tonycad Posted 27 September , 2005 Share Posted 27 September , 2005 I have been reading an official, simplified account of the working of shrapnel shells. It describes how the ignition of the charge in the fuse sets off the base charge, which ejects the shrapnel balls. The force of the base explosion forces the fuse off the head of the shell by stripping the thread which attaches it to the body of the shell. However, the screw threads of the few shrapnel fuses I have in my small collection appear to be undamaged, when I would have thought the softer brass fuses would have stripped before the iron threads of the shells. It could be that the threads of my fuses, about 1mm deep, would have originally been deeper at 2mm+. Would any pal have an explanation of these circumstances. Thank you t ny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony N Posted 27 September , 2005 Share Posted 27 September , 2005 Hello Tony, I have a very nice fired but clean 18Ib shell with a very shiny fuze that even has moving parts. Although the thread on the fuze is good, it isn't deep enough to screw into the shell's thread so, I believe your suggestion of the thread originally being deeper could possibly be correct. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycad Posted 27 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 27 September , 2005 Dear Tony, Thank you for your rapid response, which seems reasonable in the cicumstances. Would your fuse reveal how the timing ring was driven. Is there a spring rechanism graduated in seconds, and would you know how the spring was activated to start the countdown. Would it have been the concussion of the shell being fired. The more I know, the more questions I have! t ony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 27 September , 2005 Share Posted 27 September , 2005 Tony, Have a search for shrapnel shells - there has been quite a lot of discussion on the subject. Some threads here: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...ghlite=shrapnel Especially this one: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...597&hl=shrapnel The fuze does indeed have a shallow thread into the shell casing, in addition I believe the shell case expands (swells) on detonation (18 pdrs have a very characteristic shape) easing the ejection of the fuze. The timing of the fuze is determined by the burning of a set of black powder trains within the different timing rings. The shock of firing initiates the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycad Posted 28 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 28 September , 2005 Dear Giles, Many thanks for the two links to the previous correspondence on the working of shrapnel fuses. They answered most of my questions. However, one final question - how was the powder chain created when the timing ring was set. Was it thet the setting exposed a length of the chain, or was there a source of powder spread out to create the chain. Thank you T ony -- me looking in from the dark outside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 28 September , 2005 Share Posted 28 September , 2005 Tony, (IIRC) The fuze contains a number of overlapping rings burning in sequence. The relationship of each ring to the other determines how long the burning train of powder is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonycad Posted 28 September , 2005 Author Share Posted 28 September , 2005 Giles, Thank you again. It's wonderful how a two line explanation can make an obscure subject so understandable! T ny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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