Original Item: Only One Available. The IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun: 1,185 guns were cast at Alger, Bellona, Fort Pitt, Seyfert, McManus & Co., Tredegar, and West Point foundries between 1855 and 1864. Fort Pitt Foundry also made 16 for the army in 1861. The IX-inch Dahlgren was the most popular and versatile of Dahlgren shell guns made. The IX-inch guns served as broadside armament on larger ships such as USS Susquehanna, which carried 12 IX-inch Dahlgren guns in broadside mounts in addition to her two pivot guns and USS Powhatan which carried 10 IX-inch guns in broadside mounts in addition to her two XI-inch Dahlgren pivot guns. These broadside guns would normally be mounted on a Marsilly carriage (see illustration). Smaller coastal blockade ships such as USS Fort Henry and USS Hunchback mounted IX-inch Dahlgrens on pivot mounts. IX-inch Dahlgrens were used on several river gunboats such as USS Essex and USS Benton. If mounted as either a pivot gun or a broadside gun the IX-inch Dahlgren had a crew of 16 and a powderman.

This is an excellent example of a 9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore Naval Gun Shell, which still has the original brass fuze installed! We almost always see these quite rusted and without the fuze, so this definitely looks to be an unfired deactivated example. It is missing the wooden cup sabot, however those are almost never found.

The fuze is still fully marked with the ordnance marking, a Naval Anchor, and date:

Condition is very good to excellent, without the usual rust and damage that we usually see on these shells. A very similar example can be found on the Civil War Artillery website at this link : U.S. Spherical 9 Inch Shell.

Ready to display!

Specifications:

DIAMETER: 8.8 inches
GUN:  9-inch Dahlgren Smoothbore
LENGTH:  -
WEIGHT: 80+ pounds
CONSTRUCTION:  Case Shot
SABOT:  Wooden Cup - Missing