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February 15th, 2024

Giant Extruded Powder Sticks for Huge Naval Cannons

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

Story by Boyd Allen
While many top competitive shooters trickle their stick powder charges to a kernel or two, that would be impractical when loading charges for giant naval guns. You may be surprised, but the shells fired by the U.S. Navy’s massive 14″ and 16″ naval guns were also propelled by stick-type extruded powders. You couldn’t trickle these ‘kernels’ though — a single stick or ‘grain’ can be over 2″ long.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick
The U.S.S. Iowa fires her massive 16″ main battery. The U.S. Navy’s Iowa-class battleships carried nine huge 16-inch Mark 7 cannons in three turrets. The big naval guns were 50 calibers long, i.e. 50 times bore diameter, making the barrels 66.7 feet long from chamber to muzzle.

In connection with a Benchrest Central discussion that drifted to the subject of powders used in large naval guns, I heard from Joe McNeil, whose father was involved in manufacturing those very propellants as a DuPont employee. Joe writes:

“My Dad worked for the DuPont company for over 40 years. Every time the nation went to war he was assigned to the gun powder plants which DuPont ran for the government for $1.00 per year! His last assignment was at the Indiana Ordnance Plant in Jefferson, Indiana from 1952 through 1958. He had a display case made of all of the different powders made at the plant and left it to me. That’s why I have a grain of 16″ gun powder. He took me out to the Jefferson proving grounds once when they tested the powder in a 16″ gun. We watched from a half-mile away but it left a lasting impression when they fired that gun. They actually had a set of rings they fired through to test the performance of the powder and shell. This was a truly fond memory of my Dad and his work.”

Here are some pictures of the gun powder “grains” made during the Korean War at the Indiana Ordnance Works where Joe McNeil’s father worked.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

Above is the display case with the different powders manufactured at the DuPont plant. They include: 37 MM/AA, 75MM Pack Howitzer, 50 Cal. 5010, 20 MM 4831, 30 Cal. 4895, 76 MM, 3″, 5″, 90 MM, 4.7″, 240MM, 8″, 280 MM, 175 MM, 155 MM Howitzer, 155 MM Gun M.P., 8″ Gun M.P., 12″, 14, 16″. There are different-sized ‘grains’ for specific rounds.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick
16-inch/50-caliber gun projectile plus six propellant bags. Display mockup aboard U.S.S. Iowa (BB-61) in San Pedro, CA. Photo by James Madison per Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-4.0 license.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Tech Tip No Comments »
July 10th, 2022

Big Boomers — Giant Extruded Powder Sticks for Navy Cannons

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

Story by Boyd Allen
While many top competitive shooters trickle their stick powder charges to a kernel or two, that would be impractical when loading charges for giant naval guns. You may be surprised, but the shells fired by the U.S. Navy’s massive 14″ and 16″ naval guns were also propelled by stick-type extruded powders. You couldn’t trickle these ‘kernels’ though — a single stick or ‘grain’ can be over 2″ long.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick
The U.S.S. Iowa fires her massive 16″ main battery. The U.S. Navy’s Iowa-class battleships carried nine huge 16-inch Mark 7 cannons in three turrets. The big naval guns were 50 calibers long, i.e. 50 times bore diameter, making the barrels 66.7 feet long from chamber to muzzle.

In connection with a Benchrest Central discussion that drifted to the subject of powders used in large naval guns, I heard from Joe McNeil, whose father was involved in manufacturing those very propellants as a DuPont employee. Joe writes:

“My Dad worked for the DuPont company for over 40 years. Every time the nation went to war he was assigned to the gun powder plants which DuPont ran for the government for $1.00 per year! His last assignment was at the Indiana Ordnance Plant in Jefferson, Indiana from 1952 through 1958. He had a display case made of all of the different powders made at the plant and left it to me. That’s why I have a grain of 16″ gun powder. He took me out to the Jefferson proving grounds once when they tested the powder in a 16″ gun. We watched from a half-mile away but it left a lasting impression when they fired that gun. They actually had a set of rings they fired through to test the performance of the powder and shell. This was a truly fond memory of my Dad and his work.”

Here are some pictures of the gun powder “grains” made during the Korean War at the Indiana Ordnance Works where Joe McNeil’s father worked.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick

Above is the display case with the different powders manufactured at the DuPont plant. They include: 37 MM/AA, 75MM Pack Howitzer, 50 Cal. 5010, 20 MM 4831, 30 Cal. 4895, 76 MM, 3″, 5″, 90 MM, 4.7″, 240MM, 8″, 280 MM, 175 MM, 155 MM Howitzer, 155 MM Gun M.P., 8″ Gun M.P., 12″, 14, 16″. There are different-sized ‘grains’ for specific rounds.

DuPont artillery naval powder cannon gun kernel propellant stick
16-inch/50-caliber gun projectile plus six propellant bags. Display mockup aboard U.S.S. Iowa (BB-61) in San Pedro, CA. Photo by James Madison per Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-4.0 license.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Gear Review, Tactical No Comments »
January 11th, 2015

EZ2C Shooting Targets — High-Viz, High Quality

High-contrast targets make aiming (and seeing your bullet impacts) easier. EZ2C Targets, a family business in Pennsylvania, has developed a series of very bright, high-contrast targets printed with eye-popping fluorescent red/orange and Deep Black Inks. These are available from the EZ2C online store. A set of forty (40) 11″x17″ targets printed on quality bright white paper costs $7.50. A wide variety of designs are available: Bulleyes, Grids, Silhouettes, and Diamonds as well as many specialty targets.

EZ2C’s Battleship Target (Style 22) would be great for precision rifles at 100 or 200 yards. The red circles are about 3/4″ in diameter. That’s 0.36 MOA at 200 yards. That’s a good test for an accurate rifle (and for any shooting pals who boast that their guns can shoot “1/4 MOA all day long”.)

EZ2C Target

Here are four other Fun Targets. EZ2C’s lastest design is new Tic-Tac-Toe Target. This would be a great precision rifle target at 100 yards, if you tried to hit the actual printed Xs and Os (not just the boxes). You could shoot this with a buddy — one guy shoots Red-zone Xs while the other shoots White-zone Os. The Dartboard target is also great for a two-man shooting competition. The pistol diagnosis target (lower right) shows how to correct your aim and hold, based on where your errant shots fall.

EZ2C Sample Fun Targets:

EZ2C Target EZ2C Target
EZ2C Target EZ2C Target

Get Customized Targets for Your Club or Business
EZ2C targets can be customized with the name/logo of your gun club or business. This is an excellent way to promote your organization or store. Here’s a suggestion — have your gun club print up customized targets to award as prizes at shooting matches. This video explains the custom printing options.

Permalink New Product, Shooting Skills No Comments »