cartridge id

[steve123]

Hello evereyone.

Just been out to a small local essex field with my six year old son and his kiddies metal detector. And found the last round in the photo. I have been to the field loads of times as it is the site of a hurricane crash in ww2. Some of our finds have puzzled me and today was no different. Over the past few months i have found the cartridges shown, none of which have been fired. Speaking to locals there has never been anything military based on the site.

The first .50cal round has the markings 4 T W, the second has F A 43, my question on these is, what else apart from aircraft would use these and would they just be "dropped".

The 303 rounds are all dated 1938 and originally i believed were from the crashed hurricane but they were found quite away from the rest of the wreckage and besides the hurricane was from a training unit and on a training flight.

Now for todays find. Sorry if i am wrong but i know little about head stamps but the last round is stamped P163 S* 7 35. I have looked on the head stamp thread and appears to be german but the 1935 date seems wrong and whats more puzzling is how did it get here.

Regards Steve.

[zwerge]

Hi,old ammo was often used up,so that would explain the `35 date,snd as a guess maybe the rear gunner in a Stuka had a jammed round in his MG and just threw the cartridge over the side because a Hurricane was chasing them? That`s my guess, who knows ?

[Steve T]

Hey steve

The 50cal rounds were commonly used in/on military vehicles as well. They were mounted on top of tanks and jeeps and half tracks, as well as being used by heavy MG team. It is common to find unfired cartridges on old bases and gunnery ranges. Are you sure your area wasn't used for practice by any units ?

Even if the Hurri was on a training flight, it may still have been loaded up to ensure the correct flight characteristics were experienced. Finding them some distance from the crash indicates they either landed there aftr blowing up, or someone found them previously and just dropped them.

The unfired 7.92 is most certainly German. p163 = Metallwarenfabrik Treuebritzen GmbH, Werk Selterhof, S* = brass case, 7 = batch number, 35 = 1935. Zwerges theory is very plausible but you really do need to double check the area you're searching. The finds you're getting indicate it was previously a range or part of a base that may have been used to keep POWs in towards the end of the war.

What you're finding is exactly what I find on old bases !

Cheers

Steve T

[bikerboyzx6r]

Steve, if you want to keep the area Secret then I can vouch for Steve T. Why not PM him the area & he will inform you of the history. He knows where to find the info. I wouldnt post the area online or you will get loads of people down there trying their luck
Cheers
Dan

[steve123]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

With regards to the area i am 100% positive that it was not used by the military during the war, I have spoken to a villager who sat in the local pub and saw the hurricane spin in about 200 yards away. The field is basically right on the edge of the village and borders a river that often floods the field so would not be suitable for any camp etc. There is an old ww2 airfield about 2 miles away but there is nothing linking this site to it. All of these finds have been found within 150 metres of each other. I really must invest in a proper metal detector to see what i turn up.

Cheers

Steve.

[Matt L]

It's certainly interesting to see a German case there- it would be logical if it were from the aircraft that shot down the Hurricane if that's what caused its crash; the thing is that the Bf109 and 110 fighters didn't discard their casings but rather they fell into catch bins with the belts so both could be reclaimed.

[steve123]

cheers matt

The huuricane that crashed was not shot down but collided with another hurricane in a training exercise, unfortuantly both pilots were killed. I just find it strange that all this ammo is turning up in such a small field.

Steve.