As we say over at Bring the HEAT, some ‘splody:
OK, more “smash and bash and break” than explosions. But still a heck of a lot of damage.
The video captures fire effects from cannon against sailing ships of the War of 1812 era. Specifically a replica of the USS Lawrence against what look like 32-pdr carronades. The rounds are solid shot. Great views of the splinters caused by penetration.
Fast forward fifty years in technology to the Civil War. Naval and seacoast weapons development retained a focus on defeating the wooden structure of the ship. Iron plate reduced the effect of solid shot (and shells) against the ship’s exterior. Still the ability of a cannon to defeat a warship factored down to physics – how much energy could the projectile impart upon the surface of the iron plate. Fancy shaped charges and other devices were still many decades away.
During the Civil War the old F=ma stuff still applied.
