The artillerist's manual and British soldier's compendium

PART V.
STORES, IMPLEMENTS, COMBUSTIBLES, ETC.,
REQUIRED IN BATTERIES.[9]

BALLS, LIGHT.

Light Balls are thrown from mortars at night, to discover the operations of the enemy’s working parties, &c.

Light balls burn from 10 to 20 minutes.

BALLS, SMOKE.

Smoke balls are fired from mortars to suffocate the men in mines, &c., or to prevent them continuing their work. They are also used to conceal manœuvres, &c., from an enemy.

Smoke balls burn from 25 to 30 minutes.

To construct hollow Globes, or Cases for Light Balls, &c.

The canvas, or paper, may be formed in the following manner, viz.:—With radius of half the intended calibre, describe the circle A B C D (vide Figure 20, Practical Geometry), and divide the same into four equal parts. From B with radius A B describe arc A E, from A with radius A B describe arc B E, and from E with radius E A describe arc A B. Eight pieces, as E A B, will form a ball nearly, the edges being brought close together.

CARCASSES.

Carcasses, a species of shell, are filled with composition, the flame from which is extremely powerful, and nearly unextinguishable. They are much used in bombardments of towns, setting fire to shipping, &c., and are discharged from guns, mortars, and howitzers, similarly to common shells; from which, however, they differ, in being made thicker, to enable them to withstand the intensity of fire; and in having three fuze holes instead of one.

Carcasses burn from 8 to 10 minutes.

Common shells may be made to produce effects similar to carcasses, by filling them with a proportion of Valenciennes composition, and bursting powder.

All carcasses have three holes; and, from guns and howitzers, are fired with sabots.