Quality of gun powder in different Navies
While listening to diverse podcast in the naval months, one of the reasons of the superiority of British naval gunnery should have been the better British powder compared to the French and Spanish.
While I cannot comment on the Spanish, I cannot see anything wrong with French gun powder - assuming they used the same as the French land armies did. It was perfectly adequate to do the job. What should be so superior of the British gun powder??
Next, how was the powder stored on ships to prevent humidity ??
Lastly it is mentioned that the British guns had flintlock mechnisms and that those enabled a more calculated shot. I was under the impression that only HMS Victory had so and then again I see not that great advantage compared to the usual firing tube insterted into the vent which did ignite all of a sudden compared to lints.
Thanks for your information, in case of the size of the grains, the finer the powder was the more sudden the whole explosion resulting as for rifles in a stronger recoil and also in reduction of powder charge due to quality. I wonder however how significant this was for heavy guns as well as how did the French powder compare to it???
As for salpter, how and when was powder produced then, in powder mills I guess and was it produced on demand or did they store large quantities in powder magazines in fortresses? So there coould be powder produced with Indian salpeter well before the blockade kicked in. Also from this blockade all other nations should be affected as well, but I did not read about complaints form Prussia, Austria or any other nation complaining that they were not able to produce powder in the quality they liked to.