A morning at an old airfield. Help needed :)

[Steve T]

Hey all

Spent a morning at an old WW2 airfield here in rainy old England.

Found lots of relics, most of which are hunks of this that and the other. However, i did find a number of interesting artifacts.

To begin with.....need help identifying this thing. I found it behind a revetment at the same depth as other stuff i know is ww2 era. The double 'prong' thing inside still works and withdraws a screw thread from the inside of the narrower piece. You have to turn it until it is almost completely out of the larger end before the screw thread disengages. Any ideas ??








Next is an unfired but badly damaged 50 calibre. Stamp on the base is TW 4 ( Twin Cities Ordnance Plant, Minneapolis, MN, 1944)






Then i found a 20mm casing, also badly damaged, also next to a revetment. Possible jam in the firing mechanism cleared out during repairs ? Markings are .... NESCO 1942 M21A1 20mm ( "National Enameling & Stamping Co.", Milwaukee [WI]. They manufactured 20mm Hispano rimless brass shell cases [20X110] between 1942-45 and 1951-54 using "NESCO" as a maker's mark






And lastly something i have never found before so i was rather excited. Took a bit of cleaning as it was badly corroded but i believe it is a Kidney plate off a 1000lb bomb ! Good job it wasn't attached to the bomb itself ! Trouble is, it is dated 53/54 so not from WW2 Shame






Hope you like them !

Relichunter

[packin9]

Nice pics there relichunter. Good luck in finding more and as to what that thingamajingy is.

[DonB]

Hello Relichunter,

Your 'mystery' find is a bomb pistol. I have seen several of these in various museums.

I am intrigued by the .50 cal round and the Hispano shell - Which airfield did you find them on?

Your 'star' find has to be the bomb plate! WWII it may not be, but I can count on one hand the times I have seen one of these, and by far yours is in the better condition!

Excellent finds, thanks for sharing them.


Don

[Steve T]

DonB

You're a STAR !!! Many thanks for identifying my mystery object !! I have PM'd you with the base where i found them.

And i didn't realise the bomb plate was so rare......I am totally chuffed now, even if it isn't WW2.

Found some pics of a bomb with the kidney plate attached and also of the Bomb Time-Delay fuse (or as you quite rightly put it, bomb pistol).

[Call to arms]

Hello

Great items, you certainly keep yourself busy hunting. Please keep them coming I am learning loads reading the comments about your items.

Steve

[hudsonswhistle]

How do you find out where you can go to detect,i have hatfield and radlett aerodromes near me both in hertfordshire,and i have found the odd live round,but im more interested in doing some of the camps and bases etc,where do i begin

[direweasel]

Those are neat... and I agree, while the bomb plate is a post war item, it's still really great to see one in such nice condition! I look forward to more pics from your airfield.

[Steve T]

Hudsonwhistle

What can i say ?.......... the best thing to do is do what i do. Trawl the net for HOURS on end searching for clues to old sites. Eventually you will come up with something that leads you down a specific path to a little GEM of a spot.

Failing that, let people know about you interest in WW2. Eventually someone will give you a snippet of info that will lead to a little gold mine. A friend once told me that he had seen a number of spent cartridge cases in the dunes at a specific location. A few months later i went to the spot with my detector and came back with in excess of 150 spent 303. 9mm and 45cal rounds, all WW2 dated and a SHED load of other stuff !

Check out my thread about an old gunnery range in this forum.

The clues are few and far between but sometimes they lead to real gold mines ......or brass mines

Relichunter

[Steve T]

Hudsonwhistle

Actually....;one other thing. St Albans ? That means you're not far from SCORES of old WW2 airfields !!! Many of these are farmland and ripe for searching. I'll start you off.....try the 'Steeple Morden Strafers'. Never searched the site myself as it is too far from my home (I am a lazy arse ) but there must be SOMETHING there !

There you go....a little snippet that could lead to who knows what !

Relichunter