Can somebody explain what "flash" is?

DeepSix · 06-11-06, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Quote:

...a shell bursting inside the upper turret had ignited powder waiting to be loaded into the guns, sending a bolt of flame flashing unimpeded down the sixty-foot hoist into the powder magazines. Assuming this to be true, blame lay not with the design of the British ships but with the deliberate decision by captains and gunnery officers to discard the flashproof scuttles originally built into the British dreadnoughts. The Royal Navy made a cult of gunnery. To win peacetime gunnery competitions, gun crews were encouraged to fire as rapidly as possible. ....

Thank you very much; so it does indeed seem to be "flash fire" is loosely like "flash flood" - also interesting about the emphasis on gunnery competition; something the U.S. Navy overemphasized also.

Subnuts · 06-11-06, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Thank you very much; so it does indeed seem to be "flash fire" is loosely like "flash flood" - also interesting about the emphasis on gunnery competition; something the U.S. Navy overemphasized also.

Ever see that film taken during the 1950s of houses being destroyed in nuclear tests? If you look closely you'll notice the paint on the houses igniting seconds before the blast wave destroys them. I think that's what they mean by flash. Basically, a sudden intense pulse of heat. When the shell explodes, the sudden heat pulse would ignite everything flammable in the turret, including the powder.

lesrae · 06-12-06, 02:57 AM

I was looking around for a technical description on the anti-flash system and came across this loosely related article on the USS Iowa: http://www.combie.net/webharbor/museum/bb61-2.html

DeepSix · 06-12-06, 05:24 PM

Great find! I had forgotten about the accident on Iowa and never have seen the explanation for it. I think it must be a situation similar to flash - although slightly different since the article refers to it as a "cold barrel" explosion.

I've got to read it again and see if I can piece together how overramming the charge (which would mean improper seating of the bag) would ignite a turret fire.

Thanks!

donut · 06-12-06, 05:40 PM

Overramming the charge,ignited powder bags with friction,& heat of compression.Reff:A.I.DuPont Comp.

DeepSix · 06-12-06, 05:43 PM

Aha, gotcha.

And the fact that the breech was still open allowed an ample supply of oxygen to reach the ignition?

06-12-06, 02:57 AM	#3
lesrae Grey Wolf Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Somerset, UK. Posts: 932 Downloads: 31 Uploads: 0	I was looking around for a technical description on the anti-flash system and came across this loosely related article on the USS Iowa: http://www.combie.net/webharbor/museum/bb61-2.html __________________ DOLPHIN 38

06-12-06, 05:24 PM	#4
DeepSix Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Music City Posts: 683 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Great find! I had forgotten about the accident on Iowa and never have seen the explanation for it. I think it must be a situation similar to flash - although slightly different since the article refers to it as a "cold barrel" explosion. I've got to read it again and see if I can piece together how overramming the charge (which would mean improper seating of the bag) would ignite a turret fire. Thanks! __________________ Jack's happy days will soon be gone, To return again, oh never! For they've raised his pay five cents a day, But they've stopped his grog forever. For tonight we'll merry, merry be, For tonight we'll merry, merry be, For tonight we'll merry, merry be, But tomorrow we'll be sober. - "Farewell to Grog"

06-12-06, 05:40 PM	#5
donut The Old Man Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: The Shifting, Whispering Sands, NM Posts: 1,463 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Overramming the charge,ignited powder bags with friction,& heat of compression.Reff:A.I.DuPont Comp. Last edited by donut; 06-12-06 at 05:46 PM.

06-12-06, 05:43 PM	#6
DeepSix Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Music City Posts: 683 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Aha, gotcha. And the fact that the breech was still open allowed an ample supply of oxygen to reach the ignition? __________________ Jack's happy days will soon be gone, To return again, oh never! For they've raised his pay five cents a day, But they've stopped his grog forever. For tonight we'll merry, merry be, For tonight we'll merry, merry be, For tonight we'll merry, merry be, But tomorrow we'll be sober. - "Farewell to Grog"

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