Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

[Vicksburg Dave]

Good Morning,
As a NPS historic weapons instructor, I am interested in any accidents that take place in the hobby so that we can learn from them. Did any of you observe the artillery accident at Plymouth, North Carolina, last month?
I would like to know how rapidly they were loading and firing, or any other details that will give me clues as to what caused the accident.
I do not want this thread to turn into a discussion on the variety of drills used by various detachments, but just the facts surrounding this accident.
While some may disagree about the appropriateness of discussing non-AC events on this forum, when an accident happens involving historic weapons and the hobby it concerns us all.

Thank You,

David Slay

[dirtyshirt]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Found this on line about it

http://www.witn.com/home/headlines/92021549.html

[itz3r1k]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

it sounds like the didn't swab the barrel after they fired.

[dirtyshirt]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

it sounds like the didn't swab the barrel after they fired.

Either that, or there wasn't a good enough seal on the touch hold by the (can't remember the number) man who holds his thumb over the hole during swabbing to create the necessary vacuum to extinguish any embers.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Hallo!

"Either that, or there wasn't a good enough seal on the touch hold by the (can't remember the number) man who holds his thumb over the hole during swabbing to create the necessary vacuum to extinguish any embers."

Herr Brandon, you have skated out onto thin ice here.

Please let us answer the question:

"Did any of you observe the artillery accident at Plymouth, North Carolina, last month?"

without speculation or limited or no understanding of artillery. Otherways, we will quickly sink into discussion of "those" kind of events and "those" kind of units and guns, etc., etc.

IF anyone witnessed the incident, please post.

Thanks!

Curt

[Silas]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Since cannon accidents tend to make the big bugs at NPS units nervous, this thread has some relevance on this forum. I'd hate to see true living histories - where standards matter - curtailed because of something which happened at a ham-n-yam.

Dave, you're not likely to obtain sufficient facts which you can apply to your situation at Vicksburg NPS. The reason is that the odds of litigation from that incident are high. When insurance companies are fingered to pay for something, they will try to spread or shift the liability to as many others as possible. Further, the cannon at issue appears to be a mountain howitzer. Not too many of those used at the big NPS parks.

If anyone has leads on obtaining facts, please contact Dave. As for speculation based upon what some unknowledgeable report wrote for a local newspaper, please refrain from posting it here.

[dirtyshirt]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Points taken. I was an artillery unit for a long time so at this point yes my memory of things is fading, but hey, lips closed here from this point on. Hopefully someone can shed some more light on the incident.

[Kanawha Riflemen]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

We go through Historic Weapons Training for the state every two years to be certified and our instructers get their lessons at the NPS training. Anytime something like this happens all of us safety officer's send these stories to our cannon detachment for reminders so that it doesn't happen to us. We always search sites such as youtube to find safety issues. Thank you for posting this as I have already sent this to our staff. There are a few things that could have happened from number one to number three, but those points have already been mentioned.

John A. Miller
South Mountain State Battlefield
Monterey Pass Battlefield

[Irish Reb]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

PM sent
-Corey O

[Marine Mike]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

The event organizer will tell you who is the official investigator of the accident. The investigator will hold his findings until he is satisfied it is complete. At that point it will probably become publc record. My opinion is that trolling for eye witness accounts will just add to the speculaiton.

Mike Stein

[Craig L Barry]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Silas hit it on the head. Not a National Battlefield Park Service gun or crew. Limited number of actions during
loading result in a (cook) coke-off, and witness accounts are not likely to reveal much to NPS crews since they
are required to wait ten minutes in between shots. This wait pretty much eliminates the risk of accidental ignition
while ramming.

The STRI crew did their annual safety training (there was a written test this year as well) in April, and it is still fairly
fresh in my mind as the instructor ran through the reasoning for all the steps we take at each position. This is my
second full year on the STRI crew, but I feel fairly sure when the facts come out it won't impact the park service programs
to any meaningful degree.

[Kanawha Riflemen]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

Craig,

I agree with you totally!

John A. Miller
South Mountain State Battlefield
Monterey Pass Battlefield

[Vicksburg Dave]

Re: Plymouth NC Artillery Accident

I am satisfied with what I have learned.

Mark, I appreciate you indulging me, you may close the thread at your convenience.

Cordially,