page_title: Dahlgren gun
section_title: Specific shell and related guns
hierarchical_section_title: Dahlgren gun / Dahlgren shell guns / Specific shell and related guns
caption_attribution_description: English: Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting the interior of the ship's gun turret. Passaic was armed with two large Dahlgren smooth-bore guns: one XI-inch and one XV-inch. Note round shot in the foreground, that at right in a hoisting sling, and turning direction marking on the gun carriage. Original caption&#58; "Photo # NH 58734 Interior of gun turret on USS Passaic"
context_page_description: Dahlgren guns were muzzle-loading naval artillery designed by Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren USN, mostly used in the period of the American Civil War. Dahlgren's design philosophy evolved from an accidental explosion in 1849 of a 32-pounder being tested for accuracy, killing a gunner. He believed a safer, more powerful naval cannon could be designed using more scientific design criteria. Dahlgren guns were designed with a smooth curved shape, equalizing strain and concentrating more weight of metal in the gun breech where the greatest pressure of expanding propellant gases needed to be met to keep the gun from bursting. Because of their rounded contours, Dahlgren guns were nicknamed "soda bottles", a shape which became their most identifiable characteristic.
caption: Interior of USS Passaic's gun turret
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