You're welcome, Bart. Here is some additional info.
John D. Bartleson Jr. wrote:
> You would think that the C.S. would have removed the poor performance Britten fuze
> and replaced it with one of theirs.
All of the Britten fuzes (percussion and time) had left-twist threading, which of course had to match the threading in the shells. So, the Confederates faced an additional problem in the prospect of removing the poor performance Britten fuze from the shell and replacing it with one of theirs. It would have to be made with left-twist threading. The Confederates actually did do that, with one of the rarest of all variations of CS timefuze adapter plugs. One is shown in the group photo in this discsussion. It has left-twist threading, like all the British-made Britten fuzes.
Using a Percussion fuze in a case-shot shell is wasteful, because the case-shot balls/slugs/wedges will only hit the solid object the fuze detonates on. So, the Confederates removed the Britten Percussion fuze from some 3.5" Britten Case-Shot shells, and replaced it with a CS-made timefuze plug which had left-twist threading.
That is Reason #3 why (in my opinion) the Confederates did not make any copies of the Britten Percussion fuze. Not only was that fuze poor-performing, to use it in Britten shells you'd have to manufacture your copy with left-twist threading -- which meant it could be used ONLY in certain types of scarce imported British-made shells. Better to just make lots of well-performing Archer fuzes, with the standard American right-twist threading.
Regards,
Pete
Regards,
Pete