Maybe so.So sir, given the above analysis by @Saphroneth , at least some of these cars could take a pounding...
Cheers,
USS ALASKA
No, they were not used much, if at all, but they did exist. I'm just thinking of the possibilities.Was looking at the Gatling gun to be used on Armored Trains, but it seems they where not used so much during the Civil War.
True, but marrying the one to the other is all the harder because both were rare. It's also a waste of the accuracy of a Whitworth to put it on an armoured train, while a Gatling isn't great when the whole reason you have an armoured train is because the enemy is pointing artillery at you!Armored trains were pretty rare too. LOL
It seems to me that the traverse of the gun would be severely limited.
I'm trying to think of ways this thing could have been more effective.
Think about the anti-personnel potential for this thing if it was armed with 5 swivel guns belching out grape shot instead of that 32 pounder.
So am i.No, they were not used much, if at all, but they did exist. I'm just thinking of the possibilities.
Much less exposed than your opponent, though.True, but marrying the one to the other is all the harder because both were rare. It's also a waste of the accuracy of a Whitworth to put it on an armoured train, while a Gatling isn't great when the whole reason you have an armoured train is because the enemy is pointing artillery at you!
That's the other thing - if you're working a swivel mounted gun you're exposed. A small casemate mount has poor traverse but good protection, which is the whole point.
If your head and upper torso are slewing the weapon around? You might actually be more exposed - and a Gatling gun cranker has to be stood upright to work the crank, so his body level is over the level of the gun barrels. If the enemy has basic field embrasures then they might well be more protected.Much less exposed than your opponent, though.
You have to look at the intended target to determine the best armament. Lee' gun was designed to help him in a battle with an enemy in formal lines and with plenty of artillery. The Union trains were designed to keep rail lines open from raids by small groups of cavalry, with perhaps a small cannon or two.
Lee needed a heavy gun and the Union wanted antipersonnel coverage all around.
Sir, that is the conclusion I drew reading about this. Union equipment was for patrolling the lines as a security measure as opposed to being 'land monitors' for use in battle. Especially those roads that had trackage in Maryland.
I wonder if Union troops felt like German troops in WWI when the first Allied tanks appeared on the battlefield. Having these monsters headed toward you could have been exciting...
Cheers,
USS ALASKA
It's been mentioned in some of our naval discussions how the name Merrimack persisted, and persists, even though the ship had been renamed CSS Virginia; the "land Merrimack" is another good example.
Per Hodges, American Civil War Railroad Tactics:Looking at some pics of 'cotton clad' railroad cars. How effective was this? Were cotton bales thick enough and pressed tight enough to stop small arms fire?
I work at a naval nuclear propulsion laboratory, JPK. I take no "glee" in my work, but I do take satisfaction in striving to give my country the most effective and superior naval weapons platforms possible. That said, if I were a praying man, I would pray every day that they never have to be used.Whoa, we were so fortunate. Death toll from the war was staggering without machines that could kill even more. It's always seemed such a narrow escape the Gatling wasn't around for most of it.
Love the inventors describing their weapons, post #5? Found one whose flying machine would squish entire villages, dropping rocks. All this glee over feeling you could contribute to more dead people always seems so macabre, war or no.
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http://firstmdus.net/Rail cars_files/rail monitor63.jpg
The above photo states that it might be the only one of its kind. I've seen drawings of Civil War armored cars but not any pics. Anyone know of any others?
Also, what the heck is a Pennsylvania Rail Road car doing this far south?
Cheers,
USS ALASKA