In a previous video you asked for suggestions on what ship museums to go to in the US. You could start in Quincy, MA (USS Salem museum), and end in Camden, NJ (USS New Jersey museum). The two are a 5 1/2 hour drive apart. In between there is Battle Ship Cove Massachusetts with USS Massachusetts, a Gearing class DD, Balo class SS, Tarantula class-corvette, and 2 PT boats. Then there is Groton / New London CT and the Nautilus. NYC has the USS Intrepid, and some other ship museums around Manhattan. I think there is a DE in Albany NY if you take a 3-4 hour detour. There is another SS in Norther NJ, and probably some others I missed.
You have mentioned the fact that the Japanese 25mm antiaircraft cannons were terrible , could you explain why this was so? Loved the review of the dynamite gun . Thank you for the fine work helping to bring naval history to life, great job!
Joe Kuncl Low rate of fire, low traversing speed (though this was a common problem), vibration issues (caused when the IJN tried to improve muzzle velocity and RoF), terrible loading, etc.
Britain: **somehow also manages to get a preserved Vesuvius in the Destroyers for Bases agreement** Regina Marina in 1940: Haha, you can’t stop us now, Tommies! The Littorio-class is unstoppable! Royal Navy squadron: **laughs maniacally** Unknown: “I heard you were so bold as to try and interfere with American politics.” **a small silhouette slips out from behind the intimidating bulk of HMS Warspite** Regina Marina: **horrified whisper** “Oh, merda...”
@@MagnusVictor2015 Yeah, I wish he'd gone into a little more detail on Cuba. I heard they took out a major communications station with that silly little thing.
Some ridiculous part of me finds the idea of a warship that goes “FFWOOMP” like a massive, weaponized T-shirt launcher when it “fires” its main battery to be absolutely splendiferous. 😁
Could this be the world's largest Tater Gun? Also, where can I find a 15" diameter potato? Because that sounds delicious. She protecc She attacc But most importantly, She throw snacc.
Drach, how dare you make fun of the dangerous Italian Atlantic Fleet, I'll have you know that my great grandfather gave his life to defend his pasta factory against a landing party of Italian sailors.
The author of the article was probably later a spy for Russia, reporting hundreds of japanese torpedo boats near Doggerbank. If you know what I mean. :P
@@josynaemikohler6572 Oh man imagine the chaos if the Japanese had the Vesuvius in their possession. That entire squadron would have just committed suicide right there in harbor.
Every Drachinfel script: "Beautiful ship. Dry English humour. dot dot dot you know that ship that I just made you fall in love with? She's been scrapped." Drach you play with my emotions like its BDSM!
We laugh now, but in 1890 this ships seemed to be revolutionary. Pneumatics was a new technology with great promise, there were ideas for a pneumatic subway train, ( in New York City) pneumatic elevators, pneumatic mail delivery and of course pneumatic tools. The main problem was supplying air to a turret, which was solved and is seen in tanks and excavators today: the ring commutator which distribute air, electrical and hydraulics. Another innovation was the quick release air valve still in use today. So as a warship it failed, but it's technology is still around!
Short range stealth shore bombardment on moonless or exceptionally foggy nights. I like specialist weapons/vehicles as much as anyone, but this might be a bit too much.
A friend shared info on a large, pumpkin shooting compressed air gun. I was happy to have this splendid example of the technology's earlier history to refer him to.
Oh, Drach, your sense of humor had my wife rolling on the floor....because even she thought a dynamite gun would swiftly become a dynamite bomb. And she doesn't understand how a toilet works. She is a hospice nurse, and she knows more about dying well than either of us wishes to ever know, but her command of engineering is, at best, tenuous. Still, when she comes home from a night shift guiding gentle people to their last breath with the utmost comfort, she finds your wonder mellifluous voice to get her to sleep quite effectively. She finds your voice soothing and your command of language reassuring. She has taken to watching your Saturday offerings with me, because they soothe her. Usually so she may get to sleep after a difficult night. She says you have missed your calling. You should market your voice as a sleep aid. You needn't stop this, God forbid! but it might generate some additional revenue. Hey. Jordan Peterson does it!
The main problems with gyrojets were: 1) the manufacturing quality took a nose-dive in something like the second batch of shells, and 2) they really needed a two-stage acceleration system, like US infantry grenade launchers use, to give them that initial kick.
U.S.S. Vesuvius: Italian navy beware! Regia Marina: Who said that? U.S.S. Vesuvius: Behold our mighty pneumatic guns! Regia Marina: Did you hear something?
After all the decades that have passed since my childhood in New York City, I still frequently awaken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, dreading the depredations and havoc the Italian Navy might've inflicted on us with their massive fleet. Thankfully, living in Indiana, approximately 1000 miles from the nearest ocean, I feel almost safe.
Ships like this are why I love this period in naval history. Nobody yet knew what worked and what didn't, so all sorts of zany steampunk designs got tried out.
Hey, you *know* some sailor desperately wanted to fit the mother of all whoopee-cushion valves on the muzzle of one of those barrels. Just imagine, in Havana harbor: "Hey Pedro, do you see anything?" "No, it's past 2 in the morn-" *The world's most apocalyptically-loud raspberry echoes over the harbor, blasting glass out of windows and bowling the sentry over* "Told you those beans last night were past-expiration, Pedro."
It isn't that an actual railgun doesn't exist. It does exist, and it functions. Only it doesn't fire as fast as the USN wants it to fire, and it's shell's are a lot smaller in prototype. It remains to be seen whether this weapons system will ever be completed, as the high velocity shell and laser weapons are further along in development. At least this is what was published last spring.
@@rogerhwerner6997 Yes, just like the "dynamite" gun, it has looked far better on paper than it has as an experimental weapon. There are laws of physics that are against the rail gun, and the chances of it ever becoming an operational weapon is becoming less and less likely. As you say, there are other less costly and less risky weapons that will probably go into service long before the rail gun.
@@andreww2098 That's what I meant by the laws of physics. You just can't miniaturize the generators needed to provide power for the railgun. Size and weight of generators will first need to be overcome before things like barrel wear become important.
That's the type of air rifle that Ralphie should have asked Santa for on Christmas. You'll shoot a heck of a lot more than your eye out with that Ralphie!
As silly as the ship's concept was, her career was surprisingly impressive serving for over 30 years as a test bed, a showboat, somewhat successfully in combat keeping the Spanish awake and worried at night and most importantly in intimidating the dreaded Italian navy into never daring to strike against the USA!
I'm absolutely amazed at the quality of the photographs taken of Vesuvius' different gun compartments. I figured no such photos would exist because of the experimental nature of the weapon system.
This whole artillery concept makes 100% perfect sense to me, and it's a crying shame that we aren't utilizing it in today's navy as a means of deterring the Moldovan Atlantic fleet, who's presence on our eastern seaboard is causing great fear and consternation among would-be trade partners!
Drachinifel: I like your videos because they give me just enough information to put me in the know, but not take up my time in useless information i will forget shortly after it is over.
This was the third USS Vesuvius. The previous two had been bomb vessels used for shore bombardment, so the name was appropriate for a "dynamite cruiser". The next vessel with the name would be ammunition ship AE-15, a type of ship for which volcano names were traditional. The US Coast Artillery had two Dynamite Batteries at San Francisco fortwiki.com/Battery_Dynamite_(3) and New York's Ft Hancock. Douglas Self's wonderful on-line museum of strange technology has a complete survey of pneumatic artillery, which was surprisingly common www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneuguns/pneuguns.htm
Thank you for the research on this ship. Another example of a technological dead-end, that might have been pursued more if chemistry had not come up with a better solution.
NGL, I'd love if WOWS would throw in a set of tier 0>-3 ships for the lulz/events. basically a bunch of predreadnoughts and the various goofy projects to come out of the late 1800s, including this ship.
Built by William Cramp & Sons (in Phila PA). I grew up directly across the street from a Phila 'public school' (K-thru-5). "William Cramp School". Not at all surprised to hear that this ship became a 'torpedo testing' platform that retired in 1921. Because BUORD didn't bother to test any of their torpedoes after that!!!
The effect of a dynamite shell follows the ant-iarmor HESH ( High Explosive Squash Head ) shell type used by tank guns. Today the atmospheric effects which plagued the dynamite gun's accuracy are part of the fire control computations for modern guns. BTW Air rifles as large as 75 caliber were issued as military arms. Another great video!
Well. Good ideas on paper sometimes need to be built just to prove how terrible they really are. Btw sir. Could you eventually do a video on the early sea plane carriers/tenders?? Ships like the HMS Ben-my-chree
Ha! I'd heard of the pneumatic gun armed ships before, but I hadn't known one actually made it into combat. At least it found a role other than testbed.
"Surely those Americans wouldn't build a whole ship around such a ridiculous concept if they didn't know something. Divert all research funding to that
The fact the, "dynamite gun ship," never exploded over a decent service length at the tail end of the 19th century, including actual combat service, is actually really impressive levels of luck. Like. This is the era when battleships can just randomly explode; and start wars.
I think that newspaper mentioned the Italian navy because in the same years American public was shocked by the launch of RN Italia (Italia Class) with many newspaper saying that the American navy should be based on this ship. BTW how can RN Italia and the ship class classified? I don't that we can call them battleships or cruisers
Thank you for this look at the USS Vesuvius. I've known about this interesting ship forever but have never searched out specifics of it's armament or the ship itself. Very cool.
taggartlawfirm ....an extremely niche use that no way justified the cost of the ship, and even then it was very inaccurate. Simply seeing combat doesn’t make something a good weapon if it isn’t cost-effective at what it did. The money would have been better spent elsewhere.
Oh of course not, but when you consider some of the other weird experiments this one ended up better than most. Not to mention the fact that she actually worked, never mind she was obsolete in a week.
Dynamite anywhere in the mix is amusing. A huge issue with nitro-cellulose explosives is instability. Forget using them as a propellant for shells from a gun creating a pipe bomb - they were perfectly capable of going off all by themselves while in storage. It was a relief to many involved in things like mining when the much more powerful TNT came around, as it didn't have those issues. (It typically *did* need dynamite to make it explode in the first place, but that was for more manageable and less hazardous.
There was a coastal battery in the San Francisco bay area in California that was briefly used to mount "dynamite" guns, I can't remember the name of the battery, but if I remember correctly, it was either decommissioned quickly, or converted to something that actually had range
It might be mentioned that an 8.425" Zalinski Dynamite Gun was also used to arm the US Navy's first modern submarine, the USS Holland (SS1) (1900), though it was removed later.
The US Army installed a battery of the same dynamite guns overlooking the Golden Gate at the Presidio of San Francisco in the late 19th Century, fifty years before the Golden Gate bridge was constructed. Known as the Zelinsky Dynamite Projectors, they fired dynamite projectiles propelled by compressed air. The steam-driven air compressor that serviced the battery was behind a huge, shielded berm; the powerhouse that held the apparatus is still there, though the guns were removed long ago. The Army’s Coast Artillery installed a huge bunker at the same site in the late 1930s to overlook the Golden Gate (yep; the bridge was built by then) and the approaches to San Francisco Bay. Known as ‘Battery Dynamite’, the bunker is also still there.
Another excellent presentation on a unique subject. No mention, however, of the other application for pneumatic artillery: coast defense. The US Army also saw the potential for the pneumatic “projector” as a means of cost effective coast defense in a perfect location, given the relatively short range of the weapons. Accordingly a battery of three projectors was installed at Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco, in California. Based on the Zalinsky technology, Battery Dynamite”, as it was known, was sited overlooking the Golden Gate, the narrow entrance to the harbor and bay of San Francisco. The entire installation was three projectors on swivel mounts, backed by a revetted concrete construction housing the air compressors and a power house to drive them, a magazine for storage of the projectiles, communications and telephone system, etc. For a detailed description of this unique coast defense concept, see www.militarymuseum.org/ZalinskisDynamiteGun.pdf The revetments and powerhouse structure are still at the Presidio today, though the unusual looking projectors are long gone.
Dynamite guns were also installed as coast defense weapons at San Francisco, CA and Sandy Hook, NJ (defending NYC harbor). They didn't work out well in service and were replaced by conventional artillery. Battery Dynamite still exists at the Presidio, San Francisco.
One thing I will note is that USS Vesuvius was not the last hurrah of the pneumatic dynamite gun, that honor belongs to USS Holland and her sisters. In addition to their torpedoes, early US submarines carried fore and sometimes aft pneumatic guns like these, with the intention being of firing them from underwater, or by poking the nose of the sub above the water and letting loose. In practice it didn't work due to the limitations on fire-control and such at the time, but it was a quite clever idea.
If they used a steam driven reduction piston airgun setup they would of accessed naval hypervelocity projectile technology much sooner than the prototype glass rail cannon.
An actually long and decent career for such an odd and experimental ship. Haters will hate, but the USS Vesuvius was a good ship for it's time in history.
This ship is a beast.... i mean not only can you lob dynamite at your opponent ... if you miss ... well EVERYONE GETS FISH! I like to think there was an old timey band playing America - F Yeah when this ship was in action.
You missed the amusing fact that as a torpedo testing vessel, the Vesuvius holds a unique distinction; That of being the only US Navy vessel to torpedo itself. In 1911 while testing torpedos in Narragansett Bay off Newport, it launched a torpedo and circled in one direction to observe the effect, and the torpedo’s errant guidance system caused it to circle in the other and the two met up again. The torpedo had no warhead but the hull was holed and the Vesuvius had to beach on nearby Prudence Island to avoid sinking. She was repaired and refloated.
So it fires giant explosives via compressed air...so...sorta like giant murderous Nerf Darts?! I kid. But the launching explosives via Compressed Air, is that not how most Torpedo Tubes work? To get the torpedo out of the tube while its running?
I'm eager to see your upcoming USS Oregon BB3 film, also contemporary to this 'vessel'🤗 The whole US-Spanish naval battles are fascinating (ie Oregon's journey) though poor examples of tactics on both sides...
4:13) 37mm Hotchkiss. Some of the cannons were sold to the Spanish Army and used in the war Hearst got us into. Hotchkiss was American & unable to sell the designs to the US and moved to Europe.
No muzzle flash and less report would make these good for night action ( pre-radar). I can see how they would be useful for shore bombardment or attacking ships in port. Very stealthy.
An article I read claimed that the large, finned projectiles, when launched, were plainly visible when they left the muzzle, adding to the morale effect on the receiving end.
Pneumatic pumpkin gun . Got one it will shoot a pumpkin almost a mile and a bowling ball 2 and a half miles . I'm making a sabot round out of tungsten steel but I need a longer range to fire it .
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Have the girl do a video.
In a previous video you asked for suggestions on what ship museums to go to in the US. You could start in Quincy, MA (USS Salem museum), and end in Camden, NJ (USS New Jersey museum). The two are a 5 1/2 hour drive apart. In between there is Battle Ship Cove Massachusetts with USS Massachusetts, a Gearing class DD, Balo class SS, Tarantula class-corvette, and 2 PT boats. Then there is Groton / New London CT and the Nautilus. NYC has the USS Intrepid, and some other ship museums around Manhattan. I think there is a DE in Albany NY if you take a 3-4 hour detour. There is another SS in Norther NJ, and probably some others I missed.
You have mentioned the fact that the Japanese 25mm antiaircraft cannons were terrible , could you explain why this was so? Loved the review of the dynamite gun . Thank you for the fine work helping to bring naval history to life, great job!
USS constitution in Boston, not far from Quincy, MA.
Joe Kuncl
Low rate of fire, low traversing speed (though this was a common problem), vibration issues (caused when the IJN tried to improve muzzle velocity and RoF), terrible loading, etc.
Britain: **somehow also manages to get a preserved Vesuvius in the Destroyers for Bases agreement**
Regina Marina in 1940: Haha, you can’t stop us now, Tommies! The Littorio-class is unstoppable!
Royal Navy squadron: **laughs maniacally**
Unknown: “I heard you were so bold as to try and interfere with American politics.”
**a small silhouette slips out from behind the intimidating bulk of HMS Warspite**
Regina Marina: **horrified whisper** “Oh, merda...”
Other navies: "We have battle ships with 12" guns. What do you have?"
US navy: "We installed three glorified blowguns on a steam yacht..."
Nah, its "Our newest battleship is armed with FOUR mighty 12" guns! What do you have?"
"Well, we slapped three 15" guns on SecDef's yacht..."
@@MagnusVictor2015 Yeah, I wish he'd gone into a little more detail on Cuba. I heard they took out a major communications station with that silly little thing.
Some ridiculous part of me finds the idea of a warship that goes “FFWOOMP” like a massive, weaponized T-shirt launcher when it “fires” its main battery to be absolutely splendiferous. 😁
They should have used it to fire hotdogs! ua-cam.com/video/6DIEXyBcpUY/v-deo.html
The US Navy armed a warship with a 15" Pumpkin Chuker. How awesome is that?
More like a potato gun
Not one, but THREE 15" Pumpkin Chuckers on a 1000 ton hull!
Pfffffffft!
(What was that hiss?)
KA!BOOM!!!!
Could this be the world's largest Tater Gun? Also, where can I find a 15" diameter potato? Because that sounds delicious.
She protecc
She attacc
But most importantly,
She throw snacc.
Craters bigger than 16' standard shells
Americans built a gambling cruiser. You pull the lever, and you get random results. Once in a blue moon you may even get a jackpot.
lol!
I can relate to that since I have a gambling problem.
'Jackpot' for sure in American West parlance of 'debacle, mess'...
jackpot: Olympia
fail: omahas
Drach, how dare you make fun of the dangerous Italian Atlantic Fleet, I'll have you know that my great grandfather gave his life to defend his pasta factory against a landing party of Italian sailors.
The author of the article was probably later a spy for Russia, reporting hundreds of japanese torpedo boats near Doggerbank. If you know what I mean. :P
@@josynaemikohler6572 Oh man imagine the chaos if the Japanese had the Vesuvius in their possession. That entire squadron would have just committed suicide right there in harbor.
That Harry Potter pipe bomb reference got me good 😂😂
Well played my friend, well played
Every Drachinfel script: "Beautiful ship. Dry English humour. dot dot dot you know that ship that I just made you fall in love with? She's been scrapped." Drach you play with my emotions like its BDSM!
We laugh now, but in 1890 this ships seemed to be revolutionary. Pneumatics was a new technology with great promise, there were ideas for a pneumatic subway train, ( in New York City) pneumatic elevators, pneumatic mail delivery and of course pneumatic tools. The main problem was supplying air to a turret, which was solved and is seen in tanks and excavators today: the ring commutator which distribute air, electrical and hydraulics. Another innovation was the quick release air valve still in use today. So as a warship it failed, but it's technology is still around!
Short range stealth shore bombardment on moonless or exceptionally foggy nights. I like specialist weapons/vehicles as much as anyone, but this might be a bit too much.
Christopher Conard it actually worked!
Remember, it was not built for war. It was just a test ship that found a job during a war.
A friend shared info on a large, pumpkin shooting compressed air gun. I was happy to have this splendid example of the technology's earlier history to refer him to.
So.... We invented a air rifle that floats? 🤪
Could they shoot hot dog shells like the Phillie Phanatic? ua-cam.com/video/6DIEXyBcpUY/v-deo.html
and lobs 500lb bombs
And every sailor's mother warned them not to shoot an anyone in the eye.
This is building a ship around a gun
i did not see any reference to the Barrel being rifled???
Oh, Drach, your sense of humor had my wife rolling on the floor....because even she thought a dynamite gun would swiftly become a dynamite bomb. And she doesn't understand how a toilet works. She is a hospice nurse, and she knows more about dying well than either of us wishes to ever know, but her command of engineering is, at best, tenuous.
Still, when she comes home from a night shift guiding gentle people to their last breath with the utmost comfort, she finds your wonder mellifluous voice to get her to sleep quite effectively. She finds your voice soothing and your command of language reassuring. She has taken to watching your Saturday offerings with me, because they soothe her. Usually so she may get to sleep after a difficult night. She says you have missed your calling. You should market your voice as a sleep aid. You needn't stop this, God forbid! but it might generate some additional revenue. Hey. Jordan Peterson does it!
With a name like Vesuvius it turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Maybe I was thinking of the USS Pompeii, or the USS Krakatoa.
Reminds me of the "Gyrojet" guns. Interesting idea, on paper. Woeful in practice.
The main problems with gyrojets were:
1) the manufacturing quality took a nose-dive in something like the second batch of shells, and
2) they really needed a two-stage acceleration system, like US infantry grenade launchers use, to give them that initial kick.
U.S.S. Vesuvius: Italian navy beware!
Regia Marina: Who said that?
U.S.S. Vesuvius: Behold our mighty pneumatic guns!
Regia Marina: Did you hear something?
Why did I say that in alternating American and Italian accents?
USS Olympia: You should listen closer.
Regia Marina: Oh uhhh Yeah sure...
@@edwinlamont4187 Because it's accurate. lol
Fwoop!
**BOOOOOOOM!**
After all the decades that have passed since my childhood in New York City, I still frequently awaken in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, dreading the depredations and havoc the Italian Navy might've inflicted on us with their massive fleet. Thankfully, living in Indiana, approximately 1000 miles from the nearest ocean, I feel almost safe.
Regia Marina Aeronautica... just sayin...
Ships like this are why I love this period in naval history. Nobody yet knew what worked and what didn't, so all sorts of zany steampunk designs got tried out.
"you may pull my finger when ready, Gridley!"
A rather remarkable life for such an unusual ship.
So was her motto was ‘I fart in your general direction ‘?
Please. The time was more genteel. It wasn't "fart," it was "pass gas."
Hey, you *know* some sailor desperately wanted to fit the mother of all whoopee-cushion valves on the muzzle of one of those barrels. Just imagine, in Havana harbor:
"Hey Pedro, do you see anything?"
"No, it's past 2 in the morn-"
*The world's most apocalyptically-loud raspberry echoes over the harbor, blasting glass out of windows and bowling the sentry over*
"Told you those beans last night were past-expiration, Pedro."
never underestimate the power of sailors beanstew.
They produce inflatulence of mass destruction
The Nineteenth Century version of the rail gun! Both have had about the same level of success so far.
Probably equally expensive considering the era.
It isn't that an actual railgun doesn't exist. It does exist, and it functions. Only it doesn't fire as fast as the USN wants it to fire, and it's shell's are a lot smaller in prototype. It remains to be seen whether this weapons system will ever be completed, as the high velocity shell and laser weapons are further along in development. At least this is what was published last spring.
@@rogerhwerner6997 Yes, just like the "dynamite" gun, it has looked far better on paper than it has as an experimental weapon. There are laws of physics that are against the rail gun, and the chances of it ever becoming an operational weapon is becoming less and less likely. As you say, there are other less costly and less risky weapons that will probably go into service long before the rail gun.
@@sarjim4381 power requirement and the fact you have to rebuild the gun every few shots are the main problems
@@andreww2098 That's what I meant by the laws of physics. You just can't miniaturize the generators needed to provide power for the railgun. Size and weight of generators will first need to be overcome before things like barrel wear become important.
Fun fact: Dynamite guns were in service as land-based artillery when we invaded Puerto Rico and Cuba during the Spanish-American War. They did work.
That's the type of air rifle that Ralphie should have asked Santa for on Christmas. You'll shoot a heck of a lot more than your eye out with that Ralphie!
As silly as the ship's concept was, her career was surprisingly impressive serving for over 30 years as a test bed, a showboat, somewhat successfully in combat keeping the Spanish awake and worried at night and most importantly in intimidating the dreaded Italian navy into never daring to strike against the USA!
I'm absolutely amazed at the quality of the photographs taken of Vesuvius' different gun compartments. I figured no such photos would exist because of the experimental nature of the weapon system.
This whole artillery concept makes 100% perfect sense to me, and it's a crying shame that we aren't utilizing it in today's navy as a means of deterring the Moldovan Atlantic fleet, who's presence on our eastern seaboard is causing great fear and consternation among would-be trade partners!
Oh, happy day! The Vesuvius should have been named the USS Pascal or maybe the USS Barometer.
😁
USS Daisy/Red Rider
The USS Barometer... Wow. I'm remembering that.
What a beautiful ship, like you say more pleasure yacht than warship.
Cheers.
Drachinifel: I like your videos because they give me just enough information to put me in the know, but not take up my time in useless information i will forget shortly after it is over.
"The morale effect of sudden gargantuan explosions appearing on the harbour.." I laughed at that one xD
This was the third USS Vesuvius. The previous two had been bomb vessels used for shore bombardment, so the name was appropriate for a "dynamite cruiser". The next vessel with the name would be ammunition ship AE-15, a type of ship for which volcano names were traditional. The US Coast Artillery had two Dynamite Batteries at San Francisco fortwiki.com/Battery_Dynamite_(3) and New York's Ft Hancock. Douglas Self's wonderful on-line museum of strange technology has a complete survey of pneumatic artillery, which was surprisingly common www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneuguns/pneuguns.htm
Thank you for the research on this ship. Another example of a technological dead-end, that might have been pursued more if chemistry had not come up with a better solution.
Oh boy this would be fun in World of Warships as a tier 1 or 2 stealth ship
NGL, I'd love if WOWS would throw in a set of tier 0>-3 ships for the lulz/events. basically a bunch of predreadnoughts and the various goofy projects to come out of the late 1800s, including this ship.
Basically a turretless TD then. Hiding behind an island for an unsuspectinmg target to show up and BOOM.
the sigma would be interesting.
Built by William Cramp & Sons (in Phila PA).
I grew up directly across the street from a Phila 'public school' (K-thru-5).
"William Cramp School".
Not at all surprised to hear that this ship became a 'torpedo testing' platform that retired in 1921.
Because BUORD didn't bother to test any of their torpedoes after that!!!
That's meant as a joke, not a fact. I have no data on interwar torpedo testing. It's dis-info.
I could only think of the poor fellow on lookout duty. He gives the all clear, seconds later BOOM!
The effect of a dynamite shell follows the ant-iarmor HESH ( High Explosive Squash Head ) shell type used by tank guns. Today the atmospheric effects which plagued the dynamite gun's accuracy are part of the fire control computations for modern guns. BTW Air rifles as large as 75 caliber were issued as military arms. Another great video!
Well. Good ideas on paper sometimes need to be built just to prove how terrible they really are.
Btw sir. Could you eventually do a video on the early sea plane carriers/tenders?? Ships like the HMS Ben-my-chree
1:55 now that is an old reference. Ugh i feel old now.
Ha! I'd heard of the pneumatic gun armed ships before, but I hadn't known one actually made it into combat. At least it found a role other than testbed.
Can anyone find the clip of Baldick of Black Adder going "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"?
Seems appropriate for the Vesuvius and all
Wait, someone actually tried HESH on a warship?
Technically correct, though here in the States it would be HEP.
Ordnance powered by a cutting explosive rather than pushing explosives. Got it
Awesome... worth building.. just to have every other nation scratching their heads... and wondering if they missed something
"Surely those Americans wouldn't build a whole ship around such a ridiculous concept if they didn't know something. Divert all research funding to that
These were also known as the Zalinski dynamite gun, some 8" versions were installed at New York and San Francisco as part of the coastal defenses.
Thanks! Loved this ship for years, she is yar, and with non exploding shells, the cannons are federally same as bb gun.
Neat! Never heard of it before! Thanks! I'm thinking the dig at Italy was rather tongue in cheek as she was named Vesuvius...
Italian volcano versus italian navy...
@@ronaldthompson4989 well, Vesuvio (yep then vulcan) vs USAF has happened in 1944.....
USS Vesuvius had the Regia Marina in such a level of terror they kept themselves in the safe confines of the Mediterranean.
The fact the, "dynamite gun ship," never exploded over a decent service length at the tail end of the 19th century, including actual combat service, is actually really impressive levels of luck.
Like. This is the era when battleships can just randomly explode; and start wars.
Very amusing that they called it Vesuvius. The Romans had no idea that it was a volcano and were a little bit... surprised when it blew up.
Great observation, I was thinking sort of the same.
They actually knew it was a volcano; they thought it was an extinct volcano.
I think that newspaper mentioned the Italian navy because in the same years American public was shocked by the launch of RN Italia (Italia Class) with many newspaper saying that the American navy should be based on this ship.
BTW how can RN Italia and the ship class classified? I don't that we can call them battleships or cruisers
Ah, a ship with 3 giant bb guns, I love a good evolutionary dead end.
Thank you for this look at the USS Vesuvius. I've known about this interesting ship forever but have never searched out specifics of it's armament or the ship itself. Very cool.
Boom goes the dynamite.
Wonderful coverage of a bizarre but interesting ship!
21 knots doesn't sound like much, but it was very good speed at that time. It really did look like it could have been converted into a yacht.
as always another blast from the past and what not to love when 2nd amendment is mentioned ah i mean subliminally hinted at hahaha
This was a really neat video about a ship I'd previously never heard of. Thank you for putting this up, Drach. :)
Oh boy I’ve been waiting for this one
My favorite weird ship. We never put our test bed ships into service (hides info on laser turreted merchant ship)
Yay the Vesuvius!! It actually had a use and saw combat!
taggartlawfirm
....an extremely niche use that no way justified the cost of the ship, and even then it was very inaccurate.
Simply seeing combat doesn’t make something a good weapon if it isn’t cost-effective at what it did. The money would have been better spent elsewhere.
Oh of course not, but when you consider some of the other weird experiments this one ended up better than most. Not to mention the fact that she actually worked, never mind she was obsolete in a week.
taggartlawfirm
True.
The harry Potter puppet pals pipe bomb got me, that was hilarious
Vesuvius was a dynamite little cruiser.
The ultimate pumpkin chucker!
Dynamite anywhere in the mix is amusing. A huge issue with nitro-cellulose explosives is instability. Forget using them as a propellant for shells from a gun creating a pipe bomb - they were perfectly capable of going off all by themselves while in storage. It was a relief to many involved in things like mining when the much more powerful TNT came around, as it didn't have those issues. (It typically *did* need dynamite to make it explode in the first place, but that was for more manageable and less hazardous.
Always really enjoy your presentations thanks
I'm just here for the WRONG LEVEEEER!!! comments
Dynamite 😁
What a beautiful ship.
Wow. This is so cool. Thank you for doing the research, and making this video.
They actually used this thing in combat, the absolute madmen.
Hey Bevis, Pull my leaver. eh huhuh huhuhuh
There was a coastal battery in the San Francisco bay area in California that was briefly used to mount "dynamite" guns, I can't remember the name of the battery, but if I remember correctly, it was either decommissioned quickly, or converted to something that actually had range
Very interesting. I’d never even heard of this ship before.
It might be mentioned that an 8.425" Zalinski Dynamite Gun was also used to arm the US Navy's first modern submarine, the USS Holland (SS1) (1900), though it was removed later.
5:35 lol that looks like some From the Depths cannonry
DWG would be proud.
The US Army installed a battery of the same dynamite guns overlooking the Golden Gate at the Presidio of San Francisco in the late 19th Century, fifty years before the Golden Gate bridge was constructed.
Known as the Zelinsky Dynamite Projectors, they fired dynamite projectiles propelled by compressed air. The steam-driven air compressor that serviced the battery was behind a huge, shielded berm; the powerhouse that held the apparatus is still there, though the guns were removed long ago.
The Army’s Coast Artillery installed a huge bunker at the same site in the late 1930s to overlook the Golden Gate (yep; the bridge was built by then) and the approaches to San Francisco Bay. Known as ‘Battery Dynamite’, the bunker is also still there.
Izma: Pull the lever Kronk (Kronk pulls the lever and the guns backfire) WRONG LEVER!!!!
Another excellent presentation on a unique subject.
No mention, however, of the other application for pneumatic artillery: coast defense. The US Army also saw the potential for the pneumatic “projector” as a means of cost effective coast defense in a perfect location, given the relatively short range of the weapons. Accordingly a battery of three projectors was installed at Fort Winfield Scott in the Presidio of San Francisco, in California.
Based on the Zalinsky technology, Battery Dynamite”, as it was known, was sited overlooking the Golden Gate, the narrow entrance to the harbor and bay of San Francisco. The entire installation was three projectors on swivel mounts, backed by a revetted concrete construction housing the air compressors and a power house to drive them, a magazine for storage of the projectiles, communications and telephone system, etc.
For a detailed description of this unique coast defense concept, see www.militarymuseum.org/ZalinskisDynamiteGun.pdf
The revetments and powerhouse structure are still at the Presidio today, though the unusual looking projectors are long gone.
Dynamite guns were also installed as coast defense weapons at San Francisco, CA and Sandy Hook, NJ (defending NYC harbor). They didn't work out well in service and were replaced by conventional artillery. Battery Dynamite still exists at the Presidio, San Francisco.
Naming a ship after something most famous for exploding seems a bit questionable, even when you are building it to test new ways of firing cannons
SnowmanCA : The phrase ‘Vesuvius erupted in flame’ doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, I agree...
"Im sorry you want me to serve on the test ship, for a *dynamite* gun, named vesuvius!?" -some poor American sailor
Then again, a ship specializing in the random distribution of very large ammounts of high explosives being named after a volcano?
Well, during WWII the US Navy named ammunition carriers after volcanoes. USS Mount Hood exploded in port in New Guinea, completely disintegrating.
British bomb ketchs were worse. They loved picking some odd names for them from Explosion to Carcass.
Thanks. Always wondered about this.
One thing I will note is that USS Vesuvius was not the last hurrah of the pneumatic dynamite gun, that honor belongs to USS Holland and her sisters. In addition to their torpedoes, early US submarines carried fore and sometimes aft pneumatic guns like these, with the intention being of firing them from underwater, or by poking the nose of the sub above the water and letting loose. In practice it didn't work due to the limitations on fire-control and such at the time, but it was a quite clever idea.
Beautiful hull.
If they used a steam driven reduction piston airgun setup they would of accessed naval hypervelocity projectile technology much sooner than the prototype glass rail cannon.
All things considered, she had a longer service life and saw more action than many a ship in many a navy.
An actually long and decent career for such an odd and experimental ship. Haters will hate, but the USS Vesuvius was a good ship for it's time in history.
This ship is a beast.... i mean not only can you lob dynamite at your opponent ... if you miss ... well EVERYONE GETS FISH!
I like to think there was an old timey band playing America - F Yeah when this ship was in action.
Good morning Drach! 😴
You missed the amusing fact that as a torpedo testing vessel, the Vesuvius holds a unique distinction;
That of being the only US Navy vessel to torpedo itself. In 1911 while testing torpedos in Narragansett Bay off Newport, it launched a torpedo and circled in one direction to observe the effect, and the torpedo’s errant guidance system caused it to circle in the other and the two met up again. The torpedo had no warhead but the hull was holed and the Vesuvius had to beach on nearby Prudence Island to avoid sinking. She was repaired and refloated.
So it fires giant explosives via compressed air...so...sorta like giant murderous Nerf Darts?!
I kid. But the launching explosives via Compressed Air, is that not how most Torpedo Tubes work? To get the torpedo out of the tube while its running?
Daisy gun of doom.
I'm eager to see your upcoming USS Oregon BB3 film, also contemporary to this 'vessel'🤗
The whole US-Spanish naval battles are fascinating (ie Oregon's journey) though poor examples of tactics on both sides...
Not to mention the 2% hit rate against a mostly-stationary enemy at Manila Bay.
Hampton roads, CSS Virginia It all makes sense now.
4:13) 37mm Hotchkiss. Some of the cannons were sold to the Spanish Army and used in the war Hearst got us into. Hotchkiss was American & unable to sell the designs to the US and moved to Europe.
No muzzle flash and less report would make these good for night action ( pre-radar). I can see how they would be useful for shore bombardment or attacking ships in port. Very stealthy.
3:30 reminds me of the HMS Polychrest.
An article I read claimed that the large, finned projectiles, when launched, were plainly visible when they left the muzzle, adding to the morale effect on the receiving end.
Bring back the Vesuvius!
Pneumatic pumpkin gun . Got one it will shoot a pumpkin almost a mile and a bowling ball 2 and a half miles . I'm making a sabot round out of tungsten steel but I need a longer range to fire it .