"Bronze or Brass Gun Barrels?" Topic
10 Posts
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Terry37 | 01 Jul 2014 8:33 a.m. PST |
In my on going reading abut the ACW I find that some of the gun barrels for the Napoleon 12 pounders might have been made of bronze? Is that correct? or should they be brass? Thank you, Terry |
donlowry | 01 Jul 2014 9:05 a.m. PST |
bronze (i.e. copper and tin) |
Terry37 | 01 Jul 2014 9:53 a.m. PST |
Thanks, I was hoping that was the case. Terry |
Brechtel198 | 01 Jul 2014 1:27 p.m. PST |
They were bronze, but many times bronze was referred to as brass. The term bronze is correct, however. B |
EJNashIII | 01 Jul 2014 6:24 p.m. PST |
They got the brass name because the crews would really polish the barrels really bright. Check out the pictures at the bottom of the page: link It shows some historical guns with a 150 year patina and a new tube that looked like they looked during the war. |
67thtigers | 02 Jul 2014 2:30 a.m. PST |
The specification for American gun-metal was 90% copper, 10% (+/- 1%) tin. The material had been unchanged for over a century. |
Trajanus | 02 Jul 2014 2:42 a.m. PST |
When you see guns polished to the extent of those in the pictures you can see where the whole Bronze/Brass thing comes from. The one in the picture would pass a ship fittings inspection in the Navy! |
donlowry | 02 Jul 2014 9:34 a.m. PST |
You say "some" of them were bronze/brass. Actually the vast majority of them were. But due to lack of copper, the Confederacy made a few out of iron. Iron was heavier, so not optimal. It was, however, used for rifled guns, because the rifling in bronze guns soon wore smooth. |
Terry37 | 02 Jul 2014 8:37 p.m. PST |
Oh, so the bronze/brass gun tube would have a brass look when new and not a bronze look? Terry |
Old Contemptibles | 02 Jul 2014 9:21 p.m. PST |
Bronze. Brass is too weak. Some of them had the color of brass but never the metal brass. |
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