Bullet and Shell Civil War Projectiles Forum
Relic Discussion => Artillery => Topic started by: CarlS on February 18, 2019, 09:07:24 PM
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RelicRunner asked me about a shell that he found in an image that I recognized as being from the well known images of the CSS Teaser. Here is a prior thread with some of those images:
http://bulletandshell.com/forum/index.php?topic=686.0
It was hard for me to believe that was 2012; 7 years ago. This shell is a 6.4-inch Mullane (Tennesee Sabot) which surprisingly used a wood adapter. I dont recall seeing many of these big Mullanes that used a wooden adapter but perhaps it is just my slipping mind.
But one thing I noticed when I pulled up the image and looked closely at the shell is some construction things. This is on a boat so is a finished product ready to be used.. It appears to me that there are very obvious air bubbles in both the iron and the sabot although most of the black dots are spots on the image. The sides of the sell are quite rough from being sand cast while, as expected, the bourrelets are very smooth from being lathed down. It has a nice smooth well formed fuse hole. This is odd in that there is no plug but an open fuse hole. Is there exposed powder inside? Just above the bottom bourrelet is what would appear to be some rebate from the lathe but looking closer it is rough and was part of the sand cast. The shell also seems to have a white cast to it but being a B&W image one can't tell for sure. Perhaps it is a light orange surface rust from the elements. The shell doesn't appear to have been painted.
Anyway, might not be of much interest to anyone but I found it so and thought I'd share some thoughts. I always wonder what they might have looked like out of the factory. There are non-battlefield shells around but one can't be sure what the museum or someone might have done over the years to change the original look.
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Carl,
I looked at the entire original thread and I am reminded that one of my original targets of research was to identify and offer information on the accessories and accoutrements that went with the guns and projectiles - the reason you referred me to the Cairo Museum. My guess is that all of the open questions offered in that thread are now resolved as to those asking. If not I'll help if I can. By now I'm certain that Dave knows all about the sights. And as I understand it, the gun on the Teaser WAS a rifled and banded 32lbr, and the implied use with elongated projectiles would confirm that.
Happy Tuesday everybody.
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Bill,
Thanks for the comments. I also understood the gun on the Teaser to be a rifled 32-lber and the short pattern shell supports that thought.
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In what areas did the CSS Teaser operate?
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Virginia area
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Teaser
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thanks Mike.....I had found that myself
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FYI...also found this about the USS Onondaga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Onondaga_(1863)
It had TWO turrets, each with a 15" and 11" gun.
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Why would that big Mullane shell have a wood fuse plug? Couldn't the hole be threaded? Since it was obviously a photographer's prop, taken from somewhere else, would they not try to deactivate it prior to placement by the big gun. I believe it most likely had a percussion fuse. A wood fuse plug with a paper time fuse was not wanted in close combat with ships or shore. If it actually did have a wood fuse plug, then I suspect it was set up for a Girardey's percussion fuse. I assume this was a CS Navy shell. They put lots of percussion fuses in their ammo. By mid-1863, the Navy was ordering lots of Girardey's fuses from Augusta where there was a machine for mass-production of those excellent percussion fuses.
The pages below contain some interesting info for all Mullane lovers. The first page, an order from January 1864, directed the Savannah batteries to turn in all Mullanes with the "Tennessee cup" and replace them with "projectiles with the Parrott sabot." I wonder do they refer to the familiar wrought iron cast-in cup or the late-war cast-on copper ring sabot? I have a contemporary letter calling for the replacement of all copper Tennessee sabots with iron which testing proved worked just as well.
The second page identifies John Mullane, a civilian ordnance agent working out of the Montgomery Arsenal. In 1864, he was transferred to Danville, VA, to produce wrought iron 3 inch Rifles like the popular Federal Ordnance Gun. Tredegar's records confirm the production of at least one such "Mullane Gun."
The 3rd and 4th pages discuss the field testing of the Mullane Gun in the western theater. The results were unfavorable which was blamed on the projectile's (a 3 inch Read-Parrott, I think) sabot failing to take the rifling grooves. By the end of the war, Mullane was ready for the large-scale production of wrought iron 3 inch Rifles. I wonder if any were made?
Woodenhead
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I agree that I expected the fuse hole to be threaded. As I said in my initial post I don't recall seeing one of those big CS shells that used a wooden fuse adapter before and as you say why would they on a boat? See below a close up of the fuse hole. It appears to not be threaded to me. I would also expect more of a lip on the shell face if it were for a percussion fuse. But who knows?
But as I wrote the sentences above I recalled one Mike sold not very long ago that was a 7" Brooke with a wood fuse adapter hole:
http://www.bulletandshell.com/Items/item.php?id=A00625
I don't know if this shell was fired from a land battery or from a ship. Also the big Broun shells from Mobile used wood fuse adapters. Without pulling out my books I'm sure there are plenty of others. Not sure it makes sense to me other than they could make shells faster than fuses due to all the machining and assembly necessary so they cast some to use the easy to make wood fuse adapter. When I invent my time machine I'll go back and ask them.
While I agree the shell is likely set there as a prop for the image I can't see them going off the Teaser to find something unless the Teaser just happened to have no rounds on board. But on further thought perhaps there is a plug filling the fuse hole and it is just out of sight.
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you're welcome
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Carl,
I thought these images of a 7in Broun shell might add something to this post. Recovered from a river battery on the Alabama River along with Bolts.
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And the sabot & base of the 7in shell
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Among the CSS Teaser's accomplishment's was it was the Confederacy's first and only aircraft carrier when it was used in 1862 as the launching point for an observation balloon.
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Interesting info with good clear images considering the era of the photography.
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Taking the time to read the papery posted Woodenhead and the first sheet stood out to me regarding the Tennessee Sabot (Mullane) shells. Item II states:
He will also request Lt. Cunningham to call in all the rifle projectiles with the Tennessee Cup as soon as possible and substitute for them projectiles with the Parrott Sabot.
SO it sounds like they recalled the Mullanes and presumably melted them down to be recast as Read shells. They must have been really ineffective for them to go to that much work rather than just fire them and get Reads to replace them. But perhaps this is a fort or similar where the chance of use was low but they wanted the have effective projectiles. Another big plus and it might have been the driving need was to reclaim some copper to put to better use.
I also thought of the very neat Mullane that Mike has where they converted a Read shell to a Mullane. Here is a similar projectile from Jack's web site:
http://www.civilwarartillery.com/hap/page137.htm
but it is a Dahlgren that was converted.