INERT DEACTIVATED. British Crimean War & Victorian Era, Unfired Land Service, 8 Inch Mortor, High Explosive & Boxer Long Mortor Fuse. - O 1719 INERT DEACTIVATED. British Crimean War & Victorian Era, Unfired Land Service, 8 Inch Mortor, High Explosive & Boxer Long Mortor Fuse. - O 1719 Other Ammunition

INERT DEACTIVATED. This is a rare, unfired British cast iron 8 inch high explosive mortor complete with its original Boxer long mortor fuse. The mortor was a short barrelled gun, fitted onto a shirt fixed cast iron bed and fired at a high angle of elevation to deliver a large high explosive at moderate distances. This mortor shell has a hollow centre with a 1 ¼ inch diameter fuse hole it the top. The wooden Boxer fuse is in excellent condition and is called the ‘Fuse Time Wood Boxer Mortor Large’ and was used in 13, 10 and 8 inch mortor high explosive projectiles. This fuse measures 7.4 inches in length as opposed the normal Boxer fuse which was half the length. This fuse was designed to be used in very large projectiles enabling the fuse to reach the explosive content. The fuse has radial graduation rings round the body, 1 inch apart from the base with holes drilled spirally from the 1 inch ring to the number 6 ring. These graduations were used to give a maximum delay of approximately 30 seconds. The mortors were used in British forts in the Victorian era and were also used as artillery in the Siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. See pages 11 and 12 in Early British Artillery Fuses by David J Ibbetson. No licence is required to possess this cannon ball and fuse in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. The price includes UK delivery. O 1719