The 70-pounder Whitworth naval gun was designed by Joseph Whitworth during the 1860s. It was a rifled muzzle loader and used his hexagonal, rifled-bore design.
70-pounder Whitworth gun
Gun from Princess Royal, in Willard Park at the Washington Navy Yard. Notice the hexagonal bore.
The gun used polygonal rifling, a principle invented by Whitworth in 1853. The concept was to use the hexagon to impart a very rapid spin to the projectile.
The method of manufacturing the rifling was thus described by the Report of the Armstrong & Whitworth Committee of the British War Office (1866):
[I]t may be described in general terms as a hexagonal bore with a rapid twist, although, strictly speaking, the bore is not hexagonal, but has 24 surfaces. The gun is, in the first instance, bored out cylindrically; a part of this original bore is left in the centre of each side of the hexagon, making six surfaces, then there are the coming out sides of the hexagon which give six more surfaces, and the going in sides giving also six surfaces, and lastly, the rounding off of the angles, which give six more, making 24 surfaces in all.[2]
The projectile was hexagonal to match. The gun was highly accurate at long ranges, but the very precise manufacturing tolerances required a high standard of maintenance by the artillerymen.[3] Wrote Jeff Kinard: "The odd shape of the projectile produced a weird, unnerving shriek as it traveled through the air."[4]
Service
American civil war
Four guns were captured by the United States Navy on the blockade-runner Princess Royal on 29 January 1863. Two were sent to Morris Island, Charleston, South Carolina to bombard Fort Sumter during the summer of 1863. One gun had a premature detonation that killed four of its crew when trying to ram a projectile home. Another gun was disabled after 111 shots when its inner tube moved back far enough to block the vent.[5]
Paraguayan war
A number of 70-pounders as well as larger calibers were bought by the Imperial Brazilian Navy and used to arm some of its ironclads during the Paraguayan War in the late 1860s.[6] British lieutenant colonel George Thompson of the Paraguayan army recorded that the Brazilians cut the fuses to the wrong length, so the shells often failed to explode. Thousands of them were collected by the Paraguayans, who made a gun of their own ("a beautiful casting") at their foundry at Asunción – on the Whitworth principle – called the Criollo; this gun shot them back at the Brazilians.[7]
Thompson recorded that
For precision and range, Whitworth's guns are splendid weapons, but they require good gunners... Whitworth's balls had such a high velocity, that the report of the gun, and the shot flying by, were both heard at the same moment. The Paraguayans, from the sound these balls made going through the air, called Whitworth's balls 'phews'.[8]
All of the Brazilian river monitors who effected the Passage of Humaitá − described as a nearly impossible feat − were equipped with 70-pounder Whitworth guns; the larger ironclad vessels who accompanied them had Whitworth guns of larger calibre.
Gratz, George A. (1999). "The Brazilian Imperial Navy Ironclads, 1865–1874". In Preston, Antony (ed.). Warship 1999-2000. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-724-4.
Alexander Lyman Holley, "A Treatise on Ordnance and Armor" published by D. Van Nostrand, New York, 1865
Olmstead, Edwin; Stark, Wayne E.; Tucker, Spencer C. (1997). The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon. Alexandria Bay, New York: Museum Restoration Service. ISBN0-88855-012-X.
War Office; Whitworth, Joseph (1866). The Report of the Armstrong & Whitworth Committee, with a Letter Thereon to Earl de Grey, and Appendices. J. Thomson & Son.
Kinard, Jeff (2007). Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact. ABC-CLIO. ISBN9781851095568.
Thompson, George (1869). The War In Paraguay: With a Historical Sketch of the Country and Its People and Notes Upon the Military Engineering of the War. London: Longman, Green and Co.
External links
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April 22, 2023
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The 70 pounder Whitworth naval gun was designed by Joseph Whitworth during the 1860s It was a rifled muzzle loader and used his hexagonal rifled bore design 70 pounder Whitworth gunGun from Princess Royal in Willard Park at the Washington Navy Yard Notice the hexagonal bore TypeNaval gunPlace of originUnited KingdomService historyIn service1863 Used byConfederate States United States BrazilWarsAmerican Civil War Paraguayan WarProduction historyDesignerJoseph WhitworthManufacturerJoseph WhitworthUnit cost 3500Produced1863 SpecificationsMass8 582 pounds 3 892 7 kg Length118 inches 2 997 m ShellSolid shotExplosive shellShell weight81 pounds 36 7 kg Calibre5 5 inch 140 mm Maximum firing range5 540 yards 5 070 m FillingBlack powderFilling weight3 pounds 12 ounces 1 7 kg 1 Contents 1 Principle 2 Service 2 1 American civil war 2 2 Paraguayan war 3 See also 4 Notes 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksPrinciple EditThe gun used polygonal rifling a principle invented by Whitworth in 1853 The concept was to use the hexagon to impart a very rapid spin to the projectile The method of manufacturing the rifling was thus described by the Report of the Armstrong amp Whitworth Committee of the British War Office 1866 I t may be described in general terms as a hexagonal bore with a rapid twist although strictly speaking the bore is not hexagonal but has 24 surfaces The gun is in the first instance bored out cylindrically a part of this original bore is left in the centre of each side of the hexagon making six surfaces then there are the coming out sides of the hexagon which give six more surfaces and the going in sides giving also six surfaces and lastly the rounding off of the angles which give six more making 24 surfaces in all 2 The projectile was hexagonal to match The gun was highly accurate at long ranges but the very precise manufacturing tolerances required a high standard of maintenance by the artillerymen 3 Wrote Jeff Kinard The odd shape of the projectile produced a weird unnerving shriek as it traveled through the air 4 Service EditAmerican civil war Edit Four guns were captured by the United States Navy on the blockade runner Princess Royal on 29 January 1863 Two were sent to Morris Island Charleston South Carolina to bombard Fort Sumter during the summer of 1863 One gun had a premature detonation that killed four of its crew when trying to ram a projectile home Another gun was disabled after 111 shots when its inner tube moved back far enough to block the vent 5 Paraguayan war Edit A number of 70 pounders as well as larger calibers were bought by the Imperial Brazilian Navy and used to arm some of its ironclads during the Paraguayan War in the late 1860s 6 British lieutenant colonel George Thompson of the Paraguayan army recorded that the Brazilians cut the fuses to the wrong length so the shells often failed to explode Thousands of them were collected by the Paraguayans who made a gun of their own a beautiful casting at their foundry at Asuncion on the Whitworth principle called the Criollo this gun shot them back at the Brazilians 7 Thompson recorded thatFor precision and range Whitworth s guns are splendid weapons but they require good gunners Whitworth s balls had such a high velocity that the report of the gun and the shot flying by were both heard at the same moment The Paraguayans from the sound these balls made going through the air called Whitworth s balls phews 8 All of the Brazilian river monitors who effected the Passage of Humaita described as a nearly impossible feat were equipped with 70 pounder Whitworth guns the larger ironclad vessels who accompanied them had Whitworth guns of larger calibre See also Edit120 pounder Whitworth naval gunNotes Edit Holley p 34 War Office p 11 Kinard p 223 Kinard p 210 Olmstead p 141 Gratz pp 141 144 153 Thompson pp 184 193 Thompson p 196Gallery Edit On a naval carriage On a coastal carriage in Rio de JaneiroReferences EditGratz George A 1999 The Brazilian Imperial Navy Ironclads 1865 1874 In Preston Antony ed Warship 1999 2000 London Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 724 4 Alexander Lyman Holley A Treatise on Ordnance and Armor published by D Van Nostrand New York 1865 Olmstead Edwin Stark Wayne E Tucker Spencer C 1997 The Big Guns Civil War Siege Seacoast and Naval Cannon Alexandria Bay New York Museum Restoration Service ISBN 0 88855 012 X War Office Whitworth Joseph 1866 The Report of the Armstrong amp Whitworth Committee with a Letter Thereon to Earl de Grey and Appendices J Thomson amp Son Kinard Jeff 2007 Artillery An Illustrated History of Its Impact ABC CLIO ISBN 9781851095568 Thompson George 1869 The War In Paraguay With a Historical Sketch of the Country and Its People and Notes Upon the Military Engineering of the War London Longman Green and Co External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 70 pounder Whitworth naval gun Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 70 pounder Whitworth naval gun amp oldid 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