Cannon balls

hi,
I was wondering if cannonballs (from the american independance war for example or any other period) did explode after being fired or did they just fly and then hit the ground?

I know for certian there are grape shot anti personel cannon balls during the War between the states, they exploded on impact and had a fragmentaion affect, im not to sure about the revolutionary war....

Originally posted by DarkSide
hi,
I was wondering if cannonballs (from the american independance war for example or any other period) did explode

If not then they would have been pretty useless against soldiers. (because of need to hit directly)

Well, from my knowledge of cannon (mainly naval) the cannonballs were solid and ripped big holes in ships. Grape shot wasn't actually explosive, it was loas of small balls, like grapes, crammed down the barrel. There was abother type of shot of two sold balls with a chain between used for taking down other hips masts too.

To elaborate on what MINIMI said, cannons as far as I know were used mostly to punch holes in major defences like garrison walls and such. Maybe to disrupt a cavalry charge but werent really used against troops.

They would fire on other cannon units but other than that it was musket vs musket and bayonet vs bayonet.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Spiderj

Originally posted by DarkSide
hi,
I was wondering if cannonballs (from the american independance war for example or any other period) did explode after being fired or did they just fly and then hit the ground?

Explosive cannonshells were first invented and used very shortly after the cannon (I'm not a historian, but I'm pretty sure by the mid 1600s). However until accurate fusing was invented (civil war era) they were not common.

Today virtually all artillery uses exploding shells of one sort or another.

All the movies i have seen the cannon balls just hit the ground and kick up a lot of dirt this somehow throws a solider 20 feet in the air maybe they explode.

I don't think they exploaded on impact as far as I know and have seen they just rip through you if your in the way, they stay intact for them to exploaded they have to have some sort of charge inside them. Which I dont think is a good idea when your fireing it out of a cannon.

[edit on 27-6-2004 by SE7EN]

Maybe some of the later cannonballs did but I don't think they exploded. As for seeing that in movies well thats hollywood for ya.

i dont think they exploded. they probably kicked up a lot a dirt or used to rip holes in bastions, sails, or ship hulls. i dont think it was used intentionally on troops, musket volleys or bayonet charge mustve been more effective.

I am new here, so first and foremost, I would like to say hello. Concerning the cannon question, as far as I am aware, there was a type of cannon very similar to a modern day mortar, which acted like an infantry supporting howitzer. It was French if I am not mistaken, very short barreled, and could only lob an explosive ball a few hundred meters out. I'm not exactly sure what the specific name of it is, but basically, they dropped the ball into the barrel, lit a fuse, then ignited the gun powder behind the ball (just like a normal cannon) which propelled the ball up at a very steep trajectory, then, when it came down, it exploded right away. They must have had some sort of art to the fuse lengths and so on to be able to time it right, but it was very effective and pounding the crap out of the inside of a fort with thick anti-cannon defenses. I am assuming that the explosive lethality was a combination of HE and AP, but I am not positive. As far as development goes, they were around during the French and Indian wars, so I guess the 17/18th century sounds fairly accurate. For a good reference, check out the movie "Last of the Mohiccans." I Hope that helped you a bit...

Explosive shells were definitely used in the Civil War. generally in mortars and howitzers.

www.civilwarartillery.com...

One interesting fact, the Parrott gun was the first to use a sabot shot.

Cannonballs did explode. They had a burning piece of rope inside them that was put in just before launching. The rifling on the barrel caused spun the cannonball and kept the smoldering rope to the outside. As soon as the cannonball reached it's destination or came to a halt, the piece of rope would no longer be held by centrifugal force and fall into the charge material that was in the center of the cannonball. Just a little info and I'll try to dig up a link.

cccchunt

Originally posted by cccchunt
Cannonballs did explode. They had a burning piece of rope inside them that was put in just before launching. The rifling on the barrel caused spun the cannonball and kept the smoldering rope to the outside. As soon as the cannonball reached it's destination or came to a halt, the piece of rope would no longer be held by centrifugal force and fall into the charge material that was in the center of the cannonball. Just a little info and I'll try to dig up a link.

cccchunt

To quote the following link: college.hmco.com...

"Exploding cannonballs appeared in the sixteenth century, but the fragility of the cast iron projectiles and the unreliability of slow match fuses limited their use to short-barreled mortars."

Originally posted by cccchunt
Cannonballs did explode. They had a burning piece of rope inside them that was put in just before launching. The rifling on the barrel caused spun the cannonball and kept the smoldering rope to the outside. As soon as the cannonball reached it's destination or came to a halt, the piece of rope would no longer be held by centrifugal force and fall into the charge material that was in the center of the cannonball. Just a little info and I'll try to dig up a link.

cccchunt

That makes no sense. So if the ball was hollow and filled with explosives, what would prevent the centrifugal force from causing the internal explosives to contact the rope? I think that the burning rope was actually a fuse

thanks a lot