Manufacturing an Eight Inch High Explosive Howitzer Shell (1917 ?)

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  • Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
  • This film is a heritage item from Library and Archives Canada and is only available in English.
    Detailed explanation of the manufacturing, inspection and shipping of howitzer shells for use in World War I. The start and finish of each process is shown and the time to complete the operation is noted. Shots of male and female workers leaving the office and factory, the assembly line and a cross section of a shell.
    Source: Library and Archives Canada. Dundas Historical Society Museum fonds, 1984-0413, IDC 11099.

Комментарии • 821

  • @henkvharten8465
    @henkvharten8465 4 года назад +21

    It is a shame that not a single TV station take the effort to show the uncut full length versions of this kind of films.
    There are many films like this made, but never showed on Television.
    I'm glad we have the internet today and RUclips, so we can watch what we like.
    Great thanks for sharing!

  • @AnthonyHandcock
    @AnthonyHandcock 5 лет назад +170

    An incredible amount of precision engineering for something that only has to work once and destroys itself in the process.

    • @enthalpiaentropia7804
      @enthalpiaentropia7804 5 лет назад +10

      Precision engineering for killing...

    • @dougankrum3328
      @dougankrum3328 5 лет назад +10

      yeah...in the 1980's I worked in a Machine shop as a welder, making parts for the 'Peacekeeper' Missiles...made me sick to see such high precision stuff that will only be used once...@@enthalpiaentropia7804

    • @jackfrost2146
      @jackfrost2146 5 лет назад +5

      Keep in mind that often it's suicidal mission involved destroying machinery thousands of times more complex than it's self.

    • @brianjohnston9822
      @brianjohnston9822 5 лет назад +7

      Precision machining so that it does not get stuck in a gun barrel, the more true the surface, the more accurate the trajectory.

    • @AnthonyHandcock
      @AnthonyHandcock 5 лет назад +1

      @@brianjohnston9822 What you say is of course absolutely true but from a ballistics point of view I can't help but think other factors made the precision machining of the shell a tad over the top.
      It's all very well and good having 8" shells machined to a tolerance of one thou but if a cross wind can blow it off course by +/-100' it does seem a bit silly. I'm not having a go at the video by the way... It's fascinating that this ever even happened.

  • @constitution_8939
    @constitution_8939 5 лет назад +18

    I have 5 years of Machine Shop experience using lathes and Bridgeports, uh Milling Machines ... but I Never imagined how much time, work and effort was put into a One Shot Destructive Device like an Artillery Shell WOW!!!

  • @MachinecoMachines
    @MachinecoMachines 28 дней назад +2

    Bertram...One of the greatest machine tool builders in Canada, often equalling or exceeding the American equivalent machines, sometimes made under licence. We've had lots of Bertram machines, the latest was a VBM shipped to Alberta.

  • @fluchterschoen
    @fluchterschoen 5 лет назад +88

    *Wow, amazing craftsmanship. I can't imagine being blown up by anything else.*

    • @drmodestoesq
      @drmodestoesq 5 лет назад +5

      I'd take it as a distinct honour.

    • @oldschoolfoil2365
      @oldschoolfoil2365 3 года назад +1

      Really? you cant imagine being blown up by anything else.

    • @jimjonrs3932
      @jimjonrs3932 3 года назад +5

      I would have hated to be blown up by anything of a lesser quality.

    • @deafmusician2
      @deafmusician2 3 года назад

      😂

    • @DaveSmith-cp5kj
      @DaveSmith-cp5kj Год назад

      "9 out of 10 Prussians can't be wrong!"

  • @Defundemorats
    @Defundemorats 3 года назад +4

    Thank God we live during the age that we can watch films from over a hundred years ago, hats off to the forward thinkers and the cameramen and the camera maker of that age.

  • @nampam3945
    @nampam3945 3 года назад +9

    Next time I am under artillery attack, I can be mindful of the dedication and precision of the workers who are trying to get me killed.

  • @scottsummers819
    @scottsummers819 5 лет назад +198

    Thank you for putting this up. As a machinist of nearly 30 years now it is very interesting to see how it used to be done. By my reckoning there was about 2.5-3 hours work (not including forging and filling with explosive) in each shell. It makes the mind boggle at how much effort was involved considering the literal millions of shells that were lobbed at the Germans.
    It would be interesting to see how long modern machines and tools would take for the same process. My educated guess is it could all be done on 1 specialist machine in around 10 minutes. With a couple of robots loading/unloading, I reckon 1 person could supervise 3-4 machines, not the 10-12 people that were involved in each shell in the film. Accuracy and consistency would be better too.

    • @scottsummers819
      @scottsummers819 5 лет назад +81

      @Yuck Foutube There is a wide gap between the skill levels of an operator and a machinist, whether it be manual or CNC. Most of the people in the video would have been considered operators. They would be trained to do 1 or 2 specific things and if something goes wrong to seek help. This would be no different today than back then for modern CNC operators. You could train a monkey to run a manual turret lathe but it would never be able to set it up. A CNC operator is not really any more highly trained than some one working on a production line somewhere, particularly if they are doing production work. Here's an example: I spent 2 days once setting up a machine, programming, making jigs etc using the full extent of my skills to do so. I then spent literally 5 minutes training my wife to load blanks and press the go button, she was then technically a CNC operator, but that was all she could do.
      The people with the real skills in that video would have been the machinists/toolmakers we didn't see but who design and maintain the machines and tooling. My guess is there was a considerable sized workshop just supporting that factory with a ratio of around 1 machinist/toolmaker for every 10 guys out on the production floor.

    • @johnc6738
      @johnc6738 5 лет назад +27

      @@scottsummers819
      Exactly.
      When I worked machine shop I operated a CNC for a while after being a machinist of years.
      I was never so bored out of my mind as doing that.
      It was a happy day to go back to a manual lathe and have to actually set up tooling and turn a part from a print.

    • @kezzler9556
      @kezzler9556 5 лет назад +11

      @@johnc6738 Agreed, manual machining is quite fun. CNC machining, put in a piece of metal, press start, try not to fall asleep.

    • @brainfreeze1925
      @brainfreeze1925 5 лет назад

      ​@@scottsummers819, excellent points.

    • @AKAtheA
      @AKAtheA 5 лет назад +3

      @Charlie K might have something to do with the not-dumb fuse and required tolerances. BTW are you sure it's not one of the smart guided shells?

  • @NikovK
    @NikovK 4 года назад +10

    These forged steel shells were a recent development. By using a high-strength forged steel body with rather thick walls and an overly thick base plug, the explosive force was contained after detonation until the last possible instant when the steel would shatter into lethal splinters. "Manual for the Battery Commander", from the French Artillery School in December 1916, described three "sheafs" of fragmentation coming from this type of shells. The primary and most important one was the lateral band caused by the fragmentation of the shell wall, a lesser amount of fragments from the nose, and a few large pieces from the base plug. When you consider how a shell impacts the ground from a howitzer at high angle, you readily understand why getting the walls to a uniform thickness is crucial to the fragmentation pattern of the projectile. The French manual also describes a cast-iron steel-overlaid shell, which would be cheaper to manufacture, and cast iron shells, which would be cheaper still. However the cast iron shell's fragmentation pattern is described as "pulverized instantly". Other parts of the manual explain how much care had to be taken to have all the heavy guns in a battery fire the same number of shells with the same charges to keep their barrels wearing out evenly, and so minimize the dispersion of a battery's fire. Other concerns like the temperature and the humidity of powder storage and even "powder must be rammed into the breach with uniform pressure from round to round", because more tightly packed propellant would burn differently and cause more dispersal. Since these heavy guns were used on harder targets that needed very close hits to destroy them, like concrete blockhouses or other artillery pieces, artillery commanders knowing their shells were all uniform could be confident of more accurate fire and so reduce how many shells had to be expended to be confident of target destruction. As for the huge bulk of what was being thrown around the Western Front, it was closer to the 155mm "medium" artillery. Heavy guns like these often operated with aerial observers in balloons or aircraft and would even fire one at a time, adjusted by signals from the pilot or balloonist.

    • @MachinecoMachines
      @MachinecoMachines 28 дней назад

      Now THAT is a 5 star 'C O M M E N T !! Readers should appreciate it.
      HOWEVER the collateral to your comment, is- What a shame so much thinking and effort and knoweldge should be devoted to Property destruction and - KILLING FELLOW HUMANS !
      WAR is hell.
      They should pass a law against it 🥺...... Now, if only societies and people- would obey. !

  • @albundy5228
    @albundy5228 5 лет назад +502

    You hear that? Silence! Pure golden silence! No crappy music, no robot voice! Thumbs up!

    • @hbunnie1120
      @hbunnie1120 5 лет назад +7

      A Narration would have been nice

    • @zooknut
      @zooknut 5 лет назад +1

      @Thomas Paine I remember that episode, classic!!! Still also to this day I say "my mind wobbles"

    • @garygraham4679
      @garygraham4679 5 лет назад +4

      Look at the date. This thing was made long before the "Talkies".

    • @austinbartose6527
      @austinbartose6527 5 лет назад +5

      JMPAZ1 the narrative was the words on the screen 🤦‍♂️

    • @kenparnell4297
      @kenparnell4297 5 лет назад +4

      That's because in 1917 there wasn't no sound.......usually a guy played a piano in the theater.

  • @terryclinard9031
    @terryclinard9031 3 года назад +5

    That Vertical Turret Lathe at 34:00 brings back memories. Not from the War , I used one in a Machine Shop I worked 20 yrs ago. That thing was manufactured in 1908 and still worked every day , without a hitch. We only used it to drill 4 inch bores in 8 inch thick steel blocks , set it up , oil the work piece , hang a weight from the Handle/Bar , walk by every once in a while and shoot some more cutting oil on it. I loved that damn Machine.

    • @charleshetrick3152
      @charleshetrick3152 3 года назад

      Ain’t no school like the old school. Then the world went and got itself in damn big hurry and fewer and fewer folks these days have time to do things well. But on the plus side I spose we get to know all about who Alec Baldwin married...now I need a drink.

  • @jgstargazer
    @jgstargazer 5 лет назад +11

    It's even more amazing the planing, design, and manufacture of the machinery that made the countless parts for the final product.

    • @paulsawczyc5019
      @paulsawczyc5019 Год назад

      Yep - all of that to kill people on the other side of the world.

  • @jimsvideos7201
    @jimsvideos7201 3 года назад +6

    An 8" collet chuck is something I never thought I'd see.

  • @bmcc12
    @bmcc12 5 лет назад +6

    Having worked for the United States Government, I can assure you that the inspector in that factory was truly on the ball! Never met an inspector that would have made all of those checks, even in this computer age!

    • @jrb_sland5066
      @jrb_sland5066 5 лет назад +3

      He was only doing it for the camera, I suspect. In a normal workday, I doubt more than one check per shell, rotating through the various gage rings... Sample testing is a commonplace these days.

    • @oldgeorge1939
      @oldgeorge1939 5 лет назад +4

      Perhaps just done properly for the camera!

    • @coyote5735
      @coyote5735 5 лет назад +3

      He probably only checked one shell in ten in reality.

  • @mikeswert7182
    @mikeswert7182 3 года назад +2

    In the Vietnam War I calculated firing data for a battery of 8 inch howitzers. I fired thousands of these rounds, but didn’t realize the work and craftsmanship that went into there creation.

  • @robertw1871
    @robertw1871 3 года назад +1

    Thanks for not putting some horrible track in the background... beautiful.

  • @tonytiger75
    @tonytiger75 5 лет назад +13

    Interesting to see the Niles lathe, John Bertram & Sons Ltd. sold their lathe making interests to Niles in 1908. They used to make wood working machines then moved on to larger machine tools for railroads paper mills and other industries. Making these shells was a blip on the radar for this company which lasted 120 years.

  • @saskiacalvert9764
    @saskiacalvert9764 5 лет назад +5

    Each one is an exquisite work of art. Such precision and attention to detail went in to every single one of them. Each one identical to the next yet no two are exactly alike. Each one lovingly handcrafted by skilled artisans. What a beautiful thing.

    • @rogerscottcathey
      @rogerscottcathey 5 лет назад

      Yes, hope the victims appreciate with what skill and art went into the means of their deaths.

    • @zWhistler
      @zWhistler 5 лет назад +2

      Irony . . .

    • @oldgeorge1939
      @oldgeorge1939 5 лет назад +2

      What nonsense - identical but no two alike??? It can't be both!

    • @videowatchaccount
      @videowatchaccount 5 лет назад +1

      Tolerances those days were shockingly loose compared to what we do today. With manual processes you get a good bit of variation between parts.

    • @oldgeorge1939
      @oldgeorge1939 5 лет назад +1

      @@videowatchaccount Yes, I understand that but you can't say they're identical and then that no two are alike. Either they're identical or they're not. Semantics! Very gripping film though.

  • @mztrclean
    @mztrclean 5 лет назад +9

    That is a hell of a lot of work for each shell!

  • @Pete856
    @Pete856 5 лет назад +11

    For all those who are saying it's such a waste of effort when it takes hours to make just 1 shell, and millions were used. Just remember that artillery was the biggest killer on the battlefield, so it makes sense to put your energy into making shells, as they might just win you the war.....and they did.

    • @jamesm.taylor6928
      @jamesm.taylor6928 4 года назад

      Well, shrapnel is the leading cause of death on the battlefield anyway. Artillery is just one of a couple things that produce shrapnel. In American and English forces, artillery, mortars, and hand grenades are the big 3. Where with German forces it's just artillery, and mortars. The famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, was not designed to produce any shrapnel.when it detonated. The potato mashed would kill through the explosion itself and concusive effects.
      America also produces a hand grenades of this type as well, simply known as the concussion granade, although not often used.
      Artillery is extremely useful for many things besides killing enemy forces in the open. It's large sizes can be used to destroy structures, bunkers, and as the Germans discovered Tanks and Armored vehicles. Aircraft were also added to the target list in war one as well.
      Another huge benefit of artillery is physcological. Enemy forces pounded for extended time periods have been known to suffer mental breaks. Even when that doesn't occur the enemy will be disoriented and suffer reduced clarity and reasoning skills. All these make a successful assault of enemy positions far more likely.
      These reasons above would easily justify the time and money spent on manufacturing the shells.
      Of course today, in modern times it's all automated and done in a fraction of the time, cost, and effort. There are several different materials used for the shell cases as well, from the good old steel.as shown here to cellulose, or paper, that produces no shrapnel.

  • @cristossinatra9635
    @cristossinatra9635 5 лет назад +3

    Wow,incredibly labor intensive for one shell.

  • @AtelierDBurgoyne
    @AtelierDBurgoyne 7 лет назад +8

    Je vous remercie d'avoir partagé ce documentaire. J'ai trouvé intéressant de voir les astuces pour tenir la pièce durant toutes les étapes d'usinage, les travailleurs et les machines-outils spécialisées.

    • @johncollins6023
      @johncollins6023 5 лет назад

      Saved France! And all those beautiful French women!

  • @bnghjtyu767
    @bnghjtyu767 5 лет назад +6

    Hypnotizing thanks for putting this together I could not stop watching it.

  • @AndrewTubbiolo
    @AndrewTubbiolo 5 лет назад +4

    The efforts and ends we'll go to in order to kill each other. Great video, as an amateur garage manual and CNC machinist I can really appreciate the skill and effort of these shops. Voting populations made up of workers who do this kind of work have a much more mature outlook on what to expect from the world. These people understood the world they lived in.

  • @c.j.1089
    @c.j.1089 4 года назад +13

    By God that gauge is going to fit this shell!

  • @glennkrieger
    @glennkrieger 5 лет назад +6

    So, I noticed the birds chirping outside my house. Nice.

  • @johnnyfannucci
    @johnnyfannucci 3 года назад +3

    You knew you were being blown up by quality

  • @ardvarkkkkk1
    @ardvarkkkkk1 5 лет назад +48

    Notice the cordless screwdriver at the end?

    • @potatosalad5355
      @potatosalad5355 5 лет назад +6

      "Belly" power!

    • @riccardoscavo8485
      @riccardoscavo8485 4 года назад +2

      Yeah I've got one dates back to the 50s. It's ever ready, never need recharging

    • @youldhead4017
      @youldhead4017 4 года назад +1

      I have one in my garage and sometimes I use it. From my grandfather :)

    • @NikovK
      @NikovK 4 года назад

      I use mine to bore holes in heavy wood beams. They are genuinely fantastic tools.

    • @4n2earth22
      @4n2earth22 4 года назад +1

      I run one of them a'plenty when I was a kid.

  • @RobertKohut
    @RobertKohut 5 лет назад +7

    Nice!! Amazing amount of work for one shell. Millions made!!

    • @direbearcoat7551
      @direbearcoat7551 5 лет назад +1

      I want to see how they're made today. I'll bet nearly everything is automated and the amount of time to make one is greatly reduced.

  • @patrickdarcy3863
    @patrickdarcy3863 5 лет назад +3

    wow, no balance of equal times of each operation and so much manual handling but lovely to watch, thank you.

    • @TheEvertw
      @TheEvertw 3 года назад

      Presumably, they had more machines doing the time-consuming jobs in parallel.

  • @randallmccorquodale3290
    @randallmccorquodale3290 3 года назад +1

    The Company I work for made back knife lathes during World War 2 to turn rifle barrels. It was truly amazing how many were made during those years.

  • @tinkermccardle7393
    @tinkermccardle7393 3 года назад +1

    Old one eye John was the photographer! No safety glasses!

  • @Erik-rp1hi
    @Erik-rp1hi 5 лет назад +8

    This was a well made "how its made" film.

  • @alasdair4161
    @alasdair4161 5 лет назад +6

    Wow, I have the powder shell for one of those in my collection. I'd love to get hold of the projectile... so much effort put into
    consistent accuracy and QA. I guess a few thou oversize would jam and destroy the barrel and potentially kill everyone nearby,
    so it's well in their interests.
    What a great piece of historic documentary work.

    • @AllisterCaine
      @AllisterCaine 5 лет назад

      No, i dont think so. The driving bands are what create gas seal, so there is not such a need for high precision. and also not because these are artillery shells. they could easily machined for maximum safety without losing their purpose. But i am not an expert, i just know a bit about weapons.

    • @alasdair4161
      @alasdair4161 5 лет назад +1

      @@AllisterCaine Makes sense when you consider the accuracy of the barrel boring process, however, I believe the stamping at both ends was done to trace misfiring or breach jamming shells back to the source, so accuracy was probably in their best interest anyway.

    • @Urbicide
      @Urbicide 5 лет назад +1

      There has to be consistency, so that accuracy is retained.

    • @drewthompson7457
      @drewthompson7457 4 года назад

      Has anybody read of "creeping barrages"? I'm not an expert, but shell accuracy likely had something to do with this.

    • @HaqqAttak
      @HaqqAttak 3 года назад

      @@drewthompson7457 Also walking barrage. That has to do with troops advancing and not the shells missing. You might be thinking of bracketing fire on warships. Which has more to do with not having a perfect fix on enemy distance and direction.

  • @dedos-pima
    @dedos-pima 3 года назад

    Those long sleeves so near that rotating chuck...no mercy when it caches...none at all.

  • @republish368
    @republish368 3 года назад +2

    That was a HUGE effort to make a BOOM :(
    Great video, thanks for sharing ;)

  • @sbell2496
    @sbell2496 5 лет назад +4

    I toured that factory in the 1983/4 timeframe as a class trip in Welding. At that time it was owned and operated by O&K. How is that for irony? Amongst other things, they were making armoured personnel carriers and repairing the Tundish for the Stelco McMaster Works Slabcaster. It was demolished to build Condos in the late 1990s.

  • @masterofrockets
    @masterofrockets Год назад +2

    6:14 can you even imagine the screaming?

  • @skipd9164
    @skipd9164 3 года назад

    In 1978 during summer break i got my first machinist job. Cutting stock to length, the milling parts to length also lathe work. The job was in a building that use to make shoes. A lot of the buildings were old shoe factories. Lynn Massachusetts and they burned during the great lynn fire 1981 or 82. I got to run old belt driven machines fo my type of work. All others had Bridgeports and other modern machines

  • @bigdaz3903
    @bigdaz3903 3 года назад

    fantastic to watch, the amount of skill and workman ship is amazing

  • @tomrisar5492
    @tomrisar5492 5 лет назад +13

    The 1917 cost of the 8" shell ready to go into breech must have been outrageous.

    • @MichaelClark-uw7ex
      @MichaelClark-uw7ex 5 лет назад +1

      They were probably paying the workers in company store script or if real money,about 50 cents per day.

    • @markmcdermott8307
      @markmcdermott8307 5 лет назад +3

      Greetings. I believe war time costs for manufacturing would not be that bad. Remember this is when the "assembly line" was really getting its' act together. See how well the "product" flows from one station to the next? Each Master Machinist performed ONE job, then sent it down the line to the next station. I was amazed how expert each tech was, even the guy nailing the ammo box together with the shell did it in a certain way. I love precision!! Did you catch the wave cut??? Now was that impressive or not???This is NOT computer guided like today with CAD or the new way. This is pure talent with experts who knew exactly how to run those lathes! Sooooo cool!!
      As an old welder I can appreciate everything I saw in the film and wish we had so many that cared what they did with pride of a JOB WELL DONE, NOT THE "GOOD ENOUGH" ATTITUDE.
      The 8 inch shell was the largest shell the U.S. produced with it's own brass, anything larger was just a projectile and lots of powder behind it!!

    • @bdv861
      @bdv861 5 лет назад +3

      @@markmcdermott8307 I can't find any references to an 8" howitzer shell being used with a brass casing and not powder bags. Do you have a link?

    • @crazybob1954mo
      @crazybob1954mo 5 лет назад +1

      @@markmcdermott8307 AND when was the last time you saw machine workers wearing a collar shirt and a tie.?? LOL

    • @direbearcoat7551
      @direbearcoat7551 5 лет назад +1

      @@crazybob1954mo 1917?

  • @fall22123
    @fall22123 Год назад

    Pretty cool seeing how they machined these over 100 years ago. Nowadays, it could all be done in 1 machine, start to finish, except the forging. I'm guessing you could spit one out in less than 10 minutes.

    • @lukeingram7655
      @lukeingram7655 Год назад

      I'm not so sure about that, things like lathe cutting steel can only be done so fast due to heat & chatter, no doubt it's been sped up but I'd guess the biggest reductions would be in manpower as opposed to time.

  • @LukasDubeda
    @LukasDubeda 5 лет назад

    You can appretiate the technological advancements these days watching such videos. It's mind blowing. O_O

  • @bouyant8659
    @bouyant8659 4 года назад

    RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF WORK FOR A PROJECTILE.. WOW!

  • @gregsummerson6524
    @gregsummerson6524 Год назад

    Those cutting tools are a work of art, they were made of tool steel and had to be resharpened often, nowadays they have tool holders with replaceable inserts of carbide or ceramic.

    • @backho12
      @backho12 Год назад

      Yes, I was waiting for the carbide inserts and the constant surface feet feature! That pitifully slow rpm!

  • @jamesb.9155
    @jamesb.9155 5 лет назад

    Cast iron and a hell of a lot of precise work by so many working hands. Artillery shells burst into so many jagged pieces of high velocity, heavy cutting shrapnel, cutting troops to pieces across the battlefield.

  • @onemoremisfit
    @onemoremisfit 5 лет назад +19

    18:40 Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.

  • @devilsoffspring5519
    @devilsoffspring5519 4 года назад +6

    Damn, if I put this much work into making something, I want to enjoy it for years. Humans are never quite as creative and productive as they are when they're being destructive!

  • @cluideman
    @cluideman 5 лет назад +4

    The man with the hand tap threading the nose got knocked out with the bar handle every 20 minutes for two and one half minutes

  • @mmi16
    @mmi16 5 лет назад +5

    So much work for a single use product!

  • @mugsymegaton3769
    @mugsymegaton3769 5 лет назад +34

    And safety glasses hadn't even been invented yet!

    • @Valchrist1313
      @Valchrist1313 4 года назад +1

      @NickoLps No, no Nazis in 1917, but anarchists and communists had recently assassinated a US President, and were murdering thousands in coups and terrorist attacks around the world.

    • @NikovK
      @NikovK 4 года назад +2

      Who needs safety glasses when safety squints are built-in to the Mk I Eyeball!

    • @FoFoxhound
      @FoFoxhound 4 года назад

      NickoLps We don’t want your input Mr Edgelord. Years of work safety saved a lot of lives.

    • @mugsymegaton3769
      @mugsymegaton3769 4 года назад

      It was a joke you moron!

    • @mugsymegaton3769
      @mugsymegaton3769 4 года назад

      Who you calling a Nazi? it was a joke, what are you, sensitive? Everyone wears safety glasses nowadays, lighten up!

  • @higgydufrane
    @higgydufrane 5 лет назад +11

    I didn't see how they installed the copper driving band (for engaging the rifling in the barrel). It was just on it suddenly. Also, who fills it with explosive and what type of explosive? Inquiring minds and all that....

    • @jaewok5G
      @jaewok5G 5 лет назад +1

      ruclips.net/video/a724cROJqSA/видео.htmlm53s

    • @mytmousemalibu
      @mytmousemalibu 5 лет назад +6

      I would have like to have seen that too. It could have been by thermal shrink fit or more likely swage'ed in place so it had a good bite into the wave bands machined into the body. No doubt that is why the wave bands are done so that upon firing the rifling engraves the driving band and it transmits the rotation to the shell body without slipping. I have some 30mm, 57mm and a fired/recovered 75mm shell(s). The 75mm has a well engraved band but it also has mark visible on what was in the grooves of the rifling that look like it was stake'ed. What ever the method is, it must be pretty solid so it doesn't slip!

    • @nathansmith5229
      @nathansmith5229 5 лет назад +2

      looked like crimping marks on the band to me

    • @TheRobbiUno
      @TheRobbiUno 4 года назад

      My exact same question 😁

  • @Bisley56
    @Bisley56 5 лет назад +4

    Almost everybody handling those shells during all the stages of manufacture wore no hand protection. They must have had very sore and damaged skin on their hands after a long day's exposure to all the rough edges and lubricant/coolant. I saw at least one worker wipe away swarf with his fingers, how on earth did they not suffer all kinds of nicks and cuts to their hands? A fascinating film.

    • @markmcdermott8307
      @markmcdermott8307 5 лет назад +3

      I can say as a pro welder, the hands get very tough when you handle steel for years. It is like leather and can withstand a lot of abuse but when I look for burrs today I am careful not to get cut, I expect to find sharp edges so it is a no brainer to be cautious of your touch. But remember the bare hand is the expert when judging surface condition of any material. The guy who applied Vaseline to the shells did a great job, but yes a messy job for sure. And I can promise you nobody likes getting burned with hot liquid steel, but that is normal for a welder in manufacturing. And they pay good for jobs like this, a big incentive during war time, or any time actually.
      But I agree I would want a good pair of tight fitting gloves with some of that handling but not when I was turning those shell casings, no way! And no tie dangling either! Ha ha!

    • @1ginner1
      @1ginner1 5 лет назад

      They probably did, as we do today. Gloves are a nono on machine tools and always will be.

    • @videowatchaccount
      @videowatchaccount 5 лет назад +2

      Sharp edges are something machinist have always dealt with and always will. Just got be careful.
      Far more worrisome for them was most of the industrial chemicals weren't all that healthy for you. They didn't quite realize that at the time though.

    • @clark9992
      @clark9992 Год назад

      I worked in a warehouse once, handling boxes and pallets all day. I didn't wear gloves, and after a while my hands got very tough.
      My uncle was a farmer, and he had extremely calloused hands. He had a "party trick" of picking up a glowing charcoal briquette with his bare hand.

    • @Bisley56
      @Bisley56 Год назад

      @@clark9992 Your uncle must have been a very tough character indeed.
      I would have winced if I had ever seen his "party trick" Your post made me smile - they "don't make 'em like that any more" or do they, you seem to have followed in his footsteps?
      Out of interest I have about 20 cu metres of tree trunks delivered every year which I need to saw then stack. I get through at least one pair of leather work gloves each year. Can't go breaking my fingernails, can I?

  • @77gravity
    @77gravity 5 лет назад +14

    31:25 Base threads are left-handed, presumably due to rotation of the shell when fired.

  • @miikapekk5155
    @miikapekk5155 Год назад

    Look at one of those artillery shells and imagine right now somewhere in northern France its fragments are buried & rusting, so much effort lost forever!

  • @smeercat
    @smeercat 3 года назад

    I have been on the range and watched 8inch come in. Big boom! Would not want to be on the receiving end of one.

  • @AdamBakerBaker
    @AdamBakerBaker 5 лет назад +6

    Love the old footage, but was scratching my head trying to add up Canada + WW1 + Howitzer + 8".
    Here's what I came up with: Most likely produced for the UK as I don't believe the Canadians used Howitzers during WW1 and they were quite the bedfellows back in the day. The round was used for the Howitzer Mk 1-5. Depending on your source, it's referred to as 203mm or 8". and appears to have been used exclusively by the UK during WW1. The only other reference to that size shell for a Howitzer would be WW2 and used by he US and the Soviet Union. The 8" shell also comes up for the M110 tank which came on the scene in the early 60's(Vietnam era). Union Jack in the last half second of the video is quite telling as well.
    Hope this helps. Feel free to bust my chops if I got it wrong. Enlightenment is a wonderful thing...

    • @antonrudenham3259
      @antonrudenham3259 5 лет назад +3

      Everyone used howitzers in WW1, these 8" rounds are for the British Vickers 'BL 8" howitzer', a modern design and widely used by the non French Entente powers back then, some of them even saw service in WW2.
      The shell weighed 200lb and could reach out to c13,000 yards which means they were extensively used for counter battery work.
      But this is an excellent video isn't it, the time and trouble taken to knock out such things in their millions is incredible.

    • @joandodds7626
      @joandodds7626 4 года назад

      ANTON RUDENHAM
      How times may have changed , a 3D printer perhaps could replace how many workers??

  • @cojones8518
    @cojones8518 4 года назад +5

    Smoke Break
    Time for Complete Operation
    Seven and one-half minutes

  • @craigslistrro709
    @craigslistrro709 4 года назад

    All that fine craftsmanship, just to blow it up...

  • @russellnotestine6436
    @russellnotestine6436 5 лет назад +46

    Back when men were men and the women were glad of it

    • @randylahey2242
      @randylahey2242 4 года назад +2

      Plentyyyyy of women manufactured munitions in pretty much every country...,you don’t use your penis when your putting together a bomb

    • @randylahey2242
      @randylahey2242 4 года назад

      @UC6nzZT2kEd8CaX8SD6Ev0Qg ruclips.net/video/fwYrJQRg13Y/видео.html

    • @wesrichards6168
      @wesrichards6168 4 года назад +1

      @@randylahey2242 Its actually a well know fact that women worked in manufacturing war equipment.
      Thank you for reminding us all that women did something.

    • @wesrichards6168
      @wesrichards6168 4 года назад +4

      Sir Tristan Does your momma know you’re looking at stuff on the internet?.. she will punish you soy boy.

    • @robertbowen6610
      @robertbowen6610 4 года назад

      @Robert Curtis bro let people be who they want real men don't bash people to make themselves feel better

  • @Darthilandia
    @Darthilandia 2 года назад

    Thank you

  • @Auburndad50
    @Auburndad50 17 дней назад

    Workmen sticking their face so close to metal turning without eye or ear protection. Crazy

  • @PointyTailofSatan
    @PointyTailofSatan 3 года назад

    And don't forget the huge amount of work required that isn't shown. Bit sharpening, recalibrating gauges, cleaning, equipment maintenance, etc. Probably half the staff just do this maintenance.

  • @williameaton9058
    @williameaton9058 5 лет назад +1

    1/3 of these wouldnt even go off. The reputation of British shells at the Somme was so bad that the Germans put up signs asking the British if they wanted their duds back.

    • @williameaton9058
      @williameaton9058 5 лет назад

      @steve gale look up the Iron Harvest on the Somme...this is widely well known....

    • @williameaton9058
      @williameaton9058 5 лет назад

      @steve gale
      30% misfire rate is a widely accepted fact for the British. The French EOD teams are still recovering 400+ tons of unexploded ordinance, much of it in British sectors.

    • @williameaton9058
      @williameaton9058 5 лет назад

      @steve gale Sigh...actual history tells another story:
      "On the opening of the Battle of Mount Sorrel in the Ypres Salient of Belgium, the commanding officer of the 3rd Canadian Division, Major General Malcolm Mercer, and his aide Captain Lynam Gooderham, were wounded and trapped when German artillery opened fire on divisional trenches they were inspecting on 2 June 1916. They ran into rifle crossfire when attempting to evade advancing German infantry, Mercer receiving a bullet in a leg, then remained overnight unhelped until 2 am next day when Mercer was killed by an exploding shell and Gooderham was taken prisoner by the Germans. A staff officer later claimed the fatal shell was British and Mercer is upheld as the most senior Canadian officer killed in combat and by friendly fire.
      On the night of 4-5 August 1916, during the First Battle of the Somme, the 13th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry were fired on by Australian Artillery while in process of capturing and holding onto a German communication trench called Munster Alley.
      17 September 1916 - During the same Battle of the Somme, a company of the 1st/7th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment waiting to charge a German trench south of Thiepval, France, were strafed from behind by British Stokes mortar fire, the most loss of life caused when their hand grenade store was hit, detonating its contents. The mortars had been issued their battalion only a few weeks before and inexperienced firers had set too short a range aiming at enemy lines. Despite this, company commander Captain Basil Lupton rallied the survivors and led a successful taking of the opposite trench
      15 April 1918 - Two British soldiers from the Somerset Light Infantry were killed and C.S. Lewis was wounded after being hit by a shrapnel from a British shell that had fallen short of its target in Mont-Bernanchon, France
      24/25 April 1918 - During the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, soldiers of the Australian 50th Infantry Battalion, advancing in the dark under German machine fire, attacked what they believed was an enemy trench. They found out that the trench was instead occupied by British troops of the 2nd Devon and 1st Worcester Battalions who had not been informed of the Australian counterattack and "thought the Germans were attacking them from the rear".
      16 June 1918 - During Spring Offensive, the British 4th Battalion of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry (4th KSLI), with reinforcing elements of North Staffordshires and Cheshires, were shelled by British artillery who were then unaware the position had changed hands, within 30 minutes of successfully taking a hill, Montagne de Bligny, from the Germans and capturing prisoners. The bombardment reduced the units' effective strength to 100 men but their commander, Captain Geoffrey Bright, insisted on retaining the hill.
      13 July 1918 - British army officer and poet Siegfried Sassoon was wounded after being shot in the head by a fellow British soldier who had mistaken him for a German near Arras, France. As a result, he spent the remainder of the war in Britain.

  • @Tommy1marg
    @Tommy1marg 3 года назад

    ok, are you telling me this factory from 1917 cared more about health of it's workers than all modern shops i have worked in so far

  • @brentbarnhart5827
    @brentbarnhart5827 3 года назад

    They labeled it OFFICE (so that everybody knew that it was the OFFICE). I like clarity, that sums it up. If the wife comes and checks to see if you went to the "OFFICE" she can look up and see the sign, as you walk in. And think, "well, damnit, HE DID go to the office, I love that man."

  • @rodrigomeneses5900
    @rodrigomeneses5900 5 лет назад +1

    Awesome the technology for those times. The proceeds almost same this present

  • @tonybletas930
    @tonybletas930 4 года назад +11

    The care, effort and infrastructure employed in the service of killing human beings is astounding! Oh, and the profits aren't too bad either.

    • @testplmnb
      @testplmnb 4 года назад

      business is a business.

    • @terrygilmour1876
      @terrygilmour1876 3 года назад

      War , legalized mass murder on an industrial scale .

  • @noosebrother
    @noosebrother 5 лет назад +30

    ah olden times, where everybody, and i mean everybody, wore a hat.

    • @mikumikuiyada
      @mikumikuiyada 3 года назад

      during those times, hat gives defence and dexterity stats. so its useful to have

    • @alaric_
      @alaric_ 3 года назад +2

      Don't forget the safety tie. Absolutely mandatory and necessary for the war effort!

    • @ccserfas4629
      @ccserfas4629 3 года назад

      Ya but no safety glasses

  • @peterborg3340
    @peterborg3340 Год назад

    This Film Shows the terrible crazyness of war: all that effort, energy, money, Skill, craftmanship - Not for the benefit of humanity, but only to kill humans.

  • @georgen.8027
    @georgen.8027 4 месяца назад

    The date code stamped into the shell is January 19th, 1917

  • @fairstnaimelastenaime1346
    @fairstnaimelastenaime1346 Год назад +1

    I'd love to know the coolant/lubricant composition

  • @peterhunt1968
    @peterhunt1968 4 года назад

    That’s one heck of a lot of work to make one shell

  • @daryladcock4205
    @daryladcock4205 4 года назад

    Wat an explosive documentary

  • @iano0100
    @iano0100 4 года назад +3

    It's indeed from 1917, when they were stamping dates into the shell it said 1917

  • @aleksandarfunduk5794
    @aleksandarfunduk5794 Год назад +1

    And how much did one of these cost back then ?

  • @robertblake1032
    @robertblake1032 3 года назад +1

    Yes the silence is a beautiful thing but the labor involved here is just crazy. These machinist must have made a buck or two a day maybe. I mean we gotta get this labor down to 15/20 min max. I mean they used tens of thousands of these damn things.
    But it’s a fabulous film. I do love it.

    • @charleshetrick3152
      @charleshetrick3152 3 года назад

      Yeah about two hours per shell, really makes you realize that every able bodied person was working their asses off day and night. Makes you wonder how we lost that sense of camaraderie and purpose.

  • @bobbucknell4205
    @bobbucknell4205 5 лет назад +1

    An awful lot of wasted material in that manufacturing process; it would be so very different if made today with precision forging and multi-stage machining operations. Great video!

    • @joandodds7626
      @joandodds7626 4 года назад

      Incorrect my friend..still tons of wasted material... that’s why the 3D printer is going to put millions of talented workers to the unemployment line

    • @Shepard_AU
      @Shepard_AU 3 года назад

      I believe that's called sward, and can it not be re-melted down? [to some extent]

    • @lukeingram7655
      @lukeingram7655 Год назад

      I'm 100% certain it was collected and recycled even back then

  • @ypaulbrown
    @ypaulbrown 5 лет назад +3

    Outstanding... thanks so much for posting...we likey

  • @brycerichert
    @brycerichert 3 года назад +1

    And to think a large number of them missed!

  • @rosewhite---
    @rosewhite--- 5 лет назад +4

    Shells have to be made of good tough steel to contain the exploding explosive until it reaches maximum pressure to give the biggest blast and most deadly effective shards of case.

    • @ianonymous3803
      @ianonymous3803 5 лет назад +1

      Well that's nice.

    • @TaintedMojo
      @TaintedMojo 5 лет назад +3

      The explosive reaction is faster than the conduction speed of sound through the steel, it’s strength has litle effect on the size of the explosion. It needs to be tough to survive the 50,000 Gs of acceleration.

    • @rosewhite---
      @rosewhite--- 5 лет назад +1

      @@TaintedMojo Quote: 'Explosives do damage by burning quick and the resulting gas expanding rapidly in a pressure wave. If the charge is contained or restricted, the pressure builds and you have an explosion when the strength of the container is exceeded.'
      Think about grenades.

    • @briand6671
      @briand6671 5 лет назад

      Quote: Explosive Shells have to be made of good tough explosive steel to contain the exploding explosive until it explodes maximum explosion to give the biggest explosive blast and most explosive deadly explosive shards of exploding case.

    • @briand6671
      @briand6671 5 лет назад

      @@ianonymous3803 yes, isn't that nice?

  • @FayazAhmad-yl6sp
    @FayazAhmad-yl6sp 3 года назад

    They are making shells by 19th century Bertram lathe machines a Canadian company specialist in machine tools,the human was so smart and intelligent in 19th century it is surprising.

  • @kutamsterdam
    @kutamsterdam 5 лет назад +2

    Each shell takes about two hours to machine, not counting the casting and filling with * boom* and they fired millions of the things in the Great war!.

  • @keepingitreal6793
    @keepingitreal6793 4 года назад +3

    The scene of staff exiting the office, reminds me of clowns getting out of Volkswagen Beatle. They just keep coming and coming...lol 😂

    • @robertleigh559
      @robertleigh559 4 года назад

      I started to wonder if they weren't all doubling around the back and coming through again!

  • @kc4cvh
    @kc4cvh 4 года назад

    Today, the U.S. Navy has a destroyer that fires 8 inch projectiles that cost more than $600,000 each.

  • @gregsummerson6524
    @gregsummerson6524 Год назад

    I see your Ontario winter much like ours in Pennsylvania.

  • @patrickroeill8746
    @patrickroeill8746 4 года назад

    Work in a production machine shop in the late 70s and wasn't much different than this.I remember one run was firing pin for M 60.osha wasn't around yet lol

  • @brianjohnston9822
    @brianjohnston9822 5 лет назад +8

    Wouldn’t want to be the government inspector, that is a lot of work

    • @alaric_
      @alaric_ 3 года назад

      To be fair, they really didn't use that much time on every shell. There simply was not time. Spot checks have been industry standard on anything except barrels which are each test fired. Faults are noticed later down the line and then the checks get more intensive and government starts to cut the money.
      For example, the checks on the inside, very rare to get anything left on the inside and very little effect if there is. It just needs to hold the explosive when poured in and be thick enough so it doesn't burst while firing.
      The manufacturing speeds were ramped for the WW2 and they would have even less time run with calibers around every single shell they made...

  • @gon4455
    @gon4455 3 года назад +1

    Lathe has not change at all. Aside being computerised.

  • @ThisFish888
    @ThisFish888 5 лет назад +4

    Im pretty sure the people entering were just walking around the fence and reentering to make it look like there were way more people there.

  • @Div303
    @Div303 3 года назад

    I love it how no one used gloves back then ! What a bunch of Sissies we have in the work force now!!!!

    • @charleshetrick3152
      @charleshetrick3152 3 года назад

      Sissies with all their phalanges, and eyeballs for that matter I didn’t see a single pair of safety goggles.

  • @FrancoisLabelle-yf8tj
    @FrancoisLabelle-yf8tj 3 года назад

    The rear insert plug has a left thread because the gun riflings are turning the shell to the right, so the cap doesn't get unscrewed when fired... I wonder why they kept spelling Gauge... Gage??!

  • @ericv8319
    @ericv8319 5 лет назад

    Take note of all the modern safety equipment!

    • @josephastier7421
      @josephastier7421 5 лет назад

      Gloves seen in video: 0 (OK they are machinists, but still)
      Eye protection: 0
      Smoking on job: YES
      Hearing protection: Can you speak up a bit?

  • @kurtg5645
    @kurtg5645 3 года назад

    22:50 That might be THE biggest collet chuck ever made.

  • @EXChristianRamRam
    @EXChristianRamRam 3 года назад

    In now a days only one CNC Machine finished this process within 30 Minutes .

  • @terryboone3333
    @terryboone3333 Год назад

    Boy they sure didn't worry about any ppe back then. Wonder how many eye injuries they had?

  • @hawkowl455
    @hawkowl455 5 месяцев назад

    From the start to to the finish of making the shell, how long did it take? I expect with automation of todays factory making it is much shorter in time.

  • @craigpennington1251
    @craigpennington1251 5 лет назад +8

    Workers are smoking more than the plant is.

    • @joandodds7626
      @joandodds7626 4 года назад

      Because they could

    • @Tom_Quixote
      @Tom_Quixote 3 года назад

      @@joandodds7626 Beause they didn't know how stupid it was.

  • @terrydouglas5008
    @terrydouglas5008 3 года назад

    And, where does it go to have the explosive inserted?

  • @tenpotkan7051
    @tenpotkan7051 4 года назад

    Why are the captions written so weirdly? Initial letters of words change between capital and lowercase at random while there appears to be a severe shortage of both definite and indefinite articles... Is that done to make it easir to read quickly or what?

    • @charleshetrick3152
      @charleshetrick3152 3 года назад

      This was also filmed in an era where reshoots cost a lot more than deleting the digital data we use today.