Joe and All,
Scott had numerous patterns including three, five, six and more ribs or flanges for his shells: This might beat the subject to death but here goes:
The following are highlights from Steven Roberts paper on Blakely:
References to Cdr. Robert Scott, RN in Steven Roberts paper on Blakely:
“In addition to the “square” rifling of Britten, Blakely also used the ratchet or triangular, the so-called “centrical”, rifling devised by Commander Robert Scott RN between 1860 and 1862.”
“The 9 pounder mountain gun barrels were short, as with a howitzer, with a 3 inch bore, a 36 inch length, 6½ inch maximum tube diameter, with a slender steel sleeve, a pierced cascabel, a massive trunnion ring and weighed 208 pounds. They were rifled with six Scott “centrical” grooves. The barrels of the 4 pounders were 41 inches long, weighing 226 pounds, with the same thin steel sleeve but lacked a cascabel at the breech. These also had six Scott-pattern rifle grooves.”
“ Blakely was continually improving the specification and materials used in his cannon. His use of “steel” in making the reinforcing breech-hoops on the cast-iron barrel tubes of his muzzle-loading rifles before 1864 might be better interpreted, more accurately as using “wrought-iron”. These hoops were made from spiral wound bars hammered into a cylinder and applied when hot on to the breech end of the inner tube. The early rifling was commonly of saw-tooth or “ratchet” form, as devised by Blakely’s early collaborator, Commander Robert Scott RN, he also used in larger pieces the “square” rifling of Bashley Britten, who designed shot and shell for his ordnance."
“ In addition, at least one battery of “full size” 3.5 inch Blakely rifles was provided in 1862, having a heavier and longer 66 inch sleeved barrel, with the latest 6 groove ratchet rifling, and notably without a cascabel knob at the breech.
Originally rifled on Royal Navy Commander R A E Scott’s principle with six or seven “centrical” grooves, from 1862 the 3.5 inch guns had six of Blakely’s patented “ratchet” grooves (also used by Commander J M Brooke of the Confederate States Navy). All of these field pieces commonly fired Bashley Britten’s patent projectiles. These cannon, though not their projectiles, were chiefly, if not entirely, manufactured for the Con-federacy by Fawcett, Preston & Company of Liverpool. At least eight batteries of four 3.5 inch Blakely pieces had been provided to the south by 1862.”
“From 1863 the earthworks of Fort Fisher, defending the vital port of Wilmington, North Carolina, had an 8 inch cast-iron, steel-banded Blakely rifle in its North East Bastion. It had three groove rifling to Scott’s “centrical” pattern, throwing flanged iron bolts up to 130 pounds weight.”
“Loading and firing was elaborate and slow, just once every fifteen minutes, requiring the man-handling of massive shot, difficult even with the novel muzzle-mounted crane, as well as the elevating and the travers-ing of a 48 ton barrel and carriage. The 20 inch long cylindrical iron bolts were cast with four diagonal flanges to fit the rifling cut to Scott’s pattern; the flanges had to be carefully eased spirally down the barrel to avoid jamming. The original 22 inch long round-nosed, hollow shells of 470 pounds weight had similar flanges. Despite these difficulties it was claimed that each piece could throw one of the 650 pound armour-piercing bolts up to seven miles.” (Bart’s note – these large shells with three to four raised ribs are also called by modern day authors as ‘Blakely’.
“Blakely was primarily concerned with the construction of ordnance. The detail of rifling and projectiles for such ordnance he was initially ready to leave to others. As regards rifling he originally utilised the system of Commander Robert Scott, RN, the so-called “centrical” or ratchet rifling, as well as, in larger pieces, the “square rifling” of his other close associate, Bashley Britten.”
“Blakely Gun “No 1”, 1860
The first gun that Captain Blakely demonstrated publically was a large 6.4 inch calibre piece made by Fawcett, Preston & Company in Liverpool. It had a long cast-iron tube, 160 inches long overall, 140 inches in the bore, which was rifled with twenty of Scott’s “ratchets”.”
“Fawcett Preston also provided the south in 1861 with a long 3.5 inch field gun to another Blakely design; this is almost identical, except in size, to the one provided in 1860 and used against Sumter. It had 66 inch barrel and was rifled with six Scott “centrical” or triangular grooves. The steel breech-sleeve was long and was oval-curved at the end, lacking a cascabel knob, with a maximum diameter of 12¼ inches.”
“Recently (2011¬), a 3½ inch calibre Scott-pattern, six-flanged shell fitted with a French fuse has been discovered in France, indicating that the acquired Blakely battery was made up of his unique 3½ inch light field guns, as made for Peru and America between 1860 and 1865, the tube rifled with six of Scott’s “centrical” or triangular grooves. The use of Scott flanged shells would be necessitated as Bashley Britten, Blakely’s usual supplier, had left the projectile business by 1870, and that the Captain’s own works were then extinct.” -end reference notes.
Note from Joen - You may ask why the British government didn't extend contracts to Blakely for use by their Army and Navy? Simple politics. Sir William Armstrong and his cannon manufacturing company had won ALL the contrracts, eliminating such other gun makers as Blakely, Whitworth, Jeffery, Haddad and all others.
Oddly enough, Armstrong was also a member of the Ordnance Select Committe and to avoid having a conflict of interest established the Elswick Ordnance Company (EOC) to produce all the rifles and ammunition that was not being made at the Royal Laboratories of the Woolwich Arsenal.
I truly hope that I haven't bored anyone with all this but I felt it necessary to bring to light, for the record, little known facts about Cdr. Scott and his designs for the Blakely rifles.
Best Regards,
John
