John B., and others,
First off, I would like to thank all of you for a very information forum. I am a long time lurker, and have used the forum to glean information on numerous shell and fuses. It is now time to return the favor, and add to the general knowledge.
John B., your drawings really do help for explaning the inner workings of shells and fuses to new EOD personnel. You have a number of very good renderings of the US Naval Water Cap Fuse, but none of them show the lead sealing cap with the time stamp. May I ask why?
This is one of many that were recovered from the wreck of the USS Westfield, a Union Gunboat that ran aground in Galveston Bay. The Captain and some twelve other men lost their lives, when the vessel blew up prematurely. The intent had been to destroy the ship, to prevent capture by the Confederates. We have the lead seals for 5, 10 & 15 seconds. If I remember correctly, a 15 seconds flight time for a IX Dahlgren shell was about 3,300 yards.
Another detail that I noticed, was that you marked all of your Water Cap Fuses with the letters "ORD D". I understand the ORD, but why the second "D". We have some 80 of these fuses from the USS Westfield, with ~ 25% having the second "D". Our date range is from 1859 through 1862 (the ship sank 1/1/63). We have a small number of fuses marked with the second "R", for reloaded - meaning the paper time fuse.
I look forward to reading your comments.
Jim J.