6 pdr projectile

[bourlonwood]

Hello

A french collector asked me what is this projectile and I am not sure it is a WW1 one ?

Thanks for Your help

Regards

David

[Old Tom]

Hello,

Good clear picture! I think this is a WW2 round. The 6 pdr was one of a series of anti tank guns of increasing power developed during the war. Ths last of these was the 17 pdr. In WW1 a number of guns were used as anti tank weapons but used high explosive rather than solid shot which you have illustrated.

Old Tom

[Andrew Upton]

Hello,

Good clear picture! I think this is a WW2 round. The 6 pdr was one of a series of anti tank guns of increasing power developed during the war. Ths last of these was the 17 pdr. In WW1 a number of guns were used as anti tank weapons but used high explosive rather than solid shot which you have illustrated.

Old Tom

The round looks to be marked VSM - which would be Vickers Sons and Maxim. This marking was technically out of date by the start of the Great War (having officially become Vickers Ltd in 1911), but was still widely used until the end of the war (my 1918 Vickers carries many VSM marks on it's original components). I don't think it was still being used by WW2 though.

[phil@basildon]

The 6-pounder guns used on the G W tanks was a naval weapon.

[centurion]

The British heavy tanks WW1 if male carried two types of round, HE used against pill boxes etc and case (which was actually a form of chain shot with steel balls on a wire) used as an anti personnel round (but pretty effective against field guns).

[MikB]

The WW2 6 pr. AP rounds I've seen had a shorter ogive than the one in the picture. AFAIK plain AP or AP/T was rapidly superseded by APCBC in WW2, as the Germans has already begun face-hardening armour by the time the 6 pr. was introduced in 1942.

OTOH there's what looks like a tracer element pocket in the base, which seems a bit advanced for WW1, though pretty much standard in WW2. But on balance, because of its shape-resemblance to other rounds of the time, and especially in view of Andrew Upton's comments about VSM, I'd guess WW1.

Regards,

MikB

[bourlonwood]

Hello

Thank You for Your help

Today I get another picture of the projectile.

The round is clearly dated " 3 11 17" and "337" could be a lot number

Regards

David

[Wardog]

Looking at British Artillery Weapons and Amunition 1914-1918 it looks to be for a 6pdr Hotchkiss/Nordfenfelt and it would have had a bottlenecked cartridge, the shell being a common pointed round with a base percussion fuze, so it would start to penertrate its target and then explode. For use at sea or coastal use. I have one myself unused. I have it attached to a 1918 case which is probably incorrect I guess as there are no naval N markings. Is there anyway to tell if a case was for Tank or Naval use? Anyone have a Tank shell to show? Cheers, Paul.

[Ice Tiger]

.....Anyone have a Tank shell to show? Cheers, Paul.

My Tank shell HERE

Andy

[Wardog]

I have altered my last post to read Htchkiss or Nordenfelt. On page 39 of the Hogg/Thurston book I mentioned it lists the 6pdr Hotchkiss tank gun as using a fixed QF 6lb HE round with a brass straight taper cartridge.

[peregrinvs]

After ten years I suspect not, but if you don’t ask, etc.

 

BTW. If anyone urgently needs to fill an empty 6 Pounder Hotchkiss cartridge case, ‘paint your own’ resin replica shells can be had here:

 

https://www.milcorem.fr/obus-de-48-à-74mm/

 

Paint it matt black, then mask off the drive band and paint it metallic copper. Not 100% realistic, but a good place holder.

Edited 27 May , 2019 by DavidOwen