6Pdr Armour Piercing Round - 1943

[BrodieBartfast]

Hello folks.

A bit of an impromptu pickup, but one that I'm very happy with. A continuation on the 6-Pounder theme, to match the gunsight I purchased a few days ago.

This is a 1943-dated armour piercing round for the 6-Pounder 7 cwt anti-tank gun. Some light staining to the brass case, but otherwise in very good shape. Both the case and the solid steel projectile are dated 1943, with the projectile being dated to May of that year. The projectile has been fired, as indicated by the grooves in the drive band. It has been professionally reattached to the case, and is not removable.

I'm very pleased with this one! A far larger round than I was expecting. For a size comparison, the final photograph has it stood next to a .303 round.



Regards, B.B.

[Jb4046]

Very nice brodie. I myself would almost be tempted to put stencils on considering its already been through a restoration process.

I checked my book and this specific type of AP round was called SHOT AP Mk 1/T to 7/T (whatever X/T your one is i don’t know). Armour piercing capped rounds were introduced in october 1942. So your capless shell must of been made prior to that, so I suspect yours must of been fired in the UK during live practice exercises or something to use up the obsolete SHOT AP. And this 1943 casing must of been mated to the projectile postwar.

But regardless its a really cool shell. Its surprisingly large being a 57mm. Heres a picture of my 75mm KWK 40 APCBC PZGR 39 next to a .303 (i think i prefer the simpler allied term here....)

[Jb4046]

Wait a minute. The projectile is dated 1943. That has confused me. Maybe the projectile has lost its cap

[Martin Bull]

Very nice indeed, BB - these are not easy to find and it's something I'd like to have myself....

[BrodieBartfast]

Very nice indeed, BB - these are not easy to find and it's something I'd like to have myself....

It was listed on Chelmsford Militaria's site very early in the morning. I suppose I was in the right place at the right time!

B.B.

[Tank Spotter]

Very nice, definitely one on my list. This will have to do until then, the American equivalent. 1943 dated, nice of them to stamp the calibre on the round. It's a perfect fit for a British 6pdr case.

[Jb4046]

I got an answer for why it has a 1943 date.

Turns out I was overthinking the idea that this early AP shot would have been ditched by 1943. Contracts would have been running beyond this date and also its due to the fact low priority targets like armoured cars or trucks wouldn’t have required APCBC, complex APDS or APDFS . So using the simple AP shot would have been better!

[BrodieBartfast]

I got an answer for why it has a 1943 date.

Turns out I was overthinking the idea that this early AP shot would have been ditched by 1943. Contracts would have been running beyond this date and also its due to the fact low priority targets like armoured cars or trucks wouldn’t have required APCBC, complex APDS or APDFS . So using the simple AP shot would have been better!

Mystery solved! Thanks Jb, you are truly a valuable asset to this forum.

B.B.