Strange battlefield find. Panzer?

[Nitram]

Same thought I had, mantlet.

[CampX]

The gears inside would not allow a barrel to fit it, so I would go with the Gear box of jack

Just my thoughts

Dean

[bigmacglenn]

As a former Tanker I can say that this is not a gun-mantlet ...I go for gearbox/transmission of an armored vehicle...
cheers, Glenn

[Glenn66]

Take it home and get an electrolysis bath rigged up, these heavy steel pieces respond well to current and I bet it'll clean up like new and give us some better clues as to origin. Was there any other items in close vacinity? It would seem odd to have just this one piece randomly discarded unless it was a roadside repair and and after recommissioning the vehicle they moved on, leaving the damaged part behind.

[Datrus]

Thanks a lot for all the new input guys

I have a hard time figuring out what the 6 ratchets are for??? We also first thought it was a gun mantle/mount but i don't think so. Maybe some kind of transfer gear box?

Glenn mate, the bloody thing weighs about 30 kg Anyway we plan to go out there next weekend if the weather permits us. Maybe i will try to do a bit of field cleaning and take additional pics. If possible take it back to camp.

Regards, Lars