What happens after the battle

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paul.mercer
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What happens after the battle

Post by paul.mercer »

Gentlemen,
Perhaps you could answer a question that has always puzzled me.
At the end of a battle what happened to the shell and cordite already in the breach was it just fired off?
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Karl Heidenreich
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Re: What happens after the battle

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

I have seen a photo of the german cartridges rolling over the deck of the Von Der Tann. So, I imagine that they (germans) pick them up for some kind of early re utilization.
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Bgile
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Re: What happens after the battle

Post by Bgile »

paul.mercer wrote:Gentlemen,
Perhaps you could answer a question that has always puzzled me.
At the end of a battle what happened to the shell and cordite already in the breach was it just fired off?
Yes, usually. Some people referred to it as "unloading through the muzzle". It is dangerous to leave shell and propellant in a hot gun for very long.
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Gary
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Re: What happens after the battle

Post by Gary »

When Royal Sovereign was returned to Britain, the British sailors found the Russians had left the guns loaded.
Also, when Warspite was being repaired in Bremerton and it was time to replace the gun barrels, apparently they found the guns were still loaded from the Med :shock:
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Bgile
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Re: What happens after the battle

Post by Bgile »

Gary wrote:When Royal Sovereign was returned to Britain, the British sailors found the Russians had left the guns loaded.
Also, when Warspite was being repaired in Bremerton and it was time to replace the gun barrels, apparently they found the guns were still loaded from the Med :shock:
It isn't trivial to unload a gun, because the shell is forcibly seated by the rammer, and it doesn't just fall out.
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RF
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Re: What happens after the battle

Post by RF »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:I have seen a photo of the german cartridges rolling over the deck of the Von Der Tann. So, I imagine that they (germans) pick them up for some kind of early re utilization.
If this is the photo I think it was, WERN't these empty shell cases?

I also recall a KM film of Schleswig-Holstein from 1 September 1939 shelling the Hela forts, where a load of empty shell cases were shown on deck.
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