A pull on the whale line caused the trigger to be depressed releasing the firing mechanism. During darting the single flue protected the trigger. 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. “All of a sudden, we realized blubber is coming down … There was that momentary ‘Oh … This stuff is landing.’ And it could have hit us,” Linnman recalled.When whalemen refused to use poison harpoons, they sought another way to fasten to and kill the whale simultaneously. The idea was that the rotting whale would be nearly disintegrated by the blast, and that any smaller pieces left over would be taken care of by seagulls or other scavengers.Īs Linnman’s deadpan segment covered, chunks of the sea creature flew in the air like shrapnel, sending screaming onlookers running and even flattening a car. The Oregon Highway Division had decided the best way to remove the dead 8-ton sperm whale that had washed ashore was to stuff it with 24 cases of dynamite and blow it up. 12, 1970, Linnman and his cameraman Doug Brazil were just 23 when they were assigned to capture the blubber blast on a beach in Florence, Ore. “I was asked about it virtually every day of my life, or commented on it, by everybody, strangers alike,” Paul Linnman told KATU-TV in Portland. On the 50th anniversary of the “Florence whale explosion” Thursday, a former Oregon TV newsman recalled what it was like to cover the infamous event - where authorities used half a ton of dynamite to blow up a beached whale. Sweet pitch: North Carolina job-seeker sends cake with edible resume to Nike Oregon drug decriminalization failure has less than 1% of users go to rehab ![]() Progressive policy is all carrots on crime, drugs and homelessness - and it's failing utterly Model Kelly Kay reveals sex of her and late Oregon tight end Spencer Webb's baby
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