Keithpac Posted 19 February , 2011 Share Posted 19 February , 2011 Reading the earlier post re old shell identification, My father had a used casing from what I believe was a 76mm shell, engraved around the business end with Verdun 1916. Used it to keep his soldering kit in. (Still smelt of cordite). I understand he was given it by my grandfather who was a Corporal in the ASC, I believe he was given it by a French chap as a sounenir. I think it was brass with some additional engraving, would anyone know if this has a ring of truth about it? Unfortunately it went for a walk when Mumcleared the garage whenhe passed away some years ago. Regards Weefy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aglastonbury Posted 19 February , 2011 Share Posted 19 February , 2011 Weefy, I done know of more recent 4.5" that were fired in action in the Falklands conflict in 1982 been engraved and used as souvenirs if that helps Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 19 February , 2011 Share Posted 19 February , 2011 If it was actually 76mm, where the shell would have been, it could have been German as that was their normal field gun. However the British 18 pounder was 77 mm and the 13 pounder 76 mm, the French filed gun was 75 mm. There were a lot of cartridge cases about! Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithpac Posted 19 February , 2011 Author Share Posted 19 February , 2011 If it was actually 76mm, where the shell would have been, it could have been German as that was their normal field gun. However the British 18 pounder was 77 mm and the 13 pounder 76 mm, the French filed gun was 75 mm. There were a lot of cartridge cases about! Old Tom Thanks Old Tom/Alex, The shell could have been anything around 75 +/- 3mm as it had been knocked around a bit. A work colleague who goes on battlefield tours said he'd been to a french farm and there was still old ammo lying around that you could pick up, the HSE would have a field day. Weefy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice Tiger Posted 20 February , 2011 Share Posted 20 February , 2011 .....still old ammo lying around that you could pick up, the HSE would have a field day. In the UK the police put a 200m cordon in & have the ambulance & fire service on local standby while the bomb squad deals with it. In France/Belgium they just leave it by the side of the road waiting for collection. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 21 February , 2011 Share Posted 21 February , 2011 If it wasn't British it wouldn't be Cordite it smelt of. You can always recognise the smell of Cordite - it's like burnt orange peel, boiled hard in cheap tinned spaghetti, with a drop of added Rangoon oil. A more usual tangy nitro-propellant smell would suggest a French 75 or German 77. Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 21 February , 2011 Share Posted 21 February , 2011 To identify it the basic guide is that the French 75mm is quite tall and necked in near the top. The German 77mm is quite short (about 12 inches) and uniform in shape along its length. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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