Cordite

[DukeConnor]

Cordite is one of a few specific NC + NG + additive formulations extruded into strands. First generation Cordite had more NG than NC and was very erosive in spite of the petroleum jelly (Vaseline type) added. Second generation reversed the proportions to (small) majority NG. There are others. The strands could be loaded as such or chopped for use in revolver cartridges.

Modern cannon powder is extruded but cut into granules and depending on the spec, can be single base NC, double base NC + NG, or triple base NC + NG + Nitroguanidine.

Not sure what you consider modern but the powder bags for the 8 inch howitzer did not contain granules. they were tubes. this was ftom the early 80's to the early 90's. I imagine changing the powder would require intensive testing and rewriting the TFT's, reproducing the GFT's and rewriting the fire direction software. I shot powder bags that were produced during ww1. the bags were fragile. we literally duct taped the bags because they were falling apart. little tubes fell out. Couldn't hit anything with them. Constant corrections. Registration and met data was useless.

the modern 155 guns may have new powders. IDK.

 

[DukeConnor]

I was Airborne, 11 Charlie in my early days, FDC Chief 60s, 81s, 4.duece ... we called them "cheese charges." I cannot remember exactly for sure but I think maybe they were nitroglycerin and beeswax. They did burn hot but man oh man if you got caught by the wrong higher-up burning a cheese charge to heat a C-Rat that was your 4th pt of contact, you were fubared ... instant UCMJ and busted down at least one rank.

Good times.

 

[.455_Hunter]

It's my understanding that cordite is insoluble in water, does not support sea life growth. At least one of the British battlecruiser wrecks at Jutland still has large sticks of the propellant for the 12" guns laying in the debris field, essentially unchanged for over 100 years of submersion.

 

[CapnMac]

In a similar way, people say "cinder block" even though cinders are rarely used in the concrete mix any more. It just flows off the tongue more smoothly than "concrete block."

And, "cinders" were not the original material, it was clinkers. While similar, not the same, as clinker can be compressed and the jagged edges will lock together to make a lightweight composite.
There's a related term, "Clinker brick" referring to brick that shattered during the firing, which could be bought, cheap, off the brickworks.

So, "clinker" and "cinder" were common terms, about a century ago (much like Cordite) often referring to inexpensive, or cheap, building materials.

The modern term-of-art in the construction industry is CMU, Concrete Masonry Unit. And "sea em you" is easy enough to roll from the tongue.

Much as Cordite gets used to stand in for "gun powder" which ought to be the collective term for the extruded multi-base gun propellant. Ought to be.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Local rumor is that the cordite that is found along Boca Chica beach came from dumped ballast from ships entering the rather shallow channel leading to the Port of Brownsville.
As such, it may have originated in the harbors of Britain or other foreign ports... .

 

[klausman]

Yes, I can attest to the fact that Cordite is not water soluble. I have samples salvaged from some 1917 .303 British cartridges that has been stored under distilled water since 2013. (As a preservative measure.) When removed from the water and allowed to dry for a bit, they burn just as they did before immersion. The powder is heavier than water - they do not float.
Ballistite, a pistol powder originally produced by Nobel is practically identical chemically to Cordite, but was rolled out in sheets and cut into flakes. It was also coated with graphite, unlike Cordite.

<Powder manufacturers caution against storing modern powders under water. Some of the additives and stabilizers may be water soluble.>

 

[PWC]

Local rumor is that the cordite that is found along Boca Chica beach came from dumped ballast from ships entering the rather shallow channel leading to the Port of Brownsville.
As such, it may have originated in the harbors of Britain or other foreign ports... .

Are you saying that somethimg as flammable as cordite is/was used as ballast? On warships, subject to torpedoing, or commercial vessels?

 

[theotherwaldo]

I'm saying that rubble and debris that included stuff like cordite was mixed in with the rocks and sand used as ballast that was used as ballast on the ships going to the port of Brownsville. When the ships approached the notoriously shallow channel to the port they often dumped part of the no-longer-needed ballast over the side rather than risk running aground or having to pay to have it hauled away.

 

[theotherwaldo]

BTW, at the time I was poking around the wreck of the Mexican warship Montezuma, destroyed by the Texas Navy ship Invincible in 1836. It's surprisingly intact, buried in the beach with its rib tips, mast stubs and parts of the hull standing clear of the sand at that time.
Lots of unrelated artifacts scattered about, ranging from massive mooring buoys through a Yugo hatchback to cases of Mexican cleansers and chunks of mammoth tusk. A fun place to visit.
-And the fishing is great!