Also known as: time fuse.
| Class | Time |
|---|---|
| Action | Bursts the projectile after a predetermined interval |
| Paper type | Powder composition wrapped in paper, cut to length at the factory, seated in a fuze plug |
| Metal type | Soft-metal body with a graduated internal powder train (e.g. the Bormann fuze) |
Two systems
The time fuze was the most employed system of the war, designed to explode a projectile after a predetermined number of seconds. Two basic systems were used. The first was a powder composition wrapped tightly in paper and pre-cut at the factory to a chosen burning time, then driven into a metal or wooden fuze plug set in the fuze hole of the projectile.
The second used a soft-metal housing containing a graduated powder train, so the gunner exposed the train at a marked interval before firing. The flat Bormann fuze, used principally with spherical case shot, is the best-known example of this metal type.
Use and identification
The gunner selected the burning time to suit the range so the shell would burst over or among the target. Surviving paper time fuzes are recognized by their tapered form and remnants of the paper wrap and plug, while metal time fuzes are identified by their body and the graduations on the face.
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.