Image: BL 6 inch 80 pounder powder cartridge diagrams

Description: Diagrams of gunpowder cartridges for British BL 6 inch 80 pounder gun. Top : Internal layout of full charge cartridge containing 34 pounds "P" gunpowder. The bag is of silk cloth. At the base (i.e. breech end) is a zinc cone with a tube running through to the centre of the cartridge. Just before the end of the tube is 1 oz of F.G. Powder enclosed in a shalloon bag. At the end of the tube is a wooden point pierced with holes. On firing the gun, the flash from the percussion tube in the breechlock proceeds through the zinc tube to the centre of the cartridge, the 1 oz F.G. charge ignites and this fire proceeds through the holes in the wooden plug and ignites the main charge. Middle : External view of 34-pound "P" gunpowder full charge cartridge. Bottom : External view of 25-pound "P" gunpowder reduced charge cartridge.
Title: BL 6 inch 80 pounder powder cartridge diagrams
Credit: "Treatise on Ammunition" 4th Edition 1887, page 33-34.
Author: War Office, UK
Permission: This work created by the United Kingdom Government is in the public domain. This is because it is one of the following: It is a photograph taken prior to 1 June 1957; or It was published prior to 1973; or It is an artistic work other than a photograph or engraving (e.g. a painting) which was created prior to 1973.HMSO has declared that the expiry of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide (ref: HMSO Email Reply) More information. See also Copyright and Crown copyright artistic works.
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License: Public domain
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