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Naval History and Heritage Command

Britten Shell in Wooden Box, CSS Alabama

A round cast iron ammunition shell called a Bitten shell resting on a round wooden disc. A brass fuse is located on the top of the shell. On either side of the shell are two square wooden containers that when put together make a box. The Britten shell was discovered inside this box resting on the wooden disc when it was recovered.
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Title: CSS Alabama, Britten Shell in Wooden Box
Caption: 7-inch Britten shell and wooden box from CSS Alabama
Description: This 7-inch cast iron Britten shell from the wreck of CSS Alabama was recovered inside its own wooden storage box, an unusual find, but the Alabama collection actually features two shells with storage boxes, for reasons unknown. The Britten shell is the same type that struck USS Kearsarge and lodged, unexploded, in Kearsarge's sternpost during Alabama's final battle.
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  • Underwater Archaeology
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  • Artifact
Wars & Conflicts
  • Civil War 1861-1865
Navy Communities
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