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Common Lyddite

F

FZG76

Well-Known Member
Ordnance approved
Hello everyone

For my first post, I propose to speak on the Common lyddite. I know the book "Treatise" and it's very intresting.
In fact, I try to understand this kind of old filling and think to write a documentation on the subject.
Does any member have photos, drawings or documents on the British Common lyddite projectiles and would be kind enough to share them with us.
Regards,
 
Hello
This is the adapter N2 MK2 for special filling and adapter for lyddite filling. What does the numbers mean ?
 

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On the left hand one (as viewed) the 5/16 is either the date manufactured or the date filled (if it was -I'm not familiar with Adapter No. 2 Mk 2).

I can't make out the markings on the right hand one.

Regards

TimG
 
I have books that describe the factories where Lyddite was made and filled into shells. Please ask if you want the catalogue (ISBN) of these books.
 
exat808 said:
I have books that describe the factories where Lyddite was made and filled into shells. Please ask if you want the catalogue (ISBN) of these books.
Click to expand...

OK Thanks !! I m interested by the ISBN.
 
TimG said:
On the left hand one (as viewed) the 5/16 is either the date manufactured or the date filled (if it was -I'm not familiar with Adapter No. 2 Mk 2).

I can't make out the markings on the right hand one.

Regards

TimG
Click to expand...

Thanks. On the adapter there is the fuze N44 with 5/16.
 
Search for ISBN 1 85074 718 0 - the book is "Dangerous Energy" author is Wayne D Cockroft who has explored the manufacture of military explosives in the UK.
 
Plate of a 9.2" Common Lyddite Shell for you.

Regards

Tim G
 

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Composition of Lyddite;

Does anyone know the comosition of Lyddite, its inventor and is Lydd Range named after the inventor?
Regards
John
 
Lyddite is Picric Acid (trinitrophenol). its explosive qualities were discovered by Eugene Turpin in the 1880's. He devised a method of casting it into shells and first tested it at Lydd in Kent, hence the name.
 
Thank you;

spotter,
As usual you are right on top of subjects. Thank you for the reply. It's like C.E. being a form of Tetryl.
Ever spend time at Lydd in the winter? God its cold with the wind blowing the channel water over the shingle making is slippery as eels.
Regards,
John
 
John D. Bartleson Jr. said:
spotter,
As usual you are right on top of subjects. Thank you for the reply. It's like C.E. being a form of Tetryl.
Ever spend time at Lydd in the winter? God its cold with the wind blowing the channel water over the shingle making is slippery as eels.
Regards,
John
Click to expand...
its not "spotter".
Anyway yes i have been at Lydd. we used to do dispose of propellants on the beach burning tons of charges at a time.
 
Oops;

Ha, ha, I apologize. He changes his avatoar so frequently and just glanced and thought it was him.
We took the Navy CDs to Lydd and cut and burned a Gosling Booster Motor, an Underwater mine burn, a depth charge burn and several shaped charge attacks. Once I low ordered a 50 kg German bomb and got a nice one popping out the fuze and kicked out about 80% of its filler into large chunks which were policed up and burned.
I am trying to think of the little village where we stayed at a bed and breakfast hotel with bar, but that was 35 years ago.
At any rate thanks for the Lyddite info.
Regards,
John
 
exat808 said:
Lyddite is Picric Acid (trinitrophenol). its explosive qualities were discovered by Eugene Turpin in the 1880's. He devised a method of casting it into shells and first tested it at Lydd in Kent, hence the name.
Click to expand...
Picric acid was also used in artillery fuzes (at least some in WWI). Also the Jap petard WWII grenade (made from 25mm shell casing) was filled with picric acid, I had never before associated it with lyditte so I guess you learn something new every day...Dano
 
Hi Dano,
Digging through the books it looks like a product called "Picric Powder" may have been used in fuzes. This was a mixture of ammonium picrate and potassium nitrate and was made in a similar process to black powder ( milling).
Lyddite eventually gave way to TNT as a shell filling except in Naval shells where it was substitiuted by Shellite (trinitrophenol and dinitrophenol).
 
page attatched from treatise on ammunition 1905
 

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Thank you;

Thanks Allen,
Ah, one avatar is red the other yellow, so confusing.
John
 
dano1917 said:
Picric acid was also used in artillery fuzes (at least some in WWI). Also the Jap petard WWII grenade (made from 25mm shell casing) was filled with picric acid, I had never before associated it with lyditte so I guess you learn something new every day...Dano
Click to expand...

I have a book by Ormond Lissak a former head of US Army Ordnance. Dated 1908 one chapter talks about foreign shell fillings - British Lyddite, French Melinite, and Japanese "shimose powder" Is this powder the filling you mention in the petard grenade? never heard of "shimose powder" until now.
 
Picric acid, trinitrophenol, replaced by TNT after WW1.
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picric_acid"]Picric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:pikrins%C3%A4ure.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Pikrins%C3%A4ure.svg/150px-Pikrins%C3%A4ure.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/e/e4/Pikrins%C3%A4ure.svg/150px-Pikrins%C3%A4ure.svg.png[/ame]
Lydd ranges are named after Lydd in Kent:
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydd_Ranges"]Lydd Ranges - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia@@AMEPARAM@@/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w.svg" class="image"><img alt="Wiki letter w.svg" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/40px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png"@@AMEPARAM@@commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/40px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png[/ame]
Soren

edit: sorry the browser did not show more that the first post in this thread. Please ignore this.
 
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