Shell casings help

**klokhoane** · 10-26-2009, 05:09 PM

Hi there,

First of all, i'm from the Netherlands so my English will not be correct all the time.

I've a question. I'm always searching ammo and other ww2 relics with my detector. I've found 2 casings but i can't really find where they're from.
At the bottom is written:
#1: T. M. B-36 (is this an Italian casing?)
#2: clockwise starting at the top: 05 39 39 G
Could you help me identify these casings?

p.s. I have a (I think a 20mm casing) but it hasn't any inscription at the bottom. Any sugestions?

thnx

**Steve T** · 10-26-2009, 06:42 PM

I have come across a number of 20mm's that carry no markings at all so this isn't a surprise

As for your other headstamps, any chance you could take a picture and let me see them ? G could be a number of different manufacturers and I need to see the cartridge to track it down properly....

G Federal Cartridge Corp., Minneapolis, MN 3
G Gévelot S. A., (Sociètè Française des Munitions), Paris, France 3
G Greenwood & Batley Ltd, UK

Thanks

Steve T

**klokhoane** · 10-26-2009, 06:45 PM

i will post a picture of them. thx for the help so far though

**klokhoane** · 10-26-2009, 06:55 PM

these are the pictures

**zwerge** · 10-26-2009, 07:32 PM

Hi,#1 is Italian,#2 is .303 and probably what Steve T said it was and I can`t tell on the 20mm....Zwerge.

**klokhoane** · 10-26-2009, 07:41 PM

i thought #1 was italian. But it's quite strange to be Italian because i found it in the northern part of the Netherlands near Germany. I would like to know where the .303 comes from. i've never seen such a casing before? greetz

**Steve T** · 10-26-2009, 09:23 PM

Klokhoane

These are intriguing cartridges. The second one in your photo above I an definitely identify as a .303, used by the British army in their rifles and standard medium MGs. The G is for Greenwood and Batley, a major producer of .303's (they produced over 700 million 303's during WW1 alone !). The rim on the base of the cartridge gives this away as a '303'.

Your other small cartridge is odd because it has the base of a 7.92mm or an American .30cal. However, the .30cal's were 'taller' than the British 303's and the German 7.92 were the same size. looking at your cartridge it is almost certainly a 7.92mm cartridge for use in German arms but the headstamp is defeating me at the moment ! Two German factories, 3 italian, a British and an American factory all used the prefix code 'B'. I can't see the stamp on the photo properly. Are you sure it is TM B 36 ? I am sure I can read '92' in the right hand cartridge.

As for your 20mm I haven't any good news here either ! The casing just doesn't look right for a 20mm. The base is all wrong and it is bigger than the 20mm's I have.

Sorry I can't be much more help. It isn't often a cartridge catches me out !

Steve T

**klokhoane** · 10-26-2009, 09:46 PM

hi there,

about the 20mm casing: i wasn't sure if it was a 20mm casing or something else. I bought it on a market

the first one on the picture next to te big one has the markings: 05 39 39 G........... the right casing has T. M. B-36...
i thought it was a italian one and zwerge confirmed my doubts more or less. I find it weird that i found this casing where i live. the right one had a piece of a belt next to it, so it is probably from a belt machine gun.

hope u can find something with this info.

greetz