Any artillery guys out there????

[abunaitoo]

Got these this weekend.
Not sure what they are.
Kind of cool.
Weight #95
H 17"
D 6.75"
First step hole 4.5"
Inside threaded hole 2.75"
Hole is 11.5" deep.
Only markings I could find:
"NO.3" other on is "NO.1"
"FT KAM 11.1.42"
I think FT KAM is Fort Kamehmeha.

[wgr]

i was in the artillery but never saw anything like that. might be really old

[akajun]

being as thats threaded, it may be the tip of a much larger shell. Maybe 16" naval cannons?.

[Geraldo]

I've got a book with some WWII era ordnance in it, and this looks most like a 6" Mk. XXXIII armor piercing shell used in shore batteries (Ft. Kam had several 6" batteries), but the fuze doesn't look like it would fit those threads. The fuzes shown for 12" guns wouldn't work at all in it, but my source is not exhaustive.

The weight you list is in the ballpark for 6" shells which are listed as being from 85-108 pounds.

[abunaitoo]

I thought armor piercing was made out of iron or steel????
These are brass.
I'm thinking 11.1.42 might a date.
If so it would be 1942.
I'm glad I got them before they went to the recyclers.

[schutzen]

I'm not a cannon cocker, but a mortarman. Those look very similar to practice round fuses. Nothing more than inert shell fuses to practice with. If they are for larger guns (shore batteries), my guess is they were used for "gun drills"; practice with inert rounds and fuses. Nobody one one gets blown up if a shell or a fuse is dropped.

[Geraldo]

I thought armor piercing was made out of iron or steel????
These are brass.
I'm thinking 11.1.42 might a date.
If so it would be 1942.
I'm glad I got them before they went to the recyclers.

The book I have only has diagrams, not photos. It lists six different 6" projectiles, and the only thing it says about what any of them are made of is that one practice round was cast iron. As I said, it's not an exhaustive source.

What it does not look like is a fuze. The fuzes shown all had external threads.

[abunaitoo]

All fuses I've seen are external thread.
Even some big ones I've seen.
It looks like a fuse would be screwed into this round.

Did they have practice rounds this big?????

[wiljen]

Those were actually part of a giant suppository for U-boat exhaust pipes that were made as part of operation "Eeeyouch!" during the early part of WWII. The minion in my avatar is showing the proper way to use one :)


:kidding:

[sabot_round]

Are you going to reload those?!?!

[Moonie]

I'm thinking that'd take a lot of Unique...

[Red River Rick]

Those were actually part of a giant suppository for U-boat exhaust pipes that were made as part of operation "Eeeyouch!" during the early part of WWII. The minion in my avatar is showing the proper way to use one :)

Wil:

I couldn't agree more! :bigsmyl2:

RRR

[Geraldo]

All fuses I've seen are external thread.
Even some big ones I've seen.
It looks like a fuse would be screwed into this round.

Did they have practice rounds this big?????

Yes. They were roughly the same weight as their counterpart AP and HE rounds so that they would be similar in flight.

[WILCO]

Got these this weekend.

Where at? Arms bazaar? Cool stuff.

[jaystuw]

abunaitoo-
I'm not used to seeing anyone here from oahu! , I was wondering if there is any place other than the range were it is possible to do low power/noise plinking? I always keep an eye open when i'm on the island but don't see any good spots! John

[MakeMineA10mm]

6.75" diameter makes them very odd diameter... Everything I can find shows coast artillery gun calibers (close to the size you have there) of 6" and 155mm (6.1"), and then onward to 8". Are you sure the diameter is 6.75"? Try running a yard stick (something rigid and straight - not a tape measure) across the base of the projectile for us.

11.1.42 would be January 11, 1942, so right at the beginning of WWII.

Ft. Kam would have been part of the Coastal Defense Artillery, which basically ceased to exist by the end of WWII. I believe it was the 15th Coast Artillery Regt. that manned Ft. Kam.

If I were you, I'd call Ft. DeRussy and speak to someone high up in the museum (like the director) and try to get an e-mail address you can send the pics to for identification. I was at Ft. DeRussy this Spring, and 99% of the people there are volunteers, friendly, and totally lacking in knowledge of the Coast Artillery (since it's decline pre-dates most of them).

Lastly, considering the date, and assuming how you came upon them, I'd also consider that you might have live ordnance there. No fuses, it appears, but there could still be a charge inside. I'd be careful, if I were you.

Totally cool score, though!

[Mk42gunner]

They look kind of like a windshield for an AP round, but the diameter is iffy. Might be part of a drill round for the coastal batteries.

You might try contacting one of the EOD units, they usually have reference material to identify almost any ordnance material. I know there used to be a lot of EOD training and work cleaning up the ranges on Hawaii.

Robert

[abunaitoo]

Checked it again. 6.75" diameter.
It looks like the fuse, or something like that, would screw into the bottom.
Other than that, it's solid brass.
Have a few friends that work at the museum.
They didn't know much about it.
Funny thing about museum directors and staff.
You would think they would be somekind of historian of where they work. Most are not.
They just know what is in the books or what they have been told by "old timers".
Same with the Arizona memorial.
Although Dan Martinez, historian for the Arizona, knows more than just about anyone I've ever known.

[abunaitoo]

Any thoughts on what I might do with these????
Can't afford the gun to shoot them.
Don't have any shells to reload them.
Little to heavy for paper weights.
I wrapped some lights around one of them to make a little Christmas tree. Looks kind of silly.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
ZOMBIE AMMO!
OR MAYBE FOR THOSE TEXAS GROUND SQUIRRELS.:bigsmyl2:
:Fire::Fire:

[Blacksmith]

Wait until the move of the U. S. Army Ordnance Museum is complete, projected 2012. They are moving from Aberdeen Proving Ground Maryland to Ft. Lee, Virginia. And then ask them.

Blacksmith

[scrapcan]

Is one of the museums interested in adding them to their inventory and display?

[MakeMineA10mm]

Any thoughts on what I might do with these????
Can't afford the gun to shoot them.
Don't have any shells to reload them.
Little to heavy for paper weights.
I wrapped some lights around one of them to make a little Christmas tree. Looks kind of silly.

Haul them over to Ft. DeRussey and tell them they can have them for free, if they just put a sign on them that they were donated by you! :mrgreen:

Seriously, they fit in perfectly with one of Ft. DeRussey's main topics (Coast Artillery, esp. in Hawaii), so they should love to have them. If they don't want them, check with Shafter or Schofield - Heck, you've got a pair; they could be set up on either side of one of their gates...

(He's in Hawai'i, so hauling them to MD or VA would be cost prohibitive, I'd think...)

[Mooseman]

I believe you have 1 of 2 possiblities , The first is a training or Dummy warhead but what is a mystery is that the fuses /or fuse hole on artillery rounds would have been screwed into the noses , not the bases. The other possibility is that they were Decorations from Posts at Main building entrances since the Fort was a Shore Battery.This makes more sense since they are not properly Ordnance Marked with Identification Numbers.If so, I wonder where #2 and #4 are....
Regards,
Rich

[Storydude]

I have a friend stationed over there that can get you in touch with the curator at Schoffield*sp

[abunaitoo]

Ft. DeRussey didn't want them.

[MakeMineA10mm]

That's terribly disappointing. They aren't making any more 1942-dated shells anymore... I'm really surprised at that. A curator worth his salt would've snatched those up.

My wife and I are talking about buying a retirement home in HA. If you can save them for me, I'll use them for my gate! :mrgreen:

[jaystuw]

This is what i think. Those "shells" are from ft. kamehameha, but more specifically battery jackson. thats the 1913 vintage installation with the two 6in. guns on disappearing carriages. These guns swing up above a thick berm, fire, then "disappear" behind cover for reloading. I believe these guns need to be carefully balanced in order to do this trick. My feeling is that in a complete state (with a rear end and a rope to pull it out) this shell was inserted into the breach and used to simulate a live round in the chamber.With the shell in place the system that lifts the gun can be adjusted to bring it up smoothly and quickly. The reason why they are 6.75in dia. is so they will stay in the chamber and not get stuck in the throat of the bore like a standard shell would.Does any of this sound plausable?