Also known as: percussion fuse, impact fuze.
| Class | Percussion |
|---|---|
| Action | Detonates on impact with the target |
| Common mechanism | A plunger or slider driven onto a primer at the moment of striking |
| Examples | Parrott, Schenkl, Sawyer, Hotchkiss, Britten, and James patterns |
Operation
A percussion fuze was designed to fire the projectile's bursting charge at the moment of impact. Most patterns worked on the same principle: firing set up or released a plunger, slider, or weight that was thrown forward when the projectile struck, driving it onto a percussion primer that ignited the charge.
Percussion fuzing suited rifled fire against fortifications, vessels, and hard targets, where a burst on impact was more effective than a timed air-burst. Both Federal and Confederate ordnance produced many patterns.
Patterns and identification
The war produced a wide range of percussion fuzes, among them the Parrott, Schenkl, Sawyer, Hotchkiss, Britten, and James types, made in brass, zinc, and other metals. Identification rests on the body form, threads, internal mechanism, and any maker's markings.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- Melton, Jack W., Jr. Civil War Artillery Projectiles: The Half Shell Book. Blue Ridge, GA: Historical Publications LLC, 2018.
- 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.
- Benton, James G. A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery. 2nd ed. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862.
- Hackley, Frank W. Civil War Explosive Ordnance. Revised November 10, 1960. U.S. Naval School, Explosive Ordnance Disposal.