another case id help request

[Philngruvy]

This case was left by my long departed FIL. He was a captain in the Coast Guard, so I assume it is military oriented. Any ideas? Those are .308 cases in the photo for comparison.http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/9314508a971ce89a9.bmp (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7177)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_9314508a979b10920.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7178)http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_9314508a979b352f7.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7179)

[Guesser]

Quite possibly a "Salute" gun cartridge case. Used to present ceremonial salutes to senior officers and visiting dignitaries . Loaded with black powder and fired from a gun designed for the job. It has been a long time for me; but they were set in place, the guns, at key locations for ceremonial situations, change of command, presidential visit, foreign heads of state, 4th of July, etc. Maybe?

[fouronesix]

Ya, no telling with certainty exactly what it was used for but agreed, a ceremonial salute blank would be a good possibility. The other possibility that comes to mind would be a line casting blank. As an aside, wasn't SR 4759 powder developed for or used as a blackpowder substitute for such purposes?

[Blacksmith]

I had some similar cases that I believed were shells from a large gun that had been cut off just above the "primer" post in the middle to be used as ash trays because the post made a good snuffer.

[fouronesix]

And yet another hair brained idea just popped out. Maybe for some kind of flare gun?
But I do like the ashtray idea. Seems like I saw some of those "ashtrays" laying around the officer's club of an older Army installation years ago

[Mk42gunner]

Pt Mugu NAWS was a designated saluting command and I actually had a battery of 40mm saluting guns (2) when I was stationed there.

Those pictures look like the bottom third of a 40mm case to me; probably cut off for a pencil holder, the ashtrays were usually shorter. Depending on your FIL's dates of service, it could be either from a saluting charge or a Bofors anti aircraft gun.

The only time I ever saw a complete 40mm round was on a cartdige display board in the Green House, the GM school in Great Lakes, it looked like an overgrown .22 Hornet.

Robert

[WILCO]

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11000680_wwii-40-mm-artillery-shell-neutralized-presente

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=40+mm+artillery+shell&start=89&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1W1GGLL_enUS465&biw=1024&bih=550&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=O1XiKi2jJAbR2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.palmettomilitary.com/americanmilitary.html&docid=u_0NinO8Tl2KlM&imgurl=http://www.palmettomilitary.com/photos/1/40mm.jpg&w=874&h=1582&ei=4mWLUPDaA-Hs0QH9g4CADg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=533&vpy=76&dur=5672&hovh=302&hovw=167&tx=104&ty=185&sig=117799881003011458882&page=7&tbnh=155&tbnw=86&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:89,i:41

[Philngruvy]

Thank you all for the help with identifying this case. The pictures of the head stamp in this link http://www.google.com/imgres?q=40+mm+artillery+shell&start=89&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1W1GGLL_enUS465&biw=1024&bih=550&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=O1XiKi2jJAbR2M:&imgrefurl=http://www.palmettomilitary.com/americanmilitary.html&docid=u_0NinO8Tl2KlM&imgurl=http://www.palmettomilitary.com/photos/1/40mm.jpg&w=874&h=1582&ei=4mWLUPDaA-Hs0QH9g4CADg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=533&vpy=76&dur=5672&hovh=302&hovw=167&tx=104&ty=185&sig=117799881003011458882&page=7&tbnh=155&tbnw=86&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:89,i:41 are the same as what I have. Apparently this case is from 1944 which corresponds to the time my FIL served on the USCGC Spencer which was involved in the capture and sinking of, I have been told, 3 German U-boats off the Atlantic coast of the United States. Whether or not this was associated with the Spencer is unknown. It may have been just a desk ornament that he acquired at some point in his career.

[bob208]

it is a blank round. with the long primer and short case that is all it could be. i have seen some 105 blanks that looked just like that.

[WILCO]

Apparently this case is from 1944 which corresponds to the time my FIL served on the USCGC Spencer which was involved in the capture and sinking of, I have been told, 3 German U-boats off the Atlantic coast of the United States.

Found some info on the USCGC Spencer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Spencer_(WPG-36)

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=uscgc+spencer+WWII&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1W1GGLL_enUS465&biw=1024&bih=550&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=z0oviHtEairwrM:&imgrefurl=http://worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0182&docid=l_LDwBCzfUk4yM&imgurl=http://worldwar2database.com/gallery3/var/albums/wwii0182.jpg%253Fm%253D1310178947&w=2792&h=2301&ei=7h-MUMTFOqbx0gGGg4G4CQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=604&vpy=132&dur=4266&hovh=204&hovw=247&tx=117&ty=123&sig=109547205531264925062&page=1&tbnh=114&tbnw=139&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:85

http://www.ww2incolor.com/us-coast-guard/Coast+Guard+unleashes+a+depth-charge.html

http://www3.familyoldphotos.com/photo/us-coast-guard/6259/uscgc-spencer-w-36-crewman-payne-saluting-1946

[fouronesix]

Here's a 40mm and a 308

Head diameter------- 2.27"
Rim diameter-------- 2.55"
Length---------------- 14.3"

And yes, I always thought they looked like an overgrown 22 Hornet :)

[Philngruvy]

Thanks Wilco for the research and links.
OK, so according to Wikipedia-During the Battle of Atlantic she acted as a convoy escort, hunting German U-boats, and was responsible for sinking U-225 and U-175 in 1944.
There were 47 survivors from the U 175 when damage forced her to the surface and she was sunk by gunfire from the Spencer..
The case (portion) that I have was dated 1944. Was this part of the armament of the Spencer, I wonder?
From the following link:http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=490
Spencer was officially credited with sinking two submarines during her North Atlantic patrols but, according to some sources, she also likely sunk two others.
We have another war souvenir which is some sort of German optical unit like oversized binoculars. Its origin is also uncertain. I will post some photos as soon as I get a chance and maybe one of you google research experts can help me id it too.
As a footnote, my FIL Captain George Downing, passed away many years before I met my wife which explains why I don't have first hand information from him about this stuff. Other memorabilia from him includes his officers sword and another sword which he used when he was part of some cavalry unit. Both are in serious need of some tlc to restore the finish on them.

[Philngruvy]

Here's a 40mm and a 308

Head diameter------- 2.27"
Rim diameter-------- 2.55"
Length---------------- 14.3"

And yes, I always thought they looked like an overgrown 22 Hornet :)

Is the pictured 40 mm case in your possesion? I would love to acquire one of those.

[fouronesix]

It's mine. Just at the right place at the right time. About 15 years ago worked on a military depot where large quantities of various munitions were being de-miled. A bunch of these never-loaded 40mm cases were stored there. I don't know where you could find one now. This type stuff used to show up for sale at surplus auctions, but now with all the anti gun sentiment-- who knows? Maybe some of the larger private surplus outlets might have some.