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ORIGINAL: JWE
It wasn't till the US Civil War era that harbor forts became marginalized. Naval weapons became more powerful ...

Speaking as a gunner, Columbiads were some of the biggest pieces of crap ever foisted on a gullible Govt (ok, there were worse ones, but that was now, this is then). Low-velocity, large caliber, smooth bore, shell guns, that went boom very loud, but couldn't penetrate a well built stone outhouse. It took 4 Russian Battleships (and 2 big frigates), armed with shell guns, over 4 hours to sink 7 anchored Turkish frigates at Sinope in 1853.

And then came naval "Rifles" and the world changed. Just look at Kearsarge and Alabama; two ships that have been cussed, discussed, sliced and diced, by hundreds of historians and Naval Officers since 1879, and every single one avers they were as equivalent as two peas in a pod. Ok, so let's just look for a second at 2x 11" Dahlgren SBs and a 4" Parrott Rifle, vs a 6.4" Blakely Rifle and a Simmons 8" SB (excluding both ship's broadside SB cannons). Woof !! That says volumes, right there, about Mr Blakely.

They coulda, shoulda, woulda, if the damn shell they put in Kearsarge's rudder assembly went off!! Black powder, in explosive shells, in 1864!! You take a pee within 10 feet of that stuff and it gets damp and just fizzles. Schonbein was reporting on nitrocellulose since 1846, and Fredrick Abel was dinking with it in 1862, but it took till Vielle in 1882 to get it together ?? Aw, Woof !! Just goes to show, if there ain't no war going on, there just ain't nothing happening nowhere, nohow.

It was kinda like the Pacific War that started with neat airplanes and machine guns and ended with jets and atomic bombs. Civil War started with smooth-bores and some few rifled pieces, with Napoleonic deployment practice, and ended with the introduction of modern rifled artillery weapons and their attendent deployment techniques.

[ed] But then again one must, simply must, give a bit of a push to Fts. Jefferson, Gaines, Moultrie, Magruder, DeSoto ...

Todays puppy pic;

... and the continuation. It's my youngest niece that's getting a facewash.

... good night, friends [>:]

Evening tithe... good night in the Pacific last turn, in my Pbem against Q-Ball;

When I-1 put two torpedoes into AO Neosho coming north from Pearl harbor, and put her under, evading the escort.

Hi all,

Good morning!


Leo "Apollo11"

MId day tithe.

ORIGINAL: JWE

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

ORIGINAL: Apollo11

OK!
BTW, in Europe in the time past 18th century the fort walls were made at "angles" (i.e. star shaped and such) - was this the case here as well?
Leo "Apollo11"

Yes.

The Vauban star pattern European forts were set up to define flanking and cross fire against folks trying to assault the works. Kinda different thing for harbor defenses. Most were just big blocks of brick. But 6 feet of brick was a skoosh better that 2 feet of oak, so ...

The deal with harbor forts was the gunners (ok, I'm assuming a modicum of smarts, here) had range marks, and range tables, and a stable gun platform, and could 'relatively' repeatably shoot 'accurately' at a target. At least that was the theory. For the most part it worked. Sumter was operational till almost the very end.

It wasn't till the US Civil War era that harbor forts became marginalized. Naval weapons became more powerful and their platforms became more locally maneuverable. A real bitch for a gunner; a lot harder to hit, and the counter-battery tends to hurt. Soon as somebody figured out this thing called penetration, and put some beefy Naval Rifles on a warship, that was pretty much the end of the Brick-and-Mortar Harbor Defense Fort.

I have to give a shout out to my childhood neighborhood playground, Fort McHenry. [8D]

Good beautiful Sunday morning to all my Brothers - Tithe. [&o][&o][&o]

Time to clean up a bit...

New page. [8D]

[&o]

Wow. HelmutLindaJapan5thTanksGuardsArmyWhatever is back ...

Hi all,

ORIGINAL: Grollub

Wow. HelmutLindaJapan5thTanksGuardsArmyWhatever is back ...

Where Per?


Leo "Apollo11"

Opponents wanted (as usual). He's now known as "Spiderman"

Sort of looks like Japan is never going to give-up, he really is a pain.

Bloody penalty shoot out

I have to give a shout out to my childhood neighborhood playground, Fort McHenry.

I spent many happy hours here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scraesdon_Fort

Another of Palmerston's Follies

Adios, England. Germany - Italy next. Should be good.

Todays puppy pic