Should you scrub a live shell with a wire brush?

[burlington]

Item from today's Telegraph.

Family found an unexploded artillery shell in their garage in the UK. Kept quiet about it to avoid disturbing the school next door. Father scrubbed up the shell with a wire brush and took souvenir snaps with his son next to it. Souvenir might be the right word for it!

Eventually bomb squad called and closed street for 3 hours whilst making the 'active' explosive safe.

Shell was about '1 ft tall' according to the paper.

How daft can you get.

[squirrel]

Being a Solicitor, I would have thought that he was a reasonably intelligent sort of chap - obviously not!

[Steven Broomfield]

Read all about it - Tottygraph link

I can sort of see their point: last year half of Southampton was closed for an afternoon after someone found a practice grenade on the sea shore. Then again, seeing the awful news from Germany the other day, you do wonder.

[AlanCurragh]

How on earth can you just "find" a live artillery shell in your garage?!

[squirrel]

Apparently it was there when they bought the house.

[burlington]

For the record, could anyone tell us what sort of damage a '1 ft tall' shell would do. Said to be of WW1 vintage. Assumed to be British of course.

[Dragon]

How on earth can you just "find" a live artillery shell in your garage?!

Oh, easily. My husband's grandfather retained a box of live bombs after the last war and kept them in his garage. He used to offer them to my husband when he was a kid for bonfire parties. Father-in-law used to decline.

When he went into a care home, we had the job of clearing his property. He was, you might say, an enthusiastic hoarder. I mean, every room, the loft, the garage, the lot, was stuffed with his collections. He threw nothing away in case it came in useful. We found three typewriters buried in one bedroom and two dead washing machines in the hedge. Anyway, among sacks containing the children's hair clippings (his children, ie my mother-in-law and her brothers, ie from the 1930s) infested with mice, the skins from his dog's dead puppies (he was saving them to make gloves) and a stack of two pint bottles of green ink from decades ago (which I now have), was the box of bombs.

At this point, all his children had fallen out, which was the usual state of affairs, and my husband, the grandson, was the only family member who still talked to all the others. Brother A, being a high-minded academic who taught local history at university level and knew all about 15th century field systems in Cambridgeshire, was above knowing about real life. He hoiked up his father's box of bombs, parked it in the living room in front of the gas fire and cleared off. As he wasn't talking to the rest, he didn't mention what was in the box. Brother B turned up, saw the cardboard box, ignored it and lit the gas fire. Eventually he went off too, leaving the fire on. Saying nothing to anyone, of course.

Spouse and I turned up shortly afterwards. He investigated the box, which felt fairly cosy by now, and almost choked. Turn fire off. Phone the police, to tell them that there was a box of live bombs in a domestic living room. Plod said, oh, just pop the box into the boot of your car and bring it down here. But, but, but... it's explosive. Oh, it'll be fine. We haven't got anyone to send out.

What???? He phoned his dad, who knows all about chemistry and his dad was horrified. He phoned the police station and explained exactly what happens to cordite as it ages. Ah. In that case, you need bomb disposal. Put the kettle on and they'll be with you as soon as they can.

I wasn't there for the disposal but I gather it involved a local evacuation followed by, naturally, a nice strong cup of tea. I don't know how he came by the bombs, either.

Next episode. What we did with his unexploded, non-deactivated German Luger.

Gwyn

PS This is completely true. I married into a family who make the Borgias look like Play Skool.

[centurion]

When as a child about 8 I used to visit my Gparents I slept in the old nursery. In one corner was a cupboard that ran from floor to ceiling divided into sections each with its own door. The bottom sections contained some old toys (including sets of Britains lead soldiers C Boer War period). The top cupboard was off limits so naturally I used to climb up the shelves and open it. Inside was a collection of ammunition including what I now recognise as a complete Hotchkis strip and a couple of pom pom shells. When my Grandfather died Dad cleared out the cupboard but I never found out how he disposed of the ammo.

People can be incredibly stupid with regard to old ammo. When my old company set up a temporary office in a flat in Kuwait just after its liberation great difficulty was had stopping staff souveniring, one guy was found with an unexploded US anti tank rocket under his bed!

[Steven Broomfield]

one guy was found with an unexploded US anti tank rocket under his bed!

Now that would have made the earth move ...

[wesleycrabb]

If you put a live shell to your ear and shake it, like this, you can sometimes hea

[geraint]

Ohhh Gwyn, Gwyn, Gwyn! How does one follow that?! I'm humbly silent. Respect man!

[27thBN]

For the record, could anyone tell us what sort of damage a '1 ft tall' shell would do. Said to be of WW1 vintage. Assumed to be British of course.

Well im quite sure it would totally wipe out the garage and everything in it that was living at the time

MC

[centurion]

Well im quite sure it would totally wipe out the garage and everything in it that was living at the time

MC

Apart from the odd cockroach or two

[27thBN]

Yes very true apparently if you cut the head of an cockroach they only end up dying because they starve to death. :o

Cheers MC

[centurion]

Yes very true apparently if you cut the head of an cockroach they only end up dying because they starve to death. :o

Cheers MC

They have been known to survive nuclear tests - bet cane toads can't do that!

[truthergw]

The air strip in Dundee is built on reclaimed land, i.e. ex council tip. I knew one of the men who worked there. They had a very impressive collection of guns, bayonets, grenades and shells. In Dundee, bomb disposal consisted of putting it in the bin. I would like to think that they were all safely dealt with eventually but when I see planes landing and taking off, I can't help tensing up just a little, until they are safely up or safely stopped.

[David B]

I always thought that a shell was not live unless there was a fuse attached, or screwed on, or whatever, please let the ammo experts have a say.

Not withstanding this I wouldn't mess about with old ammo because the contents can become unstable with age.

If rough handling of ammunition is a no-no it's a wonder we in the navy survived considering the way it was treated when ammunitioning ship.

David

[ianjonesncl]

I always thought that a shell was not live unless there was a fuse attached, or screwed on, or whatever, please let the ammo experts have a say.

Not withstanding this I wouldn't mess about with old ammo because the contents can become unstable with age.

If rough handling of ammunition is a no-no it's a wonder we in the navy survived considering the way it was treated when ammunitioning ship.

David

David

The shell needs to be fused and fired as the act of firing or passage through the air arms the shell. The driving band would show the effects of the rifling had it been fired.

However........... having handled many shells over the years I still would not like to start messing around with something I knew nothing about. Especially as some Pal will identify it as the most unstable shell around which defies the laws of ballistics.

[ianjonesncl]

Anyone able to identify ?

The family shell !!

[squirrel]

18 pounder?

[ianjonesncl]

18 pounder?

I was thinking that. The one I have (cut away so I can see inside so not Live!) is around 1foot tall. The fuse looks like a type 80.

[Ice Tiger]

Agree

18lb with 80 fuze.

One of the few I can identify as I have an identical one, almost identical as mine's not live

Andy

[Steven Broomfield]

Maybe the kid was doing The War Poets for English, and wanted to relive Baldrick's greatest: Boom, boom, boom ...

[J T Gray]

Should you scrub a live shell with a wire brush?

Of course not! A little brasso on the yellow bit at the top, and a molasses bath for the iron is far gentler. Why expend energy on brushing when one can titivate at leisure?

Dons battle bowler, awaits barrage...

Adrian

[dycer]

My Son posses a blank,fired,25 pounder shell case,used,at the Queen Mother's Funeral,allegedly.

When it arrived,in its fired state,thanks to a pal?,serving RSM but now retired,the Daughter's Boyfriend,still serving in the Army, volunteered and had the fun of scrubbing it,into an ornament.

George