Vintage work crew photos

[desbromilow]

´Forging 14 in. shells with steam hammer at Midvale Steel and Ordnance Co., 1918´

i see the projectile, not the shell.

depending upon your terminology, the projectile is called a "shell" - hence the term "shelling the enemy trenches" and "shelling the beaches"... not all "cannons" use casings like pistols and rifles. The larger guns (think the Mighty Mo) use a projectile (shell), and then the propellant is loaded into the chamber in portioned lots, and the entire ensemble is initiated by a much smaller primer. There is several scenes in various movies showing how the guns in larger naval turrets are loaded.. the "bags" containing the propellant essentially rupture and disintegrate and the remnants are discharged out the muzzle with the rest of the smoke and roar as the gun is fired. It's been recently covered in Australian journalism that the powder bags for a number of field guns contained asbestos, and as such the gunnery crews were breathing asbestos as a result when they were enveloped in the smoke around the guns.