In 1861, the American engineer Robert Parker Parrott patented a new method of making gun barrels, which made them much lighter and stronger than the usual cast iron castings for those times. Unlike Thomas Rodman, who developed a sophisticated cold-core casting method, the barrels of Parrott's guns were cast in the usual way, but at the same time they were much thinner and lighter than Rodman's. To increase the strength on their breech, where the pressure of the powder gases when fired is the maximum, wrought iron "cuffs" were put on by the hot-fitting method, which protected the brittle cast iron from cracking.
In the same year, Parrot's rifled guns were put into mass production at a number of arms factories and, during the American Civil War, were widely used by both warring parties. In total, several thousand of these guns were fired, which were in service with the US Army and Navy until the end of the 1880s.
The calibers of the guns varied over a very wide range - from three to 10 inches (10 to 300 pounds in the then American system for determining the caliber by the mass of the projectile). Light field three-inches weighed 400 kg and fired at 4600 meters, and heavy siege and ship ten-inches - more than 12 tons and threw 140-kilogram shells eight kilometers.
Parroth's guns were produced not only in the north, but also in the southern states. The southerners made small-caliber guns without any problems, but difficulties arose with larger ones due to the lack of powerful blacksmithing equipment for the manufacture of forged iron rings of considerable thickness and large diameter, necessary for such guns. Solving this problem, the naval officer and inventor John Mercer Brook proposed to make the "cuffs" compound, taking them from narrow rings, or putting on relatively thin tubes on top of each other.
Brook's guns were successfully tested and produced during the Civil War at a metallurgical plant in Richmond and at Selm's naval arsenal. However, the production capacity of these enterprises was small, so over three years they produced a little over a hundred rifled guns in caliber six, seven and eight inches, as well as 12 smooth-bore ten-inch guns and several 11-inch guns.
The culture of production was also lame, due to which there was a high percentage of rejects. For example, out of 54 Brook seven-inch guns made in Selma, only 39 were successfully tested, and out of 27 six-inch ones - 15. However, Brook's guns were considered very valuable weapons and were used in the most critical facilities. In particular, two such guns were installed on the first battleship of the southerners "Virginia". The battleships Atlanta, Columbia, Jackson and some other ships of the Confederate fleet received two more guns each.
The splash screen shows Brook's gun from the battleship Jackson at the US Naval Museum.
Loading of Parrot's 300-pound cannon. To lift the projectile, a folding block in a rope loop, attached to the barrel, is used.
Parroth's 20-pound cannon on deck of the Constellation.
On the left - the muzzle of the Parrot gun with the factory markings. The rifling is clearly visible in the bore. On the right is a patent drawing of Parroth's high-explosive fragmentation projectile with a leading copper "skirt", which expanded when fired and ensured the movement of the projectile along the rifling.
Parroth's unexploded projectile found at the sites of the Civil War.
American reenactors in Confederate uniforms demonstrate a shot from a Parrot field 10-pounder.
Parrot's cannon on the deck of the Wabash sailing-steam frigate.
The coastal battery of the northerners, on which a smooth-bore 15-inch Rodman "bottle" and a rifled 10-inch Parrot are flaunting nearby.
A battery of Parroth's 30-pound long-barreled cannons, which fired on the Confederate Fort Pulaski on April 10-11, 1862. As a result of the shelling, the fort was severely damaged, and almost all of its guns were disabled. Two days after the start of the bombing, the garrison of the fort surrendered.
This combat episode clearly showed the ineffectiveness of fortifications built with the expectation of opposing "nuclear" cannons against rifled artillery.
Damage to Fort Pulaski. The thick brick walls of the casemates have been punched through in many places.
Due to casting defects not discovered in a timely manner, Parrroth's cannons sometimes exploded when fired, like this 10-inch siege weapon. According to the official data of the US Navy, of the 703 guns of this design, which were on board warships and coastal batteries during the Civil War, 21 exploded. On average, one accident accounted for 500-600 shots. The statistics were about the same in the army artillery.
This is called "bombing"! Eight-inch Parrot, in which, when fired, the breech was knocked out.
A drawing of Brook's cannon with two thin rings worn on top of each other.
Eight-inch Brook at the coastal position. Taking a closer look, you can see that the outer shell of the barrel is made up of three rings adjacent to each other.
Brook's 10-inch smoothbore gun captured by the Unionists in Richmond after the Southerners surrender.
Brook's weapons that have survived to this day.
