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Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??

Article about: Greetings Found this at a flea market years ago. Still think it is cool. It appears to be a fired 75mm artillery shell of unknown age. It does have some old roman style numbers on the fuse a

  1. #31

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    Nope. A Yorkshire man would have made a proper job of it!

  2. #32

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    Knew you'd bite!

  3. #33
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    Hello

    I really do appreciate the help and information.

    Forgot to mention that that is a little bit of medium brown paint over the circular proof mark on the base. Not sure if that means anything.

    Well I bit the Bullet and investigated inside with my Endoscope. What I saw was fibrous material and a small piece of paper (dominated old photo that I posted earlier) that I removed gently with a bamboo stick. Basically an old fluffball that was not dangerous.

    Underneath the Fluff and 7-8cm below the lip of the fuse assembly is light coloured material that is rock hard. I am unable to penetrate it with my bamboo skewer. Perhaps Concrete?? I am a Geologist and that is what it looks like to me with a sandy surface appearance. It is solid.

    I just want to make sure that that is not some type of explosive remnant or something.


    The more I look at the fuse assembly and the shell it does look like they were not together when it was fired. The 100' damage offset and the fact that the deformed lip of the shell does not have corresponding damage on the flattened portion of the Antimony at the base of the fuse. Considering how incredibly soft it is it does not add up. I have included pictures to illustrate this.

    I still wonder if this was a Commonwealth battlefield pick up from Gallipoli that made itself to Canada a hundred years ago. It has turned out to be a great $30 purchase and way more interesting than I could have imagined.

    Cheers
    Rob
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??   Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??  

    Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??   Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??  

    Mystery 75mm Artillery Shell ??  

  4. #34

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    Teck

    T.he degradation of some alloys looks alot like concrete. Try the British MAZAC used in the No 151, 152, 161 and 162 not forgetting the No 36m filler plug, base plug and det and striker well. I regularly have to point out they are not concrete filled just decayed and now very angry!

  5. #35

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    Your description of the filling sounds like barite. The Germans called it Schwerspat and stuffed it into training shells because it was about the same as their normal filling. Concrete isn't dense enough.
    You're right that the Shell was separated when it impacted but that's the Idea behind Ball Shrapnel shells. They however have time or time and Percussion fuses, your Shell has a (Most likely) Percussion fuse assembly that has it's Origins in a french factory. The french (and the english) were supplying the greeks in the Balkan war's and ww1. The Gallipoli story you already know.
    Last edited by Teck 147; 03-27-2021 at 10:50 PM. Reason: Typo

  6. #36

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    Yes. Some alloys tend to look like concrete when decaying but i wouldn't describe them as Sandy. They tend to decay into Salts that are hydroscopic and as a result feel almost oily between the fingers

  7. #37

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    And Nobody in their right mind Pokes the fuse plug of a No. 36 with a bloody Chopstick!!!! Donor charge please!!
    Last edited by Teck 147; 03-27-2021 at 10:32 PM. Reason: Damned German Auto correct!!

  8. #38

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    FLCC all the way!

  9. #39
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    Hello

    Barite make sense. It is dense and explains the weight of it. 7.2 pounds total. It does appear to be cast in place to an inch below the fuse assemby. It was not crystalline looking.

    I very gently touched it with the skewer and added a little more pressure a little at a time. I had to check once I endoscoped it and gently removed the lint ball. Otherwise, I would been worried it was full of nasty stuff. If I felt any give I was going to stop and figure out what to do. Figured it has been bouncing around in garages for a hundred years so... If there was any doubt I would have called somebody.

    Best Regards
    Rob

  10. #40

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    Considering that 75mm/7,5cm/76mm/3" are basically a dime a dozen. This is turning out to be one really interesting shell. Barite is a Crystal but often appears in the shells as just a dull solid lump and not always the same colour. I don't know if/what Resin/Cement was used to keep it in there. I'll keep looking for your fuse Adapter but seeing as it appears to have french Origins... I'm not promising anything, they we're never very good at keeping records of dubious transactions

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