleon of 4.32 inches tablets tell me the muzzle dia. was 4.62 in. Thats 4-5% error in method. The 27 balls diameter would be 1.44in +4%=about 1.5in ? you have this answer let me know if this is close. The 92 short range balls I worked out to have a diameter of 0.95in +4% puts it 0.99in (call it an inch) .You know a 5448g napoleon just doesn't sound right to my old artillery ears. tom b

  7. Have to add to above post the error is really in 6% range but I used a windage of 0.10 from the tables of Confederate Field manual p10. Thus the
    better 4%--oops. tom b

  8. #8
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    This information from:

    THE ARTILLERIST'S MANUAL,
    COMPILED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES,
    AND ADAPTED TO
    THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES .
    Adopted in 1863


    Canister Shot is a tin cylinder with iron heads, filled with balls packed in with saw -dust. The heads are movable, and the edges of the tin are turned down over them to hold them in their places. The balls are made of such a size that seven of them can lie in a bed, one in the middle, and six around, making the diameter of the balls about one -third that of the bore. These balls are all made of cast iron, except for the mountain howitzer, the canisters for which are filled with musket -bullets, which, as has been shown, meet with less resistance from the air, and retain their velocity longer than cast-iron balls of a much larger size.

    A table for shot sizes shows 1.49 inch for 12 pdr and 1.08 inch for six pounder. There is mention of "Large guage" (afore mentioned diameters) and "small guage" with slightly smaller shot 1.46 for 12pdr and 1.05 for 6pdr. There is no mention of "Long range" or "short range" cannister.

    hope this helps
    Mark Hubbs,

    Eras Gone Bullet Molds www.erasgonebullets.com

    Visit my history/archaeology blog at: www.erasgone.blogspot.com

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