Artillery shell iding by shell wall thickness?

[fever87]

Artillery shell id'ing by shell wall thickness?

I've been hunting a few months now and have found a good 50-60 frags. ID'ing them is now my goal. Should one be able to tell the size of shell by the thickness of the shell wall? I have a nice chunck that is 1.6" thick but there is not enough to deteremine diameter. I've determined that the frags that are btwn .45" and .46" thick are 12lbs cannonballs but other than that I'm stuck. Any reference would be greatly appreciated.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[fever87]

Re: Artillery shell id'ing by shell wall thickness?

I do believe I've figured out where the large fragment came from. Reading the "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion" I found that the USS COMMODORE BARNEY when she arrived on 15Apr1863 carried "IX-inch guns". These Dalhgren guns fired 90 lbs balls and that would fit general what I have.
The "Official Records" for the Siege of Suffolk are an interesting read as the ADM Lee and Gen Peck traded some heated barbs in their official correspondence.

 

[CSA2K]

Re: Artillery shell id'ing by shell wall thickness?

If you're interested in any +ID post to the "What Is It" forum. Clean your relics as best as you can. You may want to invest in a caliper to get a precise measurement of the thickness. Here are some excellent online artillery archives:

http://relicman.com/artillery/zArchiveArt.AA.00.Summary.htm
http://www.civilwarartillery.com/

 

[fever87]

Re: Artillery shell id'ing by shell wall thickness?

CSA2K - thanks for the links - a tremendous wealth of info there. I will post photos of the frags I am uncertain of. I have a list of the guns, both Navy and Army, that would have been in play at the seige of Suffolk so I can narrow it down somewhat. It's just a bit of a guessing game beyond that. I do appreciate your help.