John Shaw Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 Over the years one finds many lead shrapnel balls but in that time I have only ever found two steel ones. Did all nations use lead or did some use steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark A Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 John- Are the steel Shrapnel balls bigger than the lead ones? I'm the same, have seen only two steel ones (now rusted obviously) compared to hundred upon hundred of lead ones... As far as your questions goes, I think I posted one a while ago and I got the answer that the German's did use steel shrapnel balls later in the war. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkristof Posted 31 August , 2004 Share Posted 31 August , 2004 As i know, the Germans used steel ones. I have about 100 comming out of a shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Shaw Posted 31 August , 2004 Author Share Posted 31 August , 2004 Thanks Mark & Bkristof It is impossible to size the steel ones as they are totaly rusted and very fragile. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 1 September , 2004 Share Posted 1 September , 2004 Because of the shortfall in the Heavy Artillery the converted some naval guns they put them in a wheeled platform. The naval shrapnel ammunition was for the most filled with 1 and 2oz sand shot, for instance the 7.5in Mk III shrapnel contained 407 2-oz sand shot.(cast iron balls). John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 1 September , 2004 Share Posted 1 September , 2004 Rabbit droppings have been confused for shrapnel balls by some! I'm serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 1 September , 2004 Share Posted 1 September , 2004 Like wise I too have a few steel shrapnel balls. I cleaned them up but they are still quite pitted from nearly 90 years of rusting. Even so they still appear to be roughly the same size as the lead ones. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somme1916 Posted 1 September , 2004 Share Posted 1 September , 2004 Rabbit droppings have been confused for shrapnel balls by some! I'm serious. I bet they don't hold up to the squeeze test very well do they?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 1 September , 2004 Share Posted 1 September , 2004 Because of the shortfall in the Heavy Artillery the converted some naval guns they put them in a wheeled platform. The naval shrapnel ammunition was for the most filled with 1 and 2oz sand shot, for instance the 7.5in Mk III shrapnel contained 407 2-oz sand shot.(cast iron balls). John JOHN You say they used cast iron, which is a crap brittle metal which would be only effective against flesh. Could it have been cast steel which with the right velocity would penetrete thin armour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 Nigel I quote " Material of bullets" Earlier marks of shrapnel 7.5in to 13.5in had bullets made of cast iron called "Sand Shot". The shell B.L. shrapnel 12in heavy Mark I |N| has 12oz steel balls. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 Someone else who cant sleep ah John ? When you say 1oz + 2oz-------that means that the shot would have been quite large, a lot bigger than rabbit droppings, i can understand the steel balls being large to penetrate harder materials but do you have any idea why the cast balls were so big ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 Nigel I would say that it was old ammunition nothing better to sweep the decks with. The naval changed and came into line with the army and used antimony balls. 4 parts lead 1 part tin. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 Do you know why they use lead alloy in shot and bullets John ? I can answer this, see i do know something. Its because when this alloy hits its target under speed, it expels its kinetic energy into the target by squashing even though it may be hitting soft flesh, so to say that a piece of shot had the force of say "x", as much of "x" as possible is transferred into its target and can cause as much damage as the penertrating wound it will also cause, An example is when you shoot a bird or rabbit whith shot from a shotgun, you will find very little of that shot has penertrated further than the skin of the animal but the animal dies immediatly from shock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnreed Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 The shrapnel balls are made as small as possible so as to get the maximum number into the shell, but the bullets must be effective. It is considered that for a field shrapnel bullet to be effective against personel it should have a stiking energy of at least 60ft-lb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMoorhouse Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 Rabbit droppings have been confused for shrapnel balls by some! I'm serious. My (7 year old) daughter made this mistake when I visited the battlefields near Arras. After spending the day dragging my family around and looking at various artefacts (7.7cm shells etc) my daughter picked up a rabbit dropping and asked me "What was this in the war?" Brendon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIGEL Posted 2 September , 2004 Share Posted 2 September , 2004 The legal muzzle velocity off a .22 airrifle- UK is i think 12ft-lbs-----------A .22 rifle starts at 100ft-lbs, i think to do damage you would need at least 30ft-lbs for this rabbit dropping shrapnel, but you say John STRIKING energy, is this correct, and if so what range are we talking about, or do you mean the equivelant of muzzle velocity. Also are we talking about rabbit dropping shot or 1oz + 2oz shrapnel which with the heavier weight need less ft lbs at striking the target Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredJCarss Posted 5 September , 2004 Share Posted 5 September , 2004 One must also consider the size of the rabbit! Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now