Federal

Read-Parrott

 

 

DIAMETER: 2.86 inches
GUN: 10-pounder Parrott rifle, 2.9-inch caliber
LENGTH: 6 1/2 inches
WEIGHT: 9 pounds 9 ounces
CONSTRUCTION: Solid shot
SABOT: Wrought iron ring
FUZING: None
Captain Robert Parker Parrott, United States Army Retired, patented this projectile on August 20, 1861, patent #33,100. Parrott was the Superintendent of the West Point Gun Foundry at Cold Spring, New York, in the 1860's. Due to the date and the time of its introduction into the service the Parrott projectiles with the wrought iron ring sabot are classified as Federal Read-Parrott. This sabot improvement was an attempt to correct the problem that Dr. John B. Read had with his patented thin wrought iron ring projectile that was patented on October 28, 1856, patent #15,999. Parrott's improvement was a thicker wrought iron ring (Parrott's patent refers to the sabot as a wrought iron cup) that was manufactured with three corresponding rifling projections (pre-rifling) stamped into the sabot. This helped to prevent the breakage of the wrought iron ring during expansion. This pictured example is commonly called a Read-Parrott flat-nose bolt. They are also found in 20-pounder (3.67-inch caliber) size.