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Great Britain
DIAMETER: 2.14 inches across flats |
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| Sir Joseph Whitworth patented an improvement on his Whitworth projectile on December 30, 1859, Great Britain patent #2990. His patent states, "The rear part is made to taper, and the weight, form, and degree of convergence given to it must be determined by and adapted to those of the fore part". This improvement gave the Whitworth projectile more favorable accuracy, velocity, and range. The 6-pounder caliber Whitworth projectile was used to a very limited extent. Most Whitworth projectiles were manufactured as bolts. The small ineffective bursting cavity in the shells made them less effective because of poor fragmentation. This pictured Whitworth projectile is located in the West Point Military Academy Museum in New York. | ||||