#Whale exploding Patch#

The two pivot barbs were spring-loaded open by small leaf springs mounted to the shank. Pivot barbs were installed in a mortise through a widened section of the shank, and they pivoted on a single, common pin. Shear pin held the head to the shank for darting the end of the shank was thereby held a short distance back from the threaded plug with the percussion cap on it. The solid shank entered the hollow rear tube a short distance. The assembled explosive head was not forged to the shank, but fit loosely over the end of it. The forward tube was made with a solid, pointed tip for penetrating the whale during darting, and was filled with gunpowder. The plug was made with a nipple for a percussion cap extending into the rear tube of the head it also had a small hole through its length to transmit fire from the percussion cap to the forward tube. The head of the harpoon consisted of two metal tubes connected end to end by means of a threaded plug. These barbs were to open outward to secure the whale after the head exploded to kill it.

This iron was made with pivot barbs on the shank behind the explosive head. Theodore Briggs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania patented an explosive hand-darted harpoon in 1860 (U.S. According to the patent specifications, this caused the separable tip '.to be forced off by the explosion, in order to kill the whale immediately.'Ĭharles Burt Explosive Harpoon Patent Drawings A pull on the whale line caused the trigger to be depressed releasing the firing mechanism. During darting the single flue protected the trigger.

#Whale exploding Patch#

A patch of linen made the stud a tight fit in the barrel to hold it in place until it was propelled by the explosive.

A one-half inch diameter stud at the rear of the separable tip was inserted into a bore through the head acting as a gun barrel. The trigger actuated a firing mechanism in the head. Trigger that depressed when the resistance of the blubber pressed on it when withdrawal forces were applied. General appearance was similar to the single flue-irons. The explosive force was not intended to be so great as to kill the whale by its force, but rather to fire a projectile, the harpoon tip, into the whale like a bullet. Length without tip is 36-3/4'.Īnother explosive harpoon was patented in 1851 by Charles Burt of Belfast, Maine (U.S. No examples of the Albert Moore harpoon have been found.Ĭharles Burt Explosive Harpoon (tip missing). If the explosion were great enough to kill the whale, it certainly would have destroyed the harpoon. There was no other fuse or other positive means to ignite the explosive. Moore described the preparation of the explosive, but indicated that any suitable explosive could be used. Moore described the action of his harpoon in the patent specifications:Īs soon as the harpoon is thrown into the whale and fastened to it the wooden pin is broken by the power of the whale pulling upon the tow-line attached to the harpoon, and the fluke of said harpoon will open or turn upon the iron rivet, and in opening or turning upon said rivet will come in contact with the vial and break it, will produce friction, and cause the powder to explode, which will destroy the whale. A cavity in the single barb opened to the rear, and accepted a small glass vial of explosive which was held in place by a wood peg across the opening. When the barb was closed, in the darting position, a small wood pin was inserted through holes drilled through the head and shank. His harpoon, fashioned after the single-flued harpoon, had a single barb that pivoted on an iron pin. The first explosive hand-darted harpoon patented in the United States was invented by Albert Moore of Hampden, Maine in 1844 (U.S. In place of poison, development of the harpoon turned to explosives. This remained a desired improvement, especially whaling in the ice fields of the northern fisheries. When whalemen refused to use poison harpoons, they sought another way to fasten to and kill the whale simultaneously.