Comments by "Frank DeMaris" (@kemarisite) on "The Drydock - Episode 251" video.

  1. The Minnie ball had a cavity in the base where expanding propellant gases can cause the soft lead to flare out into contact with the rifling to impart spin. When were cannonballs or other naval projectiles ever made of something soft enough to deform like that? A lead cannonball would kind of defeat the purpose, and iron won't deform like that under the kind of pressures found in cannon that continue to be functional. Even when they blow the cannon up, iron is brittle and shatters rather than deforming.
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