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Mallet's Three-Foot Mortar, 1857. Creator: Unknown
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Mallet's Three-Foot Mortar, 1857. Creator: Unknown
Mallet's Three-Foot Mortar, 1857. British shell-firing mortar built for the Crimean War, but never used in combat. Mr. Mallet's object in designing these enormous mortars is to enable a shell of a yard in diameter, weighing about a ton and a quarter, and holding nearly 500 pounds weight of powder, to be thrown [4700 yards horizontally]...the explosion of so large a mass of powder in the buried shell is capable of excavating a [huge] crater...and levelling buildings and works for a radius forty times greater than that of a 13-inch shell...these mortars... are readily capable of being separated into several distinct segments or parts...[and] can be easily put together in the battery...[Mortars were made at] the Thames Ironworks (late C. J. Mare's), Blackwall...during the Russian war, but their completion delayed, through Mr. Mare's bankruptcy, until after the arrival of peace'. From "Illustrated London News", 1857
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This photograph showcases Mallet's Three-Foot Mortar, a colossal artillery piece designed for the British military during the Crimean War. Despite being built for combat, this mortar never saw action. The Three-Foot Mortar was the brainchild of French engineer, Mr. Mallet, who aimed to create a weapon capable of launching a shell over an impressive horizontal distance of 4700 yards. The shell, with a diameter of a yard and weighing approximately one and a quarter tons, contained nearly 500 pounds of powder. Upon detonation, the explosion of such a massive amount of powder would excavate a crater, and the destructive radius would be forty times greater than that of a 13-inch shell. The mortar's unique design allowed it to be easily disassembled into several segments, making transportation and assembly in the battery more manageable. The Thames Ironworks, then under the management of C. J. Mare, produced these mortars during the Russian war. However, the completion of the project was delayed due to Mare's bankruptcy, which occurred after the arrival of peace. This photograph is a testament to the engineering prowess of the time, offering a glimpse into the military innovations that shaped the landscape of warfare during the 19th century.
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