goldmax 007 Posted 12 April , 2012 Share Posted 12 April , 2012 Out and about this morning around the Arras area and spoted this stuck at the side of the road its a new one on me any ideas please left as found of course Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 12 April , 2012 Share Posted 12 April , 2012 ;small photo but a message mortar "bomb" comes to mind. Edit But it looks more like a WW2 ;American M9A1 Antitank rifle grenade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod-49 Posted 12 April , 2012 Share Posted 12 April , 2012 hard to tell without the dimentions could be a ww11 vintage rocket / bazzoka projectile? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 12 April , 2012 Share Posted 12 April , 2012 hard to tell without the dimentions could be a ww11 vintage rocket / bazzoka projectile? Mark American M9A1 Antitank rifle grenade a better fit if WW2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 12 April , 2012 Share Posted 12 April , 2012 See http://ozarkmountain.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/blog-post.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 Whilst I agree that at first glance this grenade/bomb looks like an American M9/British No.85 grenade, it does not have the signature prominent joint around the middle of the warhead of that grenade. The folded seam not only joins the front and rear halves of the warhead pressing but also serves to secure the inner copper liner of the shaped charge. We really need dimensions to make a more certain ID. Regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikB Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 Aspect ratio's wrong too - it's shorter, or fatter, or both. Unless there's a way the rear half could separate at the joint, leaving a domed end. Regards, MikB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 The top of the M9 head was empty being a spacer for the hollow charge in the lower half. However I believe that there were also both blast and smoke variants which did not have the join and a slightly different shape head. The belt was most prominent on the various practice versions as one was meant to be able to take it apart after firing. The belt was there on the live version but less prominent and in such a small picture mighr be obscured by rust. If there was anything of WW1 vintage that looked like this it would help to see an image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_H Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 A pity there are no dimensions. I would suggest that it could be a round from a German 10.5cm pneumatic mortar (Luftminenwerfer).These were rocket shaped with a compressed card gas-check round the base of the head, which in this case would have rotted away long ago. I am sorry I can't find an image at present. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 A pity there are no dimensions. I would suggest that it could be a round from a German 10.5cm pneumatic mortar (Luftminenwerfer).These were rocket shaped with a compressed card gas-check round the base of the head, which in this case would have rotted away long ago. I am sorry I can't find and image at present. Mike I had thought that although manufactured by the German firm of Ehrhardt & Sehmert the 10.5cm pneumatic mortar (Luftminenwerfer) was only used by the KuK forces and on the Eastern Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_H Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 Good point Cent, I have not found any info re the weapon's use on the Western Front, presume the original trials of the mortar were in proving grounds in Germany before K.u.K troops adopted it. Will have to think again! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 13 April , 2012 Share Posted 13 April , 2012 Given that there was fighting at Arras in 1917,1918,1940 and 1944 it'd probably be unwise to assume either world war without further evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calibre792x57.y Posted 14 April , 2012 Share Posted 14 April , 2012 A pity there are no dimensions. I would suggest that it could be a round from a German 10.5cm pneumatic mortar (Luftminenwerfer).These were rocket shaped with a compressed card gas-check round the base of the head, which in this case would have rotted away long ago. I am sorry I can't find an image at present. Mike Hi Mike. I must say this was my first thoughts, as well. There is a drawing of the round on P.77 of Hicks' German Weapons, Uniforms and Insignia 1841 - 1918 which looks much like the relic photographed, but lack of scale deterred me from posting. The script in Hicks' is 'this material is still in fairly frequent use, although only definitely known to us from captured photographs'. So it may well have seen service on the Western Front. SW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogilwy Posted 16 April , 2012 Share Posted 16 April , 2012 Without dimentions ( I shout at young EOD Operators for not including a scale! !!) identification is vastly more difficult. M9 would be my personal choice. The Warhead section is base fuzed (logical deduction as no fuze is visable). The tail fins are slightly different to the pictures of Tony's but different Mk's and Model No's and wartime manufacture would account for that. The warhead could contain HE in either shaped charge, blast / fragmentation or smoke WP, unless the area is a known training area i would suggest that the Prac / Drill varients are unlikely. Either way all live types have HE components (including the bursting charge in the Smk Fuze), the best solution is 8 oz of white noise and make it disappear (EOD Operators standard solution!). If it is from Arras I will ask the demineur for the area what they've dealt with recently and see if they've done it already. This is getting just like work!!!!!! Regards to all, Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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