troy_mclure
New member
why did they make cannon balls from iron instead of lead?
cannon balls, why iron?
- Thread starter troy_mclure
- Start date
Probably because cannon balls were used to penetrate walls of fortresses or the sides of armored ships. The hardness of iron means they don't flatten out like a lead ball would.
Antipersonnel ammo for cannons was usually grapeshot or canister shot. This effectively turned the cannons into big shotguns. Also, gunpowder filled explosive shells with time delay fuses were fired from cannons. This is what Francis Scott Key referred to when he wrote "and bombs bursting in air". In 1812, bombs were shot from cannons, not dropped by airplanes.
Antipersonnel ammo for cannons was usually grapeshot or canister shot. This effectively turned the cannons into big shotguns. Also, gunpowder filled explosive shells with time delay fuses were fired from cannons. This is what Francis Scott Key referred to when he wrote "and bombs bursting in air". In 1812, bombs were shot from cannons, not dropped by airplanes.
Remember the Cannon ball was just a little smaller than the bore.
The first cannon balls were made from stone. Lead wasn't used for cannon balls for several reasons. Some being that it would have been too valuable since the lead was needed for musket balls. Also the heat generated by the gunpowder charge would have melted some of the lead.
Iron could be cast into a perfect shape along with modifications such as filled with gunpowder and a fuse.
The first cannon balls were made from stone. Lead wasn't used for cannon balls for several reasons. Some being that it would have been too valuable since the lead was needed for musket balls. Also the heat generated by the gunpowder charge would have melted some of the lead.
Iron could be cast into a perfect shape along with modifications such as filled with gunpowder and a fuse.
Lower density could mean longer range as well, stronger walls could probably protect explosives inside. Iron would make sense but until now I never considered what cannon balls were made from. I hope to have a small cannon someday but the mortars look like fun, especially the brass ones.
There was an interesting tv program about our war with Mexico in the 1800s. They were doing detailed examination of the battle scene .To their surprize they found the Mexicans had used COPPER cannon balls !! The Spanish had gone into Mexico for the silver. Copper was a then unwanted byproduct of silver so they used it for cannon balls ! Perhaps they also didn't have a supply of iron ore.
Could it be?
A lead ball would be about half again as heavy as an iron ball. This would mean heavier guns to withstand the additional stress. There are already plenty of accounts of the gun explosions meaning that the science of artillery design and material knowledge had advanced only far enough to result in relatively few options to deal with the higher breach pressures of heavier projectiles. With only limited ability to consistently predict breach pressure and the ability of the gun to handle it, the single defence against accidents was a large safety margin. Hence a heavier gun for a heavier projectile and powder charge.
Heavier guns are:
1. more expensive to make. (Iron was scarse)
2. harder to wrestle around on the battlefield. (Note that the heavier guns used at sea...24 and 32 pounders, which also employed iron shot almost exclusively, were much more massive than those used in the field.)
A lead ball would be about half again as heavy as an iron ball. This would mean heavier guns to withstand the additional stress. There are already plenty of accounts of the gun explosions meaning that the science of artillery design and material knowledge had advanced only far enough to result in relatively few options to deal with the higher breach pressures of heavier projectiles. With only limited ability to consistently predict breach pressure and the ability of the gun to handle it, the single defence against accidents was a large safety margin. Hence a heavier gun for a heavier projectile and powder charge.
Heavier guns are:
1. more expensive to make. (Iron was scarse)
2. harder to wrestle around on the battlefield. (Note that the heavier guns used at sea...24 and 32 pounders, which also employed iron shot almost exclusively, were much more massive than those used in the field.)
g.willikers
New member
Somehow hollering,
"Get the iron out!"
at a slowpoke,
just doesn't have the same effect as
"Get the lead out!"
"Get the iron out!"
at a slowpoke,
just doesn't have the same effect as
"Get the lead out!"
ForneyRider
New member
depleted uranium wasn't available. rofl.
grymster2007
New member
I think JohnKSa nailed it.
I have a little, brass Mountain Howitzer that I'm currently building a naval carriage for. Seeing how it's only about a .30 caliber unit, I plan to shoot #0 lead buckshot.TXGunNut said:
I read that early cannon balls were made from stone.
While a lead projectile would be heavier for the same diameter and carry further, that would not be an advantage for Civil War and earlier cannon.
Civil War cannon have sights, many earlier ones don't. A civil war Napoleon could hit a pickup truck at 500 yards, and that was about it. Cast iron cannon balls could hit as far as you could see and that was the limit of the accuracy of the things.
While a lead projectile would be heavier for the same diameter and carry further, that would not be an advantage for Civil War and earlier cannon.
Civil War cannon have sights, many earlier ones don't. A civil war Napoleon could hit a pickup truck at 500 yards, and that was about it. Cast iron cannon balls could hit as far as you could see and that was the limit of the accuracy of the things.
Iron did flatten here at the Castillo
"The hardness of iron means they don't flatten out like a lead ball would."
The Castillo De San Marcos, here in Saint Augustine, Florida underwent a few sieges during its time - and it is made out of coquina stone. When it was hit by the iron cannonballs, they would often bounce off the walls, or indeed, flatten out as the stone absorbed the hits.
"The hardness of iron means they don't flatten out like a lead ball would."
The Castillo De San Marcos, here in Saint Augustine, Florida underwent a few sieges during its time - and it is made out of coquina stone. When it was hit by the iron cannonballs, they would often bounce off the walls, or indeed, flatten out as the stone absorbed the hits.
grymster2007
New member
Iron isn't all that hard, but hard enough that it would deform considerably less than lead.
armoredman
New member
Cast iron shatters, providing shrapnel. Cast iron can be cast hollow for explosives. Cast iron balls were sometimes roasted red hot before firing to "encourage" enemy ships to catch fire. Lighter and easier to transport than lead, and logistics is a killer in the days of horse drawn supply lines.
Bill DeShivs
New member
Slamfire,
Do you have any documented evidence of pickup trucks being hit with cannon fire during the civil war?
Armoredman,
Dropping a red hot cannon ball on top of a load of black powder seems just a little dangerous. Where on the ship did they heat those cannon balls, the engine room?
Do you have any documented evidence of pickup trucks being hit with cannon fire during the civil war?
Armoredman,
Dropping a red hot cannon ball on top of a load of black powder seems just a little dangerous. Where on the ship did they heat those cannon balls, the engine room?
If it's true, they probably used some wadding between the powder and the ball. Also, they almost never just poured loose power down the bores of cannons like is often done with small arms.
Usually, pre-measured bags of powder were inserted down the bore. A vent pick was then poked down the vent to make a hole in the bag so the fuse or priming charge could light the powder.
Usually, pre-measured bags of powder were inserted down the bore. A vent pick was then poked down the vent to make a hole in the bag so the fuse or priming charge could light the powder.
armoredman
New member
That was in the days of the tall ships, not steam. 
I have no idea where they heated them, I would have to assume in some variant of a brass monkey. I also am assuming they used a wadding, but once again, relating what I have read and been told, never treid it myself. 
I have no idea where they heated them, I would have to assume in some variant of a brass monkey. I also am assuming they used a wadding, but once again, relating what I have read and been told, never treid it myself. The red hot cannonballs would usually have a barrier between them and the powder, yes. I believe they were also handled with tongs. There's a small structure at the Castillo ( yes, my town of Saint Augustine, FL, again ) called the Hot Shot Furnace where the cannonballs could be heated up before firing them off at wooden vessels. I don't know what the shipboard method would be - maybe something similar. The only problem with the one at the Castillo is that the furnace wasn't in place by the US Army until 1845 - and the Civil War brought about the ironclads, rendering it useless ( unless the objective was to give all the men aboard them some horrible concussion injuries ).