Hi just for info I thought I would post a pic of some Victorian era friction tubes used to fire r.m.l guns they are all made from copper tubes filled when new with pistol powder (these are empty) sealed with a wax or card disc the top nip piece holds a circular friction bar which has a corse roughened end covered in a friction sensitive powder,when needed after the gun had been loaded with powder and shot/shell they were inserted into the vent tube on the gun which was nothing more than a hole which lead to the main powder charge at which time the gunner would attach a hook and lanyard then all that was needed was a sharp strong pull to ignite the powder and fire the gun ,on firing the friction tube was blown out of the vent tube leaving it clear for the next shot
The top one in the pics is the 5 inch L.S mk1 friction tube for use with the large R.M.L guns above 7 inch
The bottom two are 2 inch L.S friction tubes for the 7 lb R.M.L ,R.B.L other than 40 lber and war rockets the one on the right is a mk 1 the left mk 2 with brass ball which was an improvement over the mk 1 by the inclusion of a small brass ball which on firing the gun gets forced up the tube and blocks off the nip piece stopping any gases or debris from flying in the faces of the gunners, all were coated in a black lacquer as some protection from the elements ,these may not be as interesting as early projectiles but have an important place in the history of Victorian military development.
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The top one in the pics is the 5 inch L.S mk1 friction tube for use with the large R.M.L guns above 7 inch
The bottom two are 2 inch L.S friction tubes for the 7 lb R.M.L ,R.B.L other than 40 lber and war rockets the one on the right is a mk 1 the left mk 2 with brass ball which was an improvement over the mk 1 by the inclusion of a small brass ball which on firing the gun gets forced up the tube and blocks off the nip piece stopping any gases or debris from flying in the faces of the gunners, all were coated in a black lacquer as some protection from the elements ,these may not be as interesting as early projectiles but have an important place in the history of Victorian military development.
Sent from my BUSH SPIRA D3 5.5 using Tapatalk