Splinters

[MarkG]

Remember when the Mythbusters did a pirate episode and they investigated the "myth" that splinters caused more deaths than cannonballs? After firing holes through a number of pig carcasses in a row and shooting holes in a reconstructed ship's side, they pronounced this a myth.

This always bothered me (almost as much as the eyepatch myth they popularized). Period accounts all say that splinters were a major threat and that people did die from them. They must have done something wrong - but what?

I found the answer on the HMS Victory - Nelson's flagship at Traffalgar. According to a display there, making splinters is an art form. The faster you shoot your cannonball the fewer splinters you get. In order to generate maximum splinters, gunners would reduce the size of their charge until the ball would barely pierce the hull.

When the Mythbusters tried it, they used an aircannon and they were concerned about not having enough power, not too much. They also brought in a real cannon, but, again, I think that the cannon crew used the strongest charge they could. With such powerful shots, they cleanly pierced the hull with few splinters.

Mark

[Black Hearted Pearl]

Me mate, Gunner Gordon and I were just discussing these facts as well. It would be a waste to use all up all your powder and not get the effect of splintering.

[Capt. Sterling]

Great find Mark... especially since there are so many accounts of splinters being a major danger.

[callenish gunner]

This was done 12 years ago at Fort Indian Town Gap PA ....Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Casualty reports were recorded in the records of the Battle of Lake Erie

[Fox]

The other issue with the Mythbusters splinter test was that when the projectile hit the wooden "wall", it bent over and absorbed a great deal of the impact, so it was never going to be an accurate test anyway, regardless of the charge.

Don't get me started on the rest of the episode...

[Duchess]

Some part of me wonders if they do the myths that way on purpose. That way they can revisit them later...

[Black Hearted Pearl]

The other issue with the Mythbusters splinter test was that when the projectile hit the wooden "wall", it bent over and absorbed a great deal of the impact, so it was never going to be an accurate test anyway, regardless of the charge.

Don't get me started on the rest of the episode...

Historical accuracy is in the budget. The budget for Mythsbusters is for a 2nd rate cable television show. How accurate did you expect them to be on that kind of budget? It's not like they had a budget amount similar to Avatar's.

Reality Television....

Low budgets, No SAG

gotta love it.

[captscurvy_nc]

Wonder what the treatment (besides pulling them out, talking about once it starts to show infection) was with splinters. Could the treatment carry a higher risk of infection and death than the actuall splinter itself?

[gunner Gordon]

In addition to the above observances on the mythbusters episode ,note that the replica 6pounder tube was not full scale but 3" not the 3.67" it should have been but still shooting the full charge of modern made glazed black powder, much more volitile than the original. The wood structure was not anywhere near the mass of an original. Having worked on many such T.V. shows I can tell you the controversy we are discussing is far better viewer advertising than doing it correctly and not haveing it "talked" about.Don't get your hopes up until world wrestling becomes a competition of... wrestling?

[Daniel]

I'd just like to point out that the Mythbusters' ecperiment did find splinters; lots of them. What it did not find was lethal penetration by those splinters.

Under combat conditions, gunners would not have been able to precisely predict before loading their cartridges the range at which they would have to fire, nor, in a line-of-battle engagement, could they have been certain whether the next ship they would have to fire on would be a first rate or a fourth rate, whose hull thicknesses varied. Only occasionally would they know the exact thickness of the wales of the opposing ship, even if they knew what rate it was. Cartridges were loaded long before the battle. Under those conditions, it is extremely implausible that gunners could have precisely calibrated their powder load to an amount just barely adequate to pierce the hull of the particular enemy ship they faced at the particular range they ended up firing at.

If the Mythbusters episode was inaccurate (as it probably was given how much first-hand evidence contradicts it), I think the reason lies elsewhere.

Maybe the bending and absorption of the Mythbusters' wooden wall had something to do with their results, but do we know that the side of a ship in combat would behave any differently?

[Cascabel]

The biggest issue that I had with the episode was that all hits were in between ribs. It's fairly easy to punch a clean hole in that area, free of large splinters. Depending on thickness, you could do it with a sledgehammer. They should have tried a few shots that hit the ribs. I think the results would have been considerably different !!!

>>>> Cascabel

[gunner Gordon]

One other thing not taken to task was the thickness of the side . Up and down oak (ribs) and horizontal sides. Side pieces alone can vary on commercial craft from 2 1/2 inches thick on a 90 ft. LOD schooner to 4 inches or more on larger ships. Daniel is correct that charges were loaded way in advance and were not incremental by target as we do today with semi fixed munnitions for mortars and artillery. Mythbusters only has to convince their viewers of what they see on the screen, and are not accountable for scientific results . Afterall, how many shots did they fire? and at what?