I thought that only happened in cartoons

[Industrial Toys]

Huh? Scented sun what?

So those things were an artillery shell, and not some anti personel device? And the fuse would be lit separately and not explode on impact?

 

[Doofy]

Explosive cannon ball.

View attachment 570313

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;

Bruce

Dang, I want some!

 

[Oldoak]

My guess is it was what we used to call a qtr stick. Larger homemade version of an M80.

According to a local news source, that is exactly what it was. Not home made, but a commercial firework called "quarter stick" of dynamite. And I can tell you from experience, although they are powerful, they are not equal to the explosive force of what a quarter stick of real dynamite would pack.

 

[Doofy]

Life is often a Cartoon!

 

[turnkey4099]

Only 'dynamite' that I have seen or know of is actually Forcite and is putty like wrapped in wax paper.
For sure not anything near a candle.
Also electric blasting caps are the norm, not fuse wicks, but guess they still exist.

My brother found a stick in an old shed back in the 50s. set it on a stump and lit it. Fact. Dynamite will burn but not explode unless a shock (blasting cap) is used to set it off...at leasst in the formulas used in the stuff anyone could buy in hte hardware store back then. We used it blasting stumps.

 

[flyerdan]

Dynamite would also come in different percentage strengths for what you needed; 40% was pretty much what you used for stump work as you just wanted to loosen them so they could be dozed out. 70-75% was used for shattering rock, and if you'd use that on stumps you might wind up with a kindling mess.

 

[MossRoad]

We were blowing up some friend's model ships with small firecrackers in the yard one summer day. My father came out and watched. The models would bounce a bit, but not much damage. Dad was, among many things, a demolitions officer in a combat engineering battalion in WWII. He showed us how to pack some dirt around the firecracker and put a large rock next to it to direct the force of the explosion into the model..... WOW! It split the boat in half! That ship was SUNK!!! THANKS, DAD!!!! :laughing:

 

[Doofy]

We would drill a hole in a small juice can(one end is cut out) that would hold a Blackcat tightly. Place small can in a slightly larger can with a couple inches of water in the bottom. Light fuse and BAM! Small can shoots up about 100 feet. Great Fun for a kid.

 

[k0ua]

According to a local news source, that is exactly what it was. Not home made, but a commercial firework called "quarter stick" of dynamite. And I can tell you from experience, although they are powerful, they are not equal to the explosive force of what a quarter stick of real dynamite would pack.

Yep, probably an M80 or Silver Salute or something similar. That I can believe. The 1/4 stick of dynamite I DO NOT believe.

Don't get me wrong an old M80 will easily blow off fingers. It ain't anything to sneeze at and could be very dangerous in ignorant hands.

 

[k0ua]

We were blowing up some friend's model ships with small firecrackers in the yard one summer day. My father came out and watched. The models would bounce a bit, but not much damage. Dad was, among many things, a demolitions officer in a combat engineering battalion in WWII. He showed us how to pack some dirt around the firecracker and put a large rock next to it to direct the force of the explosion into the model..... WOW! It split the boat in half! That ship was SUNK!!! THANKS, DAD!!!! :laughing:

The man obviously knew the advantages of a "shaped charge".