Also known as: carcass.
| Class | Incendiary projectile |
|---|---|
| Construction | Iron shell filled with incendiary composition, vented by holes |
| Effect | Burns fiercely to start fires |
| Target | Ships, works, and buildings |
An incendiary shell
The carcass was an incendiary projectile: an iron shell filled not with a bursting charge but with a fiercely burning composition, pierced by several holes through which the flame jetted. Once ignited and fired, it burned for a time where it lodged, setting fire to ships, fortifications, and buildings.
Carcasses were difficult to extinguish and were used in bombardment to start fires among combustible targets, a role that overlapped with hot shot in seacoast and siege work.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.