On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:07:39 -0600, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 12/21/2012 8:57 PM, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 21 Dec 2012 20:09:34 -0600, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

On 12/21/2012 5:26 PM, Oren wrote:
On Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:26:58 -0700, "Steve B"
wrote:


"nestork" wrote

a) the gunpowder used in those cannons is more powerful than the stuff
used in regular bullets,

The powder was special, and they used a pile of it about the size of a VW
beetle.

Steve


The powder is special, but not a pile that size :-\

Related story of howitzer powder.

"NEW ORLEANS – State police say they have begun a criminal
investigation of a northwestern Louisiana company after finding about
6 million pounds of explosive material stored illegally on the site of
a former Army munitions plant.

"...Capt. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, identified the product
as M6 propellant, used in howitzers and other artillery. The pellets
are largely compressed nitrocellulose, also known as guncotton.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/12/03/louisiana-town-evacuated-after-police-find-6-million-pounds-illegally-stored/#ixzz2E0pWCWzI

BANG


When I was a young mad scientist growing up on the farm, I had a
chemistry set and of course I had to make some gun cotton. When
it was set on fire it just burned very fast in open air but when
packed in a closed container and set off it would explode. I can
imagine that the M6 Propellant will burn rather than explode if
unconfined, it would be quite a fire. O_o

TDD

I'd like to see 6 million pounds of it burn. What a sight.


But you always have to remember what happened to the crew in the gun
turret of the battleship USS Iowa. O_o

TDD

Fire got into the powder magazine of the turret (IIRC).

It was a sad day in America.