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Confederate
DIAMETER: 2.96 inches |
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| Because the Confederates desperately needed lead for small arms ammunition, they substituted iron for lead when manufacturing case-shot balls. This substitution presented a difficult situation, as they could not drill into the iron balls to form the bursting cavity without damaging the drill bits or breaking the matrix loose. The bursting cavity was formed by inserting a dowel into the fuze opening. The iron balls were inserted through the hole on the projectile's side, and the hot, liquefied matrix was poured into the side-loading hole. After the matrix cooled, the dowel was removed, a lead plug screwed into the loading hole, powder installed, and the fuze adapter screwed into the nose of the projectile. Side-loading rifled case-shot projectiles are rare. The example pictured has three frame grooves cut into the sabot, a lathe dog near the top of the nose, a lathe dimple in the base, and is loaded with iron case-shot balls. | ||||