Dahlgren gun - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dahlgren guns were muzzle loading naval artillery

Naval artillery

Naval artillery, or naval riflery, is artillery mounted on a warship for use in naval warfare. Naval artillery has historically been used to engage either other ships, or targets on land; in the latter role it is currently termed naval gunfire fire support...

John A. Dahlgren

John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren was a United States Navy leader. He headed the Union Navy's ordnance department during the American Civil War and designed several different kinds of guns and cannons that were considered part of the reason the Union won the war...

USN, (November 13, 1809 – July 12, 1870) mostly used in the period of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32-pounder being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner. He believed safer, more powerful naval cannon could be designed using more scientific design criteria. Dahlgren guns were designed with a smooth curved shape, equalizing strain and concentrating more weight of metal in the gun breech where the greatest pressure of expanding propellant gases needed to be met to keep the gun from bursting. Because of their rounded contours, Dahlgren guns were nicknamed "soda bottles", a shape which became their most identifiable characteristic.

Dahlgren boat howitzers

During the Mexican-American War the U.S. found itself lacking in light guns that could be fired from ships’ boats and landed to be used as light artillery in support of landing parties . Light artillery borrowed from the army proved unsatisfactory. In 1849, then Lieutenant, Dahlgren began to design a family of smoothbore

Smoothbore

A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...

muzzle loading boat howitzer

Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

s that could be mounted in ships’ launches and cutters as well as being mounted onto field carriages. The first boat howitzers to be designed were a light 12-pounder, a heavy 12-pounder (originally designated a “medium”), and a 24-pounder. Later a lighter 12-pounder (the “small”) and a rifled 12-pounder heavy howitzer were introduced. All of the boat howitzers were very similar in design, cast in bronze, with a mounting lug or loop on the bottom of the barrel instead of trunnion

Trunnion

A trunnion is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting and/or pivoting point. In a cannon, the trunnions are two projections cast just forward of the centre of mass of the cannon and fixed to a two-wheeled movable gun carriage...

s, and an elevating screw running through the cascabel

Cascabel (artillery)

A cascabel is a subassembly of a muzzle loading cannon - a place to attach arresting ropes to deal with the recoil of firing the cannon.Generally comprising the knob and the neck , with particular models also featuring a filet . By some definitions, the cascabel additionally includes the base of...

. Having the single mounting lug expedited moving the howitzer from the launch to field carriage and back. In naval service the boat howitzers had gun crews of 10 in the boat and 11 ashore.

The field carriage was made of wrought iron. No limber was used in naval service, but two ammunition boxes (each containing nine rounds) could be lashed to the axle of the field carriage. Members of the gun crew also carried a single round in an ammunition pouch. The smoothbore boat howitzers fired shell

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

, shrapnel, and canister

Canister shot

Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...

. The rifled 12-pounder fired shot

Lead shot

Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets and early rifles, but today lead shot is fired primarily from shotguns. It is also used for a variety of other purposes...

and shell

Shell (projectile)

. Percussion primers were used in naval service, but the howitzers could also use friction primers obtained from the army.

The small and the light 12-pounder boat howitzers were not popular. The heavy 12-pounder howitzers were most popular at their intended jobs, while the 24-pounder boat howitzer were found to serve excellently as primary and secondary armaments on river gunboats and similar small vessels. Some 24-pounder boat howitzers were apparently rifled, but some contemporary accounts confuse rifled 24-pounder boat howitzers and the 20-pounder rifles (discussed below)

Army use of boat howitzers

Aside from use in naval service, boat howitzers saw service with the land forces as well. The boat howitzers were occasionally used in artillery batteries, but were more often used in infantry units, in a role that would later be called infantry support gun

Infantry support gun

Infantry support guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase fire power of infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. The designs are typically with short low velocity barrels, and light construction...

s.

At First Bull Run, two boat howitzers were manned by Company I of the 71st Regiment, NY National Guard. The unit had trained on boat howitzers while deployed at Washington D.C., and when called to Bull Run, brought two of them attached to I Company. The guns had to be left behind during the unit's withdrawal and were captured by Confederate forces.

During the Antietam campaign, the 9th NY Infantry (Hawkins' Zouaves), Company K (Whiting's Battery) employed 5 Dahlgren Boat Howitzers (two rifled and two smoothbores) They fired on Confederate skirmishers at Snavely's Ford and suppressed them . The Confederate Grimes' (Portsmouth) Battery had 2 smoothbore Dahlgren Boat Howitzers, with which they fought near Piper's Stone Barn . The boat howitzers appeared to be popular - when Grimes' battery was forced to turn in one of its guns, it chose to turn in a 3-inch Ordnance Rifle rather than one of its Boat Howitzers .

The 1st Regiment, New York Marine Artillery also armed themselves with boat howitzers, using them for their designed use of amphibious expeditions. The unit participated in 16 raids along the North Carolina coast employing their boat howitzers. The New York Marine Artillery was issued twelve 12-pounder rifled boat howitzers made by Norman Wiard out of semi-steel, a low-carbon iron alloy. Other than the material used, the Wiard boat howitzers were identical to the Dahlgren 12-pounder rifled boat howitzers. The Wiard howitzers were not made in large numbers .

Boat howitzers were used in the western theaters also. The Indiana Brigade used a Dahlgren boat howitzer in fighting near Grand Prairie, Arkansas on July 5, 1862. .

While boat howitzers were never commonly used by either army, by the end of the war their use by land forces was very rare.

Table of Dahlgren boat howitzers

Designation	Bore	Length Overall	Weight	Service Charge	Range (yards)	Number Made
12-pdr small	4.62 inches (11.7 cm)	32.5 inches (82.6 cm)	300 pounds (136.1 kg)	----	----	23
12-pdr light	4.62 inches (11.7 cm)	51.75 inches (131.4 cm)	430 pounds (195 kg)	10 ounces (283.5 g)	----	177
12-pdr heavy	4.62 inches (11.7 cm)	63.5 inches (161.3 cm)	750 pounds (340.2 kg)	1 pound (0.45359237 kg)	1085 yards (992.1 m) at 5° elev.	456
12-pdr rifled	3.4 inches (8.6 cm)	63.5 inches (161.3 cm)	880 pounds (399.2 kg)	1 pound (0.45359237 kg)	1770 yards (1,618.5 m) at 6° elev.	424
24-pdr	5.82 inches (14.8 cm)	67 inches (170.2 cm)	1300 pounds (589.7 kg)	2 pound (0.90718474 kg)	1270 yards (1,161.3 m) at 11° elev.	1009

Dahlgren shell guns

Throughout the 18th and early 19th Century, the primary ship to ship weapon were muzzle loading smoothbore

Smoothbore

A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...

broadside guns firing solid shot

Lead shot

modestly short distances. This all changed when the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

adopted a design of Col. Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans

Henri-Joseph Paixhans was a French artillery officer of the beginning of the 19th century.Henri-Joseph Paixhans graduated from the École Polytechnique...

for a shell

Shell (projectile)

gun (canon-obusier) of 22 cm (8.7-inch) capable of throwing a 59 lb. shell in a reasonably flat trajectory . The U.S. Navy followed suit adopting the 8-inch, 63 cwt. Paixhans-style shell

Shell (projectile)

gun in 1841. Dahlgren was determined to design a new generation of shell

Shell (projectile)

gun that would be capable of firing explosive shells at higher velocity and greater range. They would also have the capacity to effectively fire solid shot. The ability to fire solid shot would become increasingly important as armored warships appeared on the scene:
All of the Dahlgren shell guns were cast iron columbiad

Columbiad

The Columbiad was a large caliber, smoothbore, muzzle loading cannon able to fire heavy projectiles at both high and low trajectories. This feature enabled the columbiad to fire solid shot or shell to long ranges, making it an excellent seacoast defense weapon for its day...

s, had a distinctive soda bottle shape and all but two had an elevating screw running through the cascabel

Cascabel (artillery)

. Although some Dahlgren shell guns were tested to failure, no Dahlgren shell gun burst during service, a notable distinction for the time. Dahlgren shell guns were capable of firing shot

Lead shot

, shell

Shell (projectile)

, shrapnel, canister

Canister shot

, and (with the exception of the XV-inch shell gun) grape-shot

Grapeshot

In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...

Specific shell and related guns

32-pounder

32-pounder gun of 27 cwt. M.1855 - Little is known about this gun. Few were believed to been produced. The U.S. Navy had several different models of 32-pdrs, which are hard to differentiate in records. 32-pounders were the primary armaments of older ships like the USS Cumberland

USS Cumberland (1842)

The first USS Cumberland was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia....

(commissioned 1842) (which was sunk by the CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...

) and the USS Congress

USS Congress (1841)

USS Congress — the fourth United States Navy ship to carry that name — was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, .Congress served with distinction in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean...

(commissioned 1842) (which struck its colors to the CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia

). Later ships were armed with mixtures of shell guns most of which were designed by Dahlgren. The 32-pounders were still useful in providing primary or secondary armament to smaller ships and river gunboats. While earlier 32-pounders would have primarily fired solid shot, and these newer guns were called "shot guns" these newer guns could also fire shell

Shell (projectile)

. The 32-pounder gun of 27 cwt. had a crew of 6 and a powder-boy.

32-pounder gun of 4500 pounds and VIII-inch Dahlgren Shell Gun - 383 of the 32-pounders and 355 of the VIII-inch Dahlgren were cast by Alger, Builders, Fort Pitt Foundry

Fort Pitt Foundry

The Fort Pitt Foundry was a nineteenth century iron foundry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally established at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street in 1804 by Joseph McClurg, grandfather of Joseph W. McClurg. It was later moved to the area of Pittsburgh now known as the Strip District at...

, and Seyfert, McManus & Co. between 1864 and 1867. The 32-pounder had a crew of 10 and a “powder-boy” while the VIII-inch had a crew of 12 and a “powder-boy.” Some have argued that these guns are not Dahlgren designs, pointing out that while the guns generally resemble his designs, these guns used an old-style breeching jaws instead of the breech loop found on other Dahlgrens and that there is no elevating screw running through the cascabel

Cascabel (artillery)

. It is also asserted that the guns would have to be elevated by quoins. This is not accurate, particularly for the VIII-inch Dahlgren, as a new iron carriage with an elevating screw beneath the breech of the gun was developed for VIII-inch and other carriages with breech elevating screws were also used . It is also argued that the bores were too small for their late introduction and very few saw service during or after the American Civil War

American Civil War

. These guns would most likely have been intended for small riverine and estuarine gunboats, which the Navy scrapped as quickly as possible after the war. The documentary evidence also supports a conclusion that these two guns should be considered to be Dahlgen designs. In Mrs. Dahlgren’s petition to the national government for compensation for the use of Admiral Dahlgren's inventions, both the 32-pounder gun of 4500 pounds and VIII-inch shell gun are specifically described as designs of Admiral Dahlgren . Also in February 1867, Cyrus Alger paid a royalty on the Dahlgren patent for production of “ten 8-inch guns weighing 64,270, $642.70.” There can be little doubt that both of these guns should be credited as Dahlgren designs.

IX-inch

IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun - 1,185 guns were cast at Alger, Bellona, Fort Pitt, Seyfert, McManus & Co., Tredegar, and West Point foundries between 1855 and 1864. Fort Pitt Foundry also made 16 for the Army in 1861. The IX-inch Dahlgren was the most popular and versatile of Dahlgren Shell guns made. The IX- guns served as broadside armament on larger ships such as the USS Susquehanna

USS Susquehanna (1847)

USS Susquehanna, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for a river which rises in Lake Otsego in central New York and flows across Pennsylvania and the northeast corner of Maryland to empty into the Chesapeake Bay.Her keel was laid down by the New York...

, which carried 12 IX-inch Dahlgren guns in broadside mounts in addition to her two pivot guns and the USS Powhatan which carried 10 IX-inch guns in broadside mounts in addition to her 2 XI-inch Dahlgren pivot guns. These broadside guns would normally be mounted on a Marsilly carriage (see illustration). Smaller coastal blockade ships such as the USS Fort Henry and the USS Hunchback mounted IX-inch Dahlgrens on pivot mounts. IX-inch Dahlgrens were used on several river gunboats such as the USS Essex

USS Essex (1856)

USS Essex was a 1000-ton ironclad river gunboat of the United States Army and later United States Navy during the American Civil War. It was named for Essex County, Massachusetts...

and the USS Benton. If mounted as either a pivot gun or a broadside gun the IX-inch Dahlgren had a crew of 16 and a “powderman.”

X-inch

X-inch Dahlgren shell gun (light) - 10 were cast at Seyfert, McManus & Co. and West Point Foundries between 1855 and 1864. Pivot mounted on board ships such as U.S.S. Cumberland

USS Cumberland (1842)

The first USS Cumberland was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia....

, U.S.S. Brooklyn

USS Brooklyn (1858)

USS Brooklyn was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.With her one...

and USS Merrimack

USS Merrimack (1855)

USS Merrimack was a frigate and sailing vessel of the United States Navy, best known as the hull upon which the ironclad warship, CSS Virginia was constructed during the American Civil War...

(pre-CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia

) with a crew of 20 and a “powderman.”

X-inch Dahlgren shell gun (heavy) - 34 cast between 1862 and 1865. Designed from the beginning to fire shot against armored ships with heavier powder charges. Mounted on a pivot mount with a crew of 20 and a “powderman."

XI-inch

XI-inch Dahlgren shell gun - 465 were cast at Alger; Builders; Fort Pitt; Hinkley, Williams & Co.; Portland Locomotive Works; Seyfert, McManus & Co.; Trenton Iron Works; and West Point foundries between 1856 and 1864. This is the only Dahlgren gun to have been designed both with and without a muzzle swell. The gun was typically mounted on a pivot or in a turret on a monitor. When mounted in a turret, the crew for an XI-inch Dahlgren was 7 including powdermen. The crew for the gun when mounted on a pivot was 24 men and a “powderman.” XI-inch Dahlgrens were carried on Neosho

USS Neosho (1863)

USS Neosho was a ironclad river monitor laid down for the Union Navy in the summer of 1862 during the American Civil War. She was named after the Neosho River that flowed through Kansas and Oklahoma. After completion in mid-1863 the ship spent time patrolling the Mississippi River against...

, Marietta, Casco

USS Casco (1864)

The first USS Casco was the first of a class of twenty 1,175-ton light-draft monitors built by Atlantic Works, Boston, MA for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.-Launch and refitting:...

, Milwaukee

USS Milwaukee (1864)

The first USS Milwaukee, a double-turreted river monitor, was launched by James B. Eads at Carondelet, MO, 4 February 1864; and commissioned at Mound City, IL, 27 August 1864, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant James W. Magune in command.-Service history:...

, and (1 XI-inch and 1 XV-inch short) class monitors as well as the original USS Monitor

USS Monitor

USS Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is most famous for her participation in the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first-ever battle fought between two ironclads...

. The USS Kearsarge

USS Kearsarge (1861)

USS Kearsarge, a Mohican-class sloop-of-war, is best known for her defeat of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama during the American Civil War. The Kearsarge was the only ship of the United States Navy named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire...

, USS Powhatan, and many other conventional ships carried XI-inch Dahlgrens on pivot mounts. A few larger river gunboats, such as the USS Tuscumbia

USS Tuscumbia (1862)

The first USS Tuscumbia was a gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the town of Tuscumbia, Alabama, which had been named for a Cherokee chief....

and USS Indianola

USS Indianola

USS Indianola, an ironclad river monitor propelled by both side wheels and screw propellers, was built in Cincinnati, Ohio by Joseph Brown....

also carried XI-inch Dahlgrens.

XIII-inch

XIII-inch Dahlgren shell gun - The XIII-inch Dahlgren was originally intended for the Passaic

USS Passaic (1862)

- External links :***...

class monitors but proved unsuccessful and the XV-inch Dahlgren was used instead.

XV-inch

XV-inch Dahlgren shell gun (short or “Passaic”) - 34 were cast by the Fort Pitt Foundry

Fort Pitt Foundry

between 1862 and 1864 . The first XV-inch guns' barrels were so short that the muzzle was inside the monitor's turret when the gun was discharged. The resulting blast and fumes in the turret would have made the gun impossible to work. The Navy constructed “smoke-boxes” inside the turrets of the monitors equipped with the short XV-inch gun (see illustration), but the presence of the smoke-boxes slowed the rate of fire for the guns. When mounted in a turret, the crew for a XV-inch Dahlgren was 10 including powdermen. Carried on Passaic

USS Passaic (1862)

- External links :***...

(1 XI-inch and 1 XV-inch short) and early Canonicus

USS Canonicus (1863)

|-See also:* American Civil War* Union Navy* Confederate States Navy...

class monitors. 15 inch Dahlgren guns for the Russian “Passaics”, the Uragan class

Uragan class monitor

The Uragan class was a class of monitors built for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. The ships were built to the plans of the American Passaic-class monitors, a design that was tested on a smaller scale on the USS Monitor...

were produced at the new Aleksandrovsk gun factory in Petrozavodsk

Petrozavodsk

Petrozavodsk is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some . The city is served by Petrozavodsk Airport. Municipally, it is incorporated as Petrozavodsky Urban Okrug . Population:...

in Russian Karelia.

XV-inch Dahlgren shell gun (long or “Tecumseh”) - 86 were cast by the Alger, Fort Pitt, and Seyfert, McManus & Co. foundries between 1864 and 1872 . The new XV-inch gun was lengthened 16 inches so that the muzzle was flush with the outside of the turret when fired, eliminating the need for the smoke-box, Carried on later Canonicus

USS Canonicus (1863)

|-See also:* American Civil War* Union Navy* Confederate States Navy...

class monitors.

XX-inch

XX-inch Dahlgren shell gun - four were cast by the Fort Pitt Foundry between 1864 and 1867 as part of the original planned armament for the USS Puritan

USS Puritan (1864)

- External links :*...

. Three of these, named 'Satan

Satan

Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...

', 'Lucifer

Lucifer

Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...

' and 'Moloch

Moloch

Moloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...

' were accepted by the U.S. Navy, but saw no service. The fourth gun,named 'Beelzebub

Beelzebub

Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...

' was sold to Peru, where it became part of the defenses of Callao

Callao

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

Dahlgren shell guns and Rodman casting

The Navy demand for 15-inch guns to defeat the new Confederate ironclads placed Dahlgren in a dilemma. All of his earlier shell guns had been cast solid, then had the bore drilled out—the then traditional way to make artillery. Dahlgren’s efforts with the XIII-inch shell gun were unsatisfactory and it was not clear that he could solid cast a 15-inch gun. However 15-inch guns had been successfully cast using the techniques developed by Thomas Jackson Rodman

Rodman gun

Rodman gun refers to a series of American Civil War-era columbiads designed by Union artilleryman Thomas Jackson Rodman . The guns were designed to fire both shot and shell. These heavy guns were intended to be mounted in seacoast fortifications. They were built in 8-inch, 10-inch, 13-inch,...

. Rodman developed a hollow casting method, where the gun was cast around a hollow pipe. As the casting cooled, a smaller pipe was inserted into the first and water was pumped through the small pipe. At the same time hot coals were placed against the outside of the casting. This caused the casting to cool slowly from the inside out. As the outer parts of the casting cooled, they compressed the already cooled inner parts, making a stronger gun. The Bureau of Ordnance ordered that the Dahlgren XV-inch and XX-inch shell guns be cast using the Rodman hollow casting method. This use of Rodman hollow casting with a Dahlgren designed gun led to friction between Dahlgren and the Bureau of Ordnance, as well as some confusion in nomenclature.

Table of Dahlgren shell and related guns

Designation (bore)	Length Overall	Weight of Gun	Weight of Shot	Weight of Shell	Service Charge	Range (yards)
32-pdr. of 27 cwt. (6.2 inch)	93.72 in.	3,200 lb.	32 lb.	26.5 lb.	4 lb.	1637 @ 6° elev.
32-pdr of 4,500 lb. M.1864 (6.2 inch)	107.5 in.	4,500 lb.	32 lb.	26.5 lb.	6 lb.	1756 @ 5° elev.
VIII-inch	115.5 in.	6,500 lb.	65 lb.	52.7 lb.	7 lb.	2600 @ 11° elev.
IX-inch	131 in.	9,000 lb.	90 lb.	73.5 lb.	13 lb.	3450 @ 15° elev.
X-inch	146 in.*	12,000 lb.	124 lb.	101.5 lb.	12.5 lb.	3000 @ 11° elev.
X-inch (heavy)	145 in.*	16,500 lb.	124 lb.	101.5 lb.	18 lb.	----
XI-inch	161 in.	15,700 lb.	166 lb.	133.5 lb.	20 lb.	3650 @ 15° elev.
XIII-inch	162 in.*	36,00 lb.	276 lb.	216.5 lb.	40 lb.	----
XV-inch Short "Passaic"	162 in.*	42,000 lb.	440 lb.	352 lb.	35 lb.	2100 @ 7° elev.
XV-inch Long "Tecumseh"	178 in.*	43,000 lb.	440 lb.	352 lb.	35 lb.	2100 @ 7° elev.
XX-inch	204 in.	100,000 lb.	1,080 lb.*	----	100 lbs.	----

Estimated values are indicated by an asterisk. Estimates by , except for the estimate of the overall length of the X-inch (heavy) which is based on a bore length of 117.75 inches and the estimate of the weight of the XX-inch shell which is based on the weight of the shell for the Columbiad, Seacoast, 20-inch, Model 1864.

Dahlgren rifled guns

Dahlgren designed several rifled muzzle loading cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

, as well.

20-pounder rifle - An entirely bronze gun that was popular and was the only Dahlgren rifle (other than the 12-pounder boat howitzer) that continued in service after the American Civil War

American Civil War

. Crew of 6 and a “powder-boy” firing a 20 lb. shell in front of 2 lb. of powder it had a range of 1,960 yards at a 6.5º elevation.

30-pounder rifle - These guns were iron with bronze trunnions and trunnion bands. They were cast at the Fort Pitt foundry and the Washington Navy Yard. In February 1862, Dahlgren recommended that the first 13 cast at Fort Pitt be withdrawn because the iron was inferior. One 30-pounder rifle was mounted on the USS Harriet Lane.

50-pounder rifle - These guns were typical Dahlgren rifles—iron with bronze trunnions and trunnion bands. They were apparently a popular design, although by the end of the war it had been supplanted by the 60-pounder Parrott rifle

Parrott rifle

The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.-Parrott Rifle:The gun was invented by Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He resigned from the service in 1836 and became the superintendent of the West Point Foundry in Cold...

, which continued in service after the American Civil War

American Civil War

. A photograph of Admiral Dahlgren leaning against a 50-pounder rifle may be found at the beginning of this article.

80-pounder rifle - The first 80-pounder was cast at the West Point foundry with trunnions. Subsequent rifles were cast without trunnions and bronze trunnion band and trunnions were added. The gun was initially well received but soon showed a tendency to burst. The USS Hetzel, a converted Coastal Survey ship armed with 1 IX-inch Dahlgren and 1 80-pounder Dahlgren rifle was engaged in the bombardment of Roanoke Island in support amphibious landings, when the following entry was made in her log for February 7, 1862: “At 5:15, rifled 80-pounder aft, loaded with 6 pounds powder and solid Dahlgren shot, 80 pounds, burst in the act of firing into four principal pieces. The gun forward of the trunnions fell on deck. One third of the breech passed over the mastheads and fell clear of the ship on the starboard bow. One struck on port quarter. And the fourth piece, weighing about 1,000 pounds, driving through the deck and magazine, bringing up on the keelson, set fire to the ship. Fire promptly extinguished.”

150-pounder rifle - The 150-pounder was a typical Dahlgren rifle with a cast iron barrel and a bronze trunnion band and trunnions. Although the test firing was successful the guns were not placed in service, because Dahlgren doubted the quality of the iron.

12-inch rifle - In 1864 the Fort Pitt foundry bored 3 XV-inch Dahlgren shell gun blanks, one was finished using the Atwater design, one with the Parrott

Parrott rifle

design, and one with the Rodman

Rodman gun

approach. The Rodman solid shot weighed 618 to 619 pounds and the Atwater solid shot 416 to 535 pounds. The weights of the Parrott projectiles are not recorded. In 1867, at Fort Monroe, the guns were tested with charges varying between 35 and 55 pound until the guns failed.

Table of Dahlgren rifled guns

Designation	Bore	Length Overall	Weight of Gun	Service Charge	Number Made
20-pdr rifle	4 in.	----	1,340 lb.	2 lb.	100
30-pdr rifle	4.2 inc.	92 in.	3,200 pounds	----	55
50-pdr rifle	5.1 in.	107 in.	3,596 lb.	----	34
80-pdr rifle	6 in.	----	----	6 lb.	14
150-pdr rifle	7.5 in.	140 in.*	----	----	5
12 in. rifle	12 in.	178 in.*	45,500 lb.	35-55 lb.	3

Estimated values are indicated by an asterisk. Estimates by .

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