Unusual alloy

[richhodg66]

Was going through some stuff in the barn and found a can of some balls I picked up off both Fort Sill and Fort Riley aseveral years ago. Being an Artilleryman by trade, I knew that at one time they had 155mm canister rounds for battery defense and I apparently found myself on parts of these posts that had been the downrange areas for training with these (I don't think they've used them since the '50s or so).

Anyway, these are lead balls, about a half inch in diameter and they are very, very hard for lead. I don't have a tester so I can't say how hard, but you sure can't even make a mark on one with a finger nail. Anybody have an idea what the alloy is? I have maybe three pounds of them from just picking them up and pocketing them as I'd find them during deer hunting and such.

[Brasso]

rich,
I have a few of the same "balls". They come from the 155mm and 75mm Schrapnel projectiles from the WWI era. They are alloyed to be very hard to withstand the forces of firing and functioning. I picked mine up at Ft Drum, NY and Camp Boise, ID. The alloy is documented in the old Ordnance manuals, I just forget what it is.

Sam

[richhodg66]

I'd be interested to find out. They were pretty common in a few places on the west range at Sill, not somany of them here at Riley.

[Brasso]

rich,
I'll look around through my old manuals and see what I can find. Could take a few dats though.

Sam

[richhodg66]

My dad told me they still had those canister rounds in the inventory when he went through training on the 155s in 1955. With the "human sea" tactics the Chi Coms used in Korea, I'm guessing those were pretty releavant to Redlegs of the day to keep from being over run. I never heard a reference of their use in Vietnam, and by that time they had developed the Killer Junior technique of real short time fuze settings on HE rounds for battery defense, so maybe they were out by then.

[Harter66]

Still in inventory.........................w/bigger better versions that have mixed batches of little tiny grenades about twice that size. Or so I've heard.......................