WW2 British 6pdr ammo box and 5.5” gun?
Hi all, i hoped everybody is well…
I picked this nice box up last weekend. I believe it is a british 6 pdr box, but on the back it has 5.5 GUN HE 80lbs painted on - but i would think a 5.5 round wouldnt fit in the box?
The inside is a dark green paint, but the outside is a brown tan.
I wondered if we think this all looks ww2?
Thanks for any advice…
Shaun
The 5.5-inch gun fired a shell with a separate bagged charge, similar to the 25-Pounder, so the box would have contained either the projectiles or the charge bags inside their casings. Most likely the bags, as they'd be more susceptible to things like moisture and accidental damage through rough handling than the projectiles. I've also seen similar boxes used with 3.7-inch shells, though in that case they were stored complete inside the container.
Just editing this to add in, I'm basing this off what little I know about the 25-Pounder, so there's a good chance I'm completely wrong!
B.B.
From what I remember of my training on the 25pdr, it was loaded with the projectile and then the casing containing the charge. The case contained three cloth bags holding the separate charges. The three bags were coloured red, white, and blue. There were three charges used, and depending on which bags you removed governed the charge. It was something like that anyway.
Cheers,
Steve
Nice box. I've been hankering after one for a while and they're not that easy to find.
Thanks loads everyone, fascinating stuff as always. Ive found some nice war time photos of the gun, all with different ammo boxes…
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