28th August 2010, 08:35 PM | #24 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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Fascinating thread!
How would i guess that the posting of my atypical ball would result in such a treatise on cannonballs. Hot shot and shot towers would certainly never dream of making part of my vocabulary! I finally located some data on the use of hot shot in old Portuguese (and Brazilian) coast forts. It was a question of having not browsed with the right term; here they call it bala ardente (burning bullet). Considering Fearn's reasonable suggestion that this ball was not even fired, having been discarded due to its faulty construction, one question arises: why then wasn't it discarded right after casting inspection, instead of going to take a risky chance to be used in campaign? |
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