3-inch ordnance rifle
3-inch ordnance rifle | |
---|---|
Type | Rifled cannon |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1860–1880s |
Used by | United States, Confederate States |
Wars | American Civil War |
Production history | |
Designer | John Griffen, Jr. Samuel J. Reeves U.S. Ordnance Dept. |
Designed | 1854, 1862 |
Manufacturer | Phoenix Iron Works (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) |
Unit cost | $330–$350 |
Produced | 1860–1867 |
No. built | 1,100 |
Variants | 1854 (Griffen gun) |
Specifications | |
Mass | 820 lb (371.9 kg) |
Length | 69 in (1.75 m) |
Crew | 9 |
Shell weight | 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) shell 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) charge |
Caliber | 3.0 in (76 mm) |
Barrels | 1 |
Action | Muzzle loading |
Carriage | 900 lb (408 kg) |
Muzzle velocity | 1,215 ft/s (370 m/s) |
Effective firing range | 1,830 yd (1,670 m) at 5° |
Maximum firing range | 4,180 yd (3,820 m) at 16° |
The 3-inch ordnance rifle, model 1861 was a
Background
Griffen gun
By 1835, so many 6-pounder cast iron cannons had burst during proofing tests that the United States Ordnance Department decided to abandon cast iron and produce field artillery from bronze. The successful M1841 6-pounder field gun was the result of this decision.[1] Gun founders had tried to produce cannons from wrought iron, but the material had not fulfilled its promise. In 1844, the 12-inch wrought iron "Peacemaker" cannon burst during a demonstration aboard the USS Princeton, killing the Secretaries of State and the Navy and others. The accident was caused by bad forging and burned metal.[2]
In 1854, Safe Harbor Iron Works of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania produced high-quality iron rods used in lighthouse construction. The company's superintendent John Griffen proposed manufacturing a cannon by welding together a bundle of wrought iron rods and then drilling out the bore.[2] Later, the process was refined by winding a bar spirally around the bundle. Two additional bars were wound around the bundle and then the mass was subjected to welding heat. Finally, trunnions were added and a bore was drilled out. Samuel J. Reeves, president of Safe Harbor's parent company Phoenix Iron Works, approved of Griffen's method and a cannon was manufactured in late 1854.[3]
The approximately 700 lb (318 kg) Griffen gun was sent to Fort Monroe for trial but it was not immediately tested. Meanwhile, Griffen was issued a patent for the gun on 25 December 1855. Captain Alexander Brydie Dyer undertook proofing tests of the gun in 1856 with Griffen as a witness. The gun passed the proofing tests and when Dyer asked if he wanted to continue, Griffen challenged him to burst the gun. The Griffen gun was subsequently fired 500 times with no apparent damage. Then the gun was fired nine more times with increasing numbers of shot and heavier gunpowder charges. The gun finally burst on the tenth shot when the bore was filled to the muzzle with 13 shot and 7 lb (3 kg) of gunpowder. After Dyer's highly favorable report, four more Griffen guns were manufactured and sent to be tested.[3]
Reeves's process
The U.S. Ordnance Department requested four wrought iron guns of 3.5 in (89 mm) caliber on 21 February 1861. The government only bought two of these guns, paying $370 apiece, but neither gun are known to have survived. Phoenix Iron Company also produced a few 6-pounders of 3.67 in (93 mm) caliber of which seven survivors are dated 1861 and have "PATENTED DEC. 25, 1855" stamped on one trunnion. On 24 July 1861, General James Wolfe Ripley of the U.S. Army ordered 300 wrought iron rifled cannons from Phoenix Iron Works. The U.S. Ordnance Department designed a gun that eliminated all decorations so that the gun barrel consisted of a "blended sweeping curve". The cost was between $330[3] and $350 per gun.[4]
Reeves soon discovered that using Griffen's original technique produced only one good gun out of three attempts. A modification to Griffen's process still resulted in 40% of the gun barrels being unusable. A frustrated Reeves then invented an entirely new method of production. He started with a hollow tube or solid bar of wrought iron and wrapped it with sheets of iron until the pile was the diameter of the gun's bore.[5] Sheets of iron were wrapped around the pile and forged and welded to the pile. The finished gun block was then bored out, removing almost all of the original pile. Reeves filed for a patent for his new method and convinced the examiners that it was different from a process described in an earlier patent granted to David T. Yeakel. His process received a patent on 9 December 1862.[6]
Production
Phoenix Iron Works produced 1,100 wrought iron 3-inch ordnance rifles during the war.[7] Singer, Nimick and Company manufactured 6 rifles with a profile identical to the ordnance rifle, but they were made of steel and much more expensive. Three are known to have survived. One surviving 3-inch wrought iron Wiard rifle exists, but it has an unusual band across the trunnions.[8] The Confederate States manufactured an estimated 84 cast iron 3-inch rifles, at least 61 of them at the Tredegar Iron Works;[9] several appear to be imitations of the U.S. Ordnance Department design.[10] However, the Tredegar guns were manufactured with cast iron and earned a bad reputation for bursting in action.[11]
Specifications
The muzzleloading 3-inch ordnance rifle,[12] Model 1861 had a bore (caliber) with a diameter of 3.0 in (76 mm). Its gun barrel weighed 820 lb (371.9 kg) and fired a projectile weighing 9.5 lb (4.3 kg). The gunpowder charge weighed 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) and fired the projectile with a muzzle velocity of 1,215 ft/s (370 m/s) to a distance of 1,830 yd (1,673 m) at 5° elevation.[13] The 3-inch rifle could hurl a shell 4,180 yd (3,822 m) at 16° elevation.[14] Unlike a smoothbore cannon, the 3-inch rifle's projectile retained two-thirds of its muzzle velocity at 1,500 yd (1,372 m) – or 839 ft/s (256 m/s) – so that its rifled projectile was invisible in flight. A smoothbore cannon's projectile retained only one-third of its muzzle velocity at that range and its round shot could be seen in the air. However, a rifled projectile could become visible if the shell began to tumble out of control. Tumbling occurred when the shell failed to take the grooves inside the gun barrel or when the spin wore off in flight.[15] The 3-inch gun's rifling consisted of seven lands and grooves with a right-hand twist.[3] The twist rate was one turn in 11 ft (3.4 m).[16]
The 3-inch ordnance rifle was mounted on the standard carriage for the 6-pounder field gun. Because its projectile was heavier than a 6-pound shot, the 3-inch rifle's greater recoil sometimes caused damage to the trail or the cheek pieces of the carriage.
Union batteries were generally organized with 6 guns of identical type, whether the 3-inch ordnance rifle or another type. At the Battle of Gettysburg on 1–3 July 1863, 50 of the 65 Union batteries numbered 6 guns and 64 of those batteries had guns of identical type.[21][note 1] Each 6-gun battery required 14 six-horse teams and seven spare horses.[22] The teams pulled the six artillery pieces and limbers, six caissons, one battery wagon, and one traveling forge. Each caisson carried two ammunition chests.[23] The limber carried one additional ammunition chest.[24] The 3-inch ordnance rifle carried 50 rounds in each ammunition chest.[25] A memo from November 1863 stated that rifled guns ought to have 25 common shells, 20 spherical case shot (shrapnel), and five canister rounds in each ammunition chest. In March 1865, a memo recommended that each chest carry 30 common shells, 15 spherical case shot, and five canister rounds for rifled guns of the horse artillery.[26] Each 6-horse team was controlled by three drivers and each gun crew was made up of nine artillerists.[27]
Description | Dimension |
---|---|
Diameter of the bore (caliber) | 3.0 in (7.62 cm) |
Length of the bore | 65.0 in (165.1 cm) |
Length from the rear of the knob to the face of the muzzle | 72.7 in (184.7 cm) |
Length from the rear of the knob to the center of the trunnions | 31.285 in (79.5 cm) |
Length from the center of the trunnions to the face of the muzzle | 41.415 in (105.2 cm) |
Diameter of the trunnions | 3.67 in (9.3 cm) |
Thickness of metal at the muzzle | 1.5 in (3.8 cm) |
Thickness of metal at the vent | 3.355 in (8.5 cm) |
History
Over 350 3-inch ordnance rifles still existed in 2004, many of them in
The 3-inch ordnance rifle proved to be extremely durable in action, with only one reported case of failure. During the
At the
The 3-inch ordnance rifle was utilized until the 1880s.[35] In the years 1879–1881, six of these guns were re-bored to a caliber of 3.18 in (81 mm), re-rifled, converted to breechloaders, and renamed 3.2-inch Breechloading Rifles (Converted). The guns performed well in their new configuration and this experiment eventually led to the adoption of the 3.2-inch gun M1897. In 1903, more than 200 obsolete 3-inch ordnance rifles were converted to saluting guns.[36]
Civil War artillery
Description | Caliber | Tube length | Tube weight | Carriage weight | Shot weight | Charge weight | Range 5° elev. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M1841 6-pounder field gun | 3.67 in (9.3 cm) | 60 in (152 cm) | 884 lb (401 kg) | 900 lb (408 kg) | 6.1 lb (2.8 kg) | 1.25 lb (0.6 kg) | 1,523 yd (1,393 m) |
M1841 12-pounder field gun | 4.62 in (11.7 cm) | 78 in (198 cm) | 1,757 lb (797 kg) | 1,175 lb (533 kg) | 12.3 lb (5.6 kg) | 2.5 lb (1.1 kg) | 1,663 yd (1,521 m) |
M1841 12-pounder howitzer | 4.62 in (11.7 cm) | 53 in (135 cm) | 788 lb (357 kg) | 900 lb (408 kg) | 8.9 lb (4.0 kg) | 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) | 1,072 yd (980 m) |
M1841 24-pounder howitzer | 5.82 in (14.8 cm) | 65 in (165 cm) | 1,318 lb (598 kg) | 1,128 lb (512 kg) | 18.4 lb (8.3 kg) | 2.0 lb (0.9 kg) | 1,322 yd (1,209 m) |
M1857 12-pounder Napoleon | 4.62 in (11.7 cm) | 66 in (168 cm) | 1,227 lb (557 kg) | 1,128 lb (512 kg) | 12.3 lb (5.6 kg) | 2.5 lb (1.1 kg) | 1,619 yd (1,480 m) |
12-pounder James rifle | 3.67 in (9.3 cm) | 60 in (152 cm) | 875 lb (397 kg) | 900 lb (408 kg)[38] | 12 lb (5.4 kg) | 0.75 lb (0.3 kg) | 1,700 yd (1,554 m) |
3-inch ordnance rifle | 3.0 in (7.6 cm) | 69 in (175 cm) | 820 lb (372 kg) | 900 lb (408 kg)[18] | 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) | 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) | 1,830 yd (1,673 m) |
10-pounder Parrott rifle | 3.0 in (7.6 cm) | 74 in (188 cm) | 899 lb (408 kg) | 900 lb (408 kg)[18] | 9.5 lb (4.3 kg) | 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) | 1,900 yd (1,737 m) |
20-pounder Parrott rifle | 3.67 in (9.3 cm) | 84 in (213 cm) | 1,750 lb (794 kg) | 1,175 lb (533 kg)[38] | 20 lb (9.1 kg) | 2.0 lb (0.9 kg) | 1,900 yd (1,737 m) |
Notes
- Footnotes
- ^ According to Cole, the only unit at Gettysburg with guns of mixed type was Sterling's 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery Battery (p. 56).
- ^ Johnson and Anderson listed 81 Union 3-inch ordnance rifles in Appendix C (p. 129), but the text listed a total of 85 in Union batteries (pp. 69–83).
- Citations
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 36.
- ^ a b c Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 120.
- ^ a b c d Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 121.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 83.
- ^ a b Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 123.
- ^ a b Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 124.
- ^ Katcher 2001, p. 37.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, pp. 127–128.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 68.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 52.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 55.
- ^ Johnson & Anderson 1995, p. 24.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 298.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 81.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 237.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 149.
- ^ a b c Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 125.
- ^ a b c Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 217.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 153.
- ^ Cole 2002, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 56.
- ^ Coggins 1983, p. 73.
- ^ Coggins 1983, p. 68.
- ^ Coggins 1983, p. 69.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 106.
- ^ Cole 2002, p. 125.
- ^ a b Coggins 1983, p. 66.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 122.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, pp. 235–243.
- ^ a b Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 126.
- ^ Johnson & Anderson 1995, p. 129.
- ^ Johnson & Anderson 1995, pp. 69–83.
- ^ Johnson & Anderson 1995, pp. 86–101.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, pp. 125–126.
- ^ Morgan 2002.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Coggins 1983, p. 77.
- ^ a b Johnson & Anderson 1995, p. 25.
References
- Coggins, Jack (1983). Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. New York, N.Y.: Fairfax Press. ISBN 0-517-402351.
- Cole, Philip M. (2002). Civil War Artillery at Gettysburg. New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81145-6.
- Hazlett, James C.; Olmstead, Edwin; Parks, M. Hume (2004). Field Artillery Weapons of the American Civil War. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07210-3.
- Johnson, Curt; Anderson, Richard C. Jr. (1995). Artillery Hell: The Employment of Artillery at Antietam. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-623-0.
- Katcher, Philip (2001). American Civil War Artillery 1861-1865: Field & Heavy Artillery. Osceola, Wis.: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-451-5.
Further reading
- Downey, Brian (2019). "Units at Antietam Equipped with the 3-in. Ordnance Rifle". Antietam on the Web.
- Morgan, James (2002). "Green Ones and Black Ones: The Most Common Field Pieces of the Civil War". civilwarhome.com.
- Ripley, Warren (1984). Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. Charleston, S.C.: The Battery Press. OCLC 12668104.