Great Britain

Whitworth Pattern I, Sub-pattern II

 

DIAMETER:  2.15 inches across flats
GUN:  6-pounder Whitworth rifle, 2.17-inch caliber
LENGTH:  9 inches
WEIGHT:  5 pounds 13 ounces
CONSTRUCTION:  Shell
SABOT:  None
FUZING:  Threaded fuze missing
The 6-pounder (2.17-inch caliber) Whitworth rifle saw very little battlefield use. After the fall of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, on January 15, 1865, four 6-pounder (2.17-inch caliber) Whitworth rifles were surrendered. Whitworth Pattern I, Sub-pattern II, shells in this caliber are extremely rare. The small bursting cavity of the Whitworth pattern made the projectile fragmentation inadequate, usually into only a few pieces. Whitworth projectiles were extremely accurate and achieved distances far greater than any other Civil War projectile.  For information about Sir Joseph Whitworth click here.