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Attack of the Zeppelins

TonyE

TonyE

HONOURED MEMBER RIP
Just a quick "Bullets-up" (you all know how much I hate the word "Heads!) to the documentary "Attack of the Zeppelins" on Bank Holiday Monday, 8 p.m. on Channel 4.

I have not seen the final cut but there should be a segment on anti-Zeppelin incendiary and explosive ammunition (Buckingham and Pomeroy) with yours truly doing the talking head bit. We spent a whole day filming firing tests but how much will be broadcast will depend on the cut.

Regards
TonyE
 
Hi Tony, Look forward to watching it . Did you have to make incendiary rounds up or just use modern equivalents or do I have to wait and watch the programme?? Cheers Gary
 
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the bullets up, I will be watching with interest. Did you take any pictures of the test firings ?
Best regards Weasel.
 
For the Buckingham we used WW2 incendiary B Mark IV, which apart from the bullet shape are virtually identical in function to the WWI Buckinghams.

For the Pomeroy I had some original bullets which I reloaded into modern cases. We did not expect these to function, being over ninety years old and recovered from the ground, but the first one we fired as a sighter functioned on the target! We also fired some WW2 B Mark VII to show how the Pomeroys would have worked in their prime.

Regards
TonyE
 
I watched this and thought it was great TV. (For a change)

Seeing how they worked out the best way to bring a Zeppelin down was fascinating.
 
Wow!! You guys actually have a history channel that does real history!?!? That's amazing!! :tinysmile_hmm_t: Wish we had one that you didn't have to pay an arm and leg for. Cheers, Bruce.
 
I liked it too, wanted more ord of course like the some discussion of the other munitions and devices to bring one down, Crayford rounds etc. But that said I enjoyed it and really enjoyed seeing the hi speed camera footage of the round our very own TonyE supplied.
Best Weasel.
 
Weasel said:
I liked it too, wanted more ord of course like the some discussion of the other munitions and devices to bring one down, Crayford rounds etc. But that said I enjoyed it and really enjoyed seeing the hi speed camera footage of the round our very own TonyE supplied.
Best Weasel.
Click to expand...

Likewise, loved the high speed film footage, its one thing to read about this sort of thing and another to see it for real. I thought there may have been some mention of the Ranken dart etc. I enjoyed watching the programme and well done bocn member TonyE, I bet you thoroughly enjoyed seeing the results on film, very impressive.

regards Kev
 
Fascinating,and very informative,Thanks Tony,I wish there were more progs like that on TV,
Thanks again,
Kind Regards,
Don,
 
I'll have to be on the lookout for "Attack of the Zeppelins". Sounds very interesting.

In the meantime, here are some examples of inert "DUMMY" rounds from a display board that I recently found (regrettably, these were all I located, the board was long gone). I believe that these some of rounds when loaded were intended as Anti-Zeppelirn ammunition (Gardner Gatling?) during WW1? Others may have been used to experiment against German body armour. What can anyone tell me about these?

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That is a very nice selection of WWI special purpose rounds.

I don't know when the Canadian War Museum opened, but these sectioned rounds are very similar to a display that was at the Imperial War Museum when it opened in London in 1922.

The four items on the left are illistrative of the Express cartridges that were used against German sniper shields in the middle war period. The War Office purchased 52 big game rifles in a variety of calibres for this purpose.

The fifth from the left is a Martini Henry Air Service tracer which was trialled in a .450 maxim gun in France but not used in any numbers. The sixth is a M-H Royal Laboratory "Flaming Bullet" to be used against Zeppelins in the early days, fired from a M-H carbine (but the aircraft could never get high enough to use them) and the last a similar bullet in a Gardner Gatling case.

The headstamps are rather meaningless as Woolwich used whatever cases they had on hand. Many of the M-H Flaming bullets like yours are loaded in Woolwoch cases made from brass from the Indian arsenal at Cossipore which is why the Indian "I" is included.

The full story of these rounds is in my "Secondary Weapons" books, the Express cartridges in Part 3 (Land Service and the tracers etc in Part 2 (RFC & RNAS). Also I have an article on the express rifles in the January IAA Journal.

Attached are pictures of the Flaming bullet and the brass closing washer at the base plus some GG Air Service rounds. The last picture shows the rounds used in the Express rifles.

There are more details on my website here: https://sites.google.com/site/britmilammo/express-rifles
and here: https://sites.google.com/site/britmilammo/air-service-wwi-non-303-inch/-577-450-inch-m-h

Regards
TonyE
 

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Tony, thank you for taking the time to share these details. Very interesting. It confirms and expands upon what I thought they were. Always a pleasure to read your comments.
 
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