Australian WWII - Far North Queensland Metal detecting and recovery

[AT P Sweep]

Fossick #446

Got permission to work a cow pasture ~ on a Hunch ~

Cows have done a great job of clearing the area ~or is that keeping the grass down ~

Just a few pieces ~

A Blackout torch cover ~ 9 mm Owen gun cartridges spill` ~ A 1941 dated Water bung ~ (not seen one before)

(Note Posters on the back wall/s ~ )



ATHERTON, QLD. 1944-11-08. MEMBERS OF THE ATHERTON DETAILS CAMP SERGEANTS' MESS AT THE TABLE DURING THE FORMAL DINNER. (FOR IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONNEL PICTURED REFER PROVISIONAL CAPTION).

[AT P Sweep]

Fossick #447

a few hours ~ Still being Hampered by Physical well being ~ and the winds make Life a bit miserable but I plugged on ~

The Drum bung has the Shell logo cast on it ~ I have not seen one like this ~ pity it is damaged!

A battle damaged Boyes anti-tank .55 Cartridge case. always a nice find! A Webbing Belt Buckle and a AMF Button.

[AT P Sweep]

Fossick #448

A few hours ~ ~ AAA toy car ~ intriguing inthe site ~ AAssume campers or day trippers to the site!

No head stamp data aas it is too far gone!


Closest I caan find is a BESA round ~ but the head stamp / base is an issue ??



7.92mm BESA Ball - British Military Small Arms Ammo






Lebel Timestamps ~ But this cartridge is not the same as the 8 mm Lebel.

8,761

[lithgow]

Ever seen the TV series 'Detectorists'?-model 'dinky' cars turn up everywhere!
I fired a Boys a few years back, ended up with a bruised cheek-a vicious beast...

PS-round could be French 7.5mm rimless round that replaced (or really just supplemented) the older Lebel type in newer MGs and rifles prior to WW2.

[AT P Sweep]

Thanks Mate ~

I did suggest that the round may well be a Lebel later round ~ but not identified it as yet ~ But certainly has the typical form as the 8 mm base eh !

Be a great experience despite the recoil ! LOL Might match the Old Spanish 12 Guaage we used to have onthe famr ~ Kicked like aa bloody Horse !

And yes seen all the Detectorists series ~ ( all three burned to CD !) Wonderful series.. Cracker ~ we as fans were gutted when Mackenzie Crook announced there would be no more after number three~

They run the 3 ~series once in a while on BBC 2 on Foxtel.

[AT P Sweep]

Well thaat worked out ~ Well

Thanks Mate We gt it in one ~ 7.5 * 54 mm


7.5*54mm French - Wikipedia

[AT P Sweep]

Just did more research and it seems the USA equivalent cartridge on the French Chauchet MG ~ is even a closer match ~ Still French ~

I find it in=pausible that this cartridge came form US production of a WWI weapon and ended up in Australia in WWII ~ even if an Australian Digger bought the cartridge back form the Lebanon / Syria campaigns of 1941 (??)

But having said that, the weapon is apparently still made and was used in WWII !!!!

The Worst Machine Gun: Chauchat - Scientific answer to sttem post and why this is a Myth — Steemit

[lithgow]

Chauchat in 8mm Lebel were still in limited service in WW2-the French armed forces were very large with relatively limited funds and there was never the possibility of changing or updating all the weapons in stock through out the colonial empire. The US version in .30-06 (which were all made in France) was not used however, as the more powerful US round combined with the notoriously poorly made Chauchat made them almost completely unusable-were rapidly replaced in US service by their own Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) towards the end of WW1.

[AT P Sweep]

Yes I saw that in my research yesterday ` i.e. the rounds had/ have to be treated with care as the loads were different and a stern warning suggested that using the heavier load could well be met with negative results.

But you agree that his round could be a French made equivalent to the 30.06 ~ or suited the Chauchet ??

[AT P Sweep]

The saga of he single cartridge goes on ~

A Friend checked his reference manuals and the closest he could find quote ~ " French WWII ~ unspecified prototype Production"

Debate rages ` But Definitely NOT a 30.06 even as a double crimped browning cartridge~

" 4-5mm too short for 30-06 and the case is the wrong shape at the neck. 2mm too long for 7.92mm Mauser ( your Besa).

I would put it to the cartridge Collectors Guild guru's. Could be something dropped by a farmer in the 1950/60's as well possibly, but military is more likely given your search areas.


Going by the shape though it is very 7.92mm x 57mm Mauser shaped at the neck."


"Totally feasible as the Diggers were common place in returning with North African and Middle east ~ thus the thought of French ~ and having the double crimped primer base is the catalyst for my thoughts originally ~"

"Cartridge cases do get longer during the process of firing (Extreme heat and pressure), hence bullet re-loaders have to re-size their cartridges when their weapon firing chamber is case length critical (Revolvers for instance).

But 2mm could be a stretch if only fired once (military don't reload as a rule), though I'm not sure of the manufacturing tolerances either. Though going on the shape of your picture with the measurements I'm leaning towards 7.92 x 57mm now."