Fin Stabilised

[Mike Cecil]

I was in Atlanta Georgia earlier this week, and visited the superbly restored Cyclorama depicting the Battle of Atlanta during the US Civil War/War of Northern Aggression/War Between the States (you choose which name suits you!). Almost 400 feet long x 40 odd feet high, it is an impressive painting.

Associated with the Cyclorama is an excellent museum of Civil War objects, including a wide range of rifles and pistols with good, detailed captions, not the 'one liners' we so often see in museums these days. There is also a fine collection of ordnance and projectiles, including this rather interesting 'fin stabilised' experimental projectile manufactured by a Confederate armory. The caption states it was a winged projectile for increasing the range and accuracy of smooth-bore cannons. The wings were spring-loaded and extended upon the projectile leaving the bore.

Seems to be very much like the principles of the modern-day fin-stabilised anti-tank rounds. I say 'modern', but of course, the principle has been in Western use since at least the late 1950s, with the 106-mm RCL HEAT round, which had wings which extended once the round left the barrel.

Just though it was interesting that 'fin stabilisation' had been thought of as far back as the 1860s (at least).

Mike

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

I was in Atlanta Georgia earlier this week, ....

Associated with the Cyclorama is an excellent museum of Civil War objects, including a wide range of rifles and pistols with good, detailed captions, not the 'one liners' we so often see in museums these days. There is also a fine collection of ordnance and projectiles, including this rather interesting 'fin stabilised' experimental projectile manufactured by a Confederate armory. The caption states it was a winged projectile for increasing the range and accuracy of smooth-bore cannons. The wings were spring-loaded and extended upon the projectile leaving the bore.

Mike

Ahh, museum captions. I hope one day there will be a museum that records and displays all those one liners!

The projectile shown is not for a smooth bore cannon. It has "buttons" that engage with rifling, which was used in the Armstrong breech loading rifled barrels.

[Mike Cecil]

Hi Tony,

I see no buttons....?

Seriously,Tony, I'm familiar with the Whitworth & Armstrong systems, but I didn't see any lugs/buttons on the projectile's outer edge that could engage any form of rifling. The caption was quite specific about the development (but of course, we all know how accurate many museum captions really are!)

Mike

[tankbarrell]

Fin stabilization was hardly new, even then. Arrows spring to mind!

[Tony Smith]

My apologies, Mike. I need to open pics and look closer, or clean my computer screen. While not as large as the big brass pads on British projectiles, I thought I saw small "nipples" or lugs, which I thought were the American version of an experimental round.

[Mike Cecil]

Happens to us all, Tony: I made the same error when I took a quick look at Colin's post on the smoke dischargers - didn't comprehend the scale and assumed (embarrassingly!) that the spent cart was a 12 # not a .303!!

Mike