Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

adrian · 3rd November 2013, 05:55 PM

I have not heard of shrapnel grenades, however there were of course shrapnel shells as invented by Henry Shrapnel. His shells were called Spherical Case Shot until some years after Shrapnel's death when his family petitioned successfully to have the shell officially renamed as Shrapnel shell, in about circa 1850. They were fired from guns (cannons) & howitzers & were designed to burst just above & ahead of the target, usually massed foot or horse troops. The velocity of the shell was given to the bullets within that shell, the bursting charge therefore needed to be as small as possible, just enough to crack open the shell at the right moment in flight & not enough to scatter the balls which would open up their pattern & lessen their effect. Much experimentation was done in the 1850s to perfect the charge size & its placement for best results.

I do not believe that shrapnel shells were used as grenades as they would not have been explosive enough & grenades worked best with fragmentation of their outer layer. The museum photo would more correctly be described by the British as a "Spherical Case Shot" or "Shrapnel Shell".
Also the Shrapnel Sac shown would be known is a "Grapeshot", and nowadays we call this type a quilted grapeshot.

3rd November 2013, 05:55 PM	#21
adrian Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 117	I have not heard of shrapnel grenades, however there were of course shrapnel shells as invented by Henry Shrapnel. His shells were called Spherical Case Shot until some years after Shrapnel's death when his family petitioned successfully to have the shell officially renamed as Shrapnel shell, in about circa 1850. They were fired from guns (cannons) & howitzers & were designed to burst just above & ahead of the target, usually massed foot or horse troops. The velocity of the shell was given to the bullets within that shell, the bursting charge therefore needed to be as small as possible, just enough to crack open the shell at the right moment in flight & not enough to scatter the balls which would open up their pattern & lessen their effect. Much experimentation was done in the 1850s to perfect the charge size & its placement for best results. I do not believe that shrapnel shells were used as grenades as they would not have been explosive enough & grenades worked best with fragmentation of their outer layer. The museum photo would more correctly be described by the British as a "Spherical Case Shot" or "Shrapnel Shell". Also the Shrapnel Sac shown would be known is a "Grapeshot", and nowadays we call this type a quilted grapeshot.