Trivia #16 Exploding (1/16/2013)

[Trivia Master]

Tonight's Civil War Trivia Question Value: 10 points.
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This question will be open until Monday at about 9:30am EDT
New Questions are Posted Every Night at 9:30pm EDT
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True or false: The Dictator Mortar fired 11 inch exploding balls.
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Post your answers BELOW. Good Luck!
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[adisciu9]

False.
It was a 13 inch mortar

 

[Karlos63]

False

 

[Stony]

false

 

[Evan]

False?

 

[godofredus]

False. The Dictator was a 13 inch Mortar, the shell was 12.85 inches in diameter.

 

[chellers]

false

 

[Eagle eye]

False.

 

[godofredus]

As I was looking the info up I came across this great picture. Would Patton have had a fit?

Edit - I agree, it's a great picture.

Hanged if I know whether Patton would have had a fit, though.

Hoosier

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

Hm.... I'm going to say "false," guessing that it was a 13-inch mortar, rather than 11-inch. (But to my knowledge, all mortars fired shells...)

 

[hoosier]

False

 

[Littlestown]

false

 

[Cumpston1862]

False

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

FALSE.....The Dictator fired a 12.85 inch round, NOT an 11 inch round.....as per http://www.relicman.com/artillery/zArchiveArt.aBall.N.13inch.htm
A2367 Ball, shell, mortar with lifting ears, wood fuse, "The Dictator", smoothbore mortar, 13in.

Shell measures: diameter 12.85in., weight 210lbs. Metal solid, wood fuse missing. Shell disarmed, open fuse hole exposes empty interior. Recovered: road construction, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
As far as I know, ALL mortar rounds would explode......otherwise, what good were they, given their trajectory......

 

[Dbersh]

False (12.8 inch)

 

[TerryB]

False

 

[101combatvet]

FALSE.... the shell did explode, but measured: diameter 12.85in., weight 210lbs.

Ref: Bell, Heavy Ordnance, pg. 80.

http://www.civilwarartillery.com/hap/page44.htm

 

[napoleon 12 pounder]

false 13 inch

 

[truthckr]

false

 

[ErnieMac]

False.