Traveling Plug For Armstrong 12pdr Segment Projectile

[Kaboom]

Hi

here are some photos of my 2nd Traveling Plug For the Armstrong 12pdr Segment Projectile.
The plug may have fitted other size Armstrong projectiles as well.
Stamped with R Broad Arrow L, Letter W (Woolwich - im guessing)
There is one other mark/symbol on the plug however im unsure what it means.
These were used in NZ in the mid 1800's during the New Zealand Land Wars.
I havent been able to find too much about the plugs.
If anyone has a picture of the tool used to screw these in and out i would enjoy seeing it, better still if someone had a real one in there possession i would love to see photos of it.

 

[adrian]

That is a nice example. As you would know R/l\L represents the Royal Laboratory, which was located at Woolwich, so the W stamp will have some other meaning, one I have yet to encounter in my references.
Up to 1856 the fuze hole of all shells was stopped with cork, in 1856 white metal plugs were introduced, their threads were found to be not strong enough & gun metal (brass/bronze) plugs were introduced in 1859 for all shells except Mortar. By 1866 there were at least 7 different fuze hole plugs, soon after this there was an attempt to have one plug for all shells with the general service plug, that was then modified, and so on. The subject of plugs is, I find, quite confusing as there were many different types, they were constantly changing & each period reference does not say enough of their history, I am unaware of any modern reference that has devoted serious attention to this subject.

Clearly your example had a tarred cord, or lanyard. Do you have any references that relate to that? I have read of RBL plugs that have a tarred cord, presumably a convenience for lifting the shell by, and I have read of practice shells for RML guns having a plug with a lanyard - to enable ease of removal after practice etc.

Below is a period drawing of the tool as requested, the arm 'B' was used to screw in/remove the plug, the other arms for fitting & setting etc the time fuze. The drawing is MkI, it was soon followed by MkII.

 

[Kaboom]

Hi Adrian
Great info and to answer your question no i havent found any reference to "tarred cord or a lanyard" to be honest i have found very little info on the plugs
I have been told that somebody would have been punished for loosing the plugs as everything had to be accounted for.
The picture of the tool is great. What is the title of the book you referenced the picture from of the tool?
You probably have seen this little bit of info.

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/projectiles/rifled/IIIA47.htm

 

[adrian]

The info on the site at the link I suspect is in error in the assumption that the plug has been modified to enable the flash to pass through it to ignite a fuze & also the item said to be a fuze is unlike any British Ordnance fuze.

Shells were sometimes fired with plugs fitted for a variety of reasons, I have over half a dozen found on an old firing range & that accounts for many examples getting around today.

The book that I copied the tool drawing from is a 'one off' hand written manuscript by G.C. Holden, an Assistant Superintendent of Stores, War Department, written circa 1865. He wrote five very large volumes & detailed the items & how they were made for each department i.e, The Royal Carriage Dept, The Royal Gun factory, The Royal Small Arms Factory, and two volumes are devoted to the Royal Laboratory. The intent is to transcribe & publish these so they can be available for research etc.

 

[hampshireman]

The plug was issued under List of Changes 1062, June 1865. It had a rope loop on the top to allow it to be picked up easily. (I have a picture but I cannot get it to upload, so please contact me direct) David

 

[Kaboom]

Adrian when you do transcribe and publish the hand written manuscript there is a lot of men i know in New Zealand who would be interested in reading it. From British Victorian reenactment groups to Military groups that i both belong too.
There is a good following of the New Zealand Wars (Mid 1800's) here in NZ regarding military weapons, soldiers, ammunition etc.
You would know some of these British soldiers came from Australia to fight here for the British.
If we could travel i would enjoy helping you transcribe the manuscript.
Let me know when you ever do get the chance to transcribe it.
All the best.

 

[Kaboom]

Hi David

you mentioned this "The plug was issued under List of Changes 1062, June 1865" Is this referenced to a book or manual?

 

[Depotman]

Hi David

you mentioned this "The plug was issued under List of Changes 1062, June 1865" Is this referenced to a book or manual?

Not just a book - shelves and shelves of publications of L of Cs!:

In 1860 the War Office started to print a quarterly pamphlet called the List of Changes in War Materiel and of Patterns in Military Stores. These changes consisted of a description of the introduction, or change in Mark, of almost every piece of equipment used by the armed forces, as well as its eventual obsolescence. Sometimes the description was only a few lines long and occasionally several pages. Each of these descriptions was known as a paragraph (preceded by the “§” symbol) which were sequentially numbered and dated. The numbering system went from §1 in 1860 to §26231 in 1923, and was then re-started with an ‘A’ prefixed series from §A1 to §A9999 in 1936 and then with §B1 to §B10000 in 1944 and then with §C1 to §C10000 in 1961.

There was a significant change during WW1 when certain L of Cs had a 'Confidential Introduction' during 1914-1918. In these cases, the List of Changes merely noted an 'Introduction' and gave no dates. This notification in the List of Changes was accompanied by a separate document, on restricted circulation, giving full details of the store. Since these were never bound up with the normal List of Changes pamphlets and many were destroyed, they are sometimes unavailable to be consulted.

Indices were produced on an irregular basis and then only for a short time span; there is no complete index.

Many of the early ‘Treatise on Ammunition’ contain references to the relevant L of Cs in the descriptions of many items of ammunition, including fuzes.
L of Cs are held in a number of reference libraries as well as numbers in private hands. These include The Royal Armouries at Leeds and at Fort Nelson at Portsmouth; and the Hampshire Record Office (Priddy’s Hard Archives) in Winchester.

Depotman

 

[Bully1970]

Here's mine but its an EOC (Elswick Ordnance Co) one marked with I/|\A which is Inspector of Ammunition I believe, you are right and not much info is around on them! it was found in an area which many different types of shell impacted.

 

[Bully1970]

Adrian, yes I was confused by that site too. I sort of thought that the plugs were used to transport the shells and that was it, plug then removed and fuse put in and shell ready to fire. My only issue with this is where I found mine, it was at the sharp end so to speak....where they were firing! the whole area is riddled with brass part fuses, shrapnel shot, lead jacket parts etc so what is a transport plug doing in the middle of it all...the weapons would have been a long way away! any thoughts appreciated

 

[Kaboom]

Bully1970 this may help
I just received a copy of a page from Hampshireman of a LoC which does explain my link i posted and possible why you were finding plugs at the detonation/explosion site/area.
I look forward to your thoughts

 

[adrian]

Clearly described in the LoC is a shell fitted with a C-Percussion Fuze and plug, this helps explain plugs found at the point of impact. It also indicates a very compact fuze to fit below the plug - something like shown on that linked site perhaps afterall.

 

[Kaboom]

i have found parts of the Armstrong E Timer Fuze (like the one pictured) at battle sites in NZ fired by the British.

 

[Bully1970]

Thanks for the info guys, I've found percussion fuse parts near in the area...see attached of said fuse part and plug together...I assume the plug sits directly on top of the fuse and the shell is fired with it in then? it seems to fit above pretty well.

 

[Kaboom]

Great Picture Bully1970, thanks for sharing

 

[Bully1970]

Cheers and great to be chatting about common finds across the world! Hows NZ? I travelled a bit there in 2001 and loved both Islands. :smile:

 

[bdgreen]

Here is a Facebook group that may be of interest, lots of recovered projectiles, fuzes, plugs etc.: https://www.facebook.com/MarineHistoryHunters/

Besure to scroll through the entire site not just the latest entries.

 

[Bully1970]

Its a very good group and one I frequent alot, I pointed Shaun from there to this thread as he is posting some marked transport plugs...different to these but the markings are interesting.

 

[Bully1970]

Next question - did the fuse below the plug sit in or on anything?