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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

shell fuses


madman

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hi all ive often seen these for sale on certain auction sites one in particular and ive often thought aboupt aquireing one , now question bein maybe silly but i shall ask any way is there any laws againts owning such things and is this one of those things that there are fakes of weather they be fired one or cut away ones you see around . any input appreciated

cheers

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These fuzes are I believe picked up/dug up mostly in France and Belgium and have been fired. I've bought a few over the years, there will usually always be signs of impact/detonation damage to some degree and also corrosion and weathering from being in the ground for close to a century. I'm not aware of there being fakes on the market, it's unlikely to be economic to fake them for what they sell for to a very limited market? The cutaway examples are fired the same as the others, you're just paying around 150-200% more for the work to section them.

There are no laws that I know of in the UK that prohibits buying and owning inert ordnance and the fact the ebay (UK) allow the sale of fuzes should mean that it's OK?

This is a good site for info on fuzes and other ordnance:http://www.passioncompassion1418.com/english_plateforme.html

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Worth looking around for local military fayres in your area, as (1) you will probably pay less, and (2) will not have to £5+ delivery. The £5 would be better spent on fayre entry fee, where you will find a much better array of military gear and usually a more knowlegable seller!

Regards,

Sean.

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Hi

Never come across any fakes yet as stated above but I would hold out for a good one, one that's no to pitted and damaged and I would also agree that fairs are the best bet.

I personally pick up my own when I go to France from the fields, no digging just the ones that have been ploughed up although they are few and far between these days, but nothing quite like being the first person to handle the item after 90+ years

Andy

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It is better and far more fun to examine the fuse before purchase. This also avoids the cost of postage and ensures that you get what you pay for. The best examples are those that are able to be stripped down or at least have some mobililty in movement in the rings of the body of the fuse.

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  • 1 month later...

Ive never come across any fake fuses in years of collecting, it would just cost too much. A military fair is the place to get a couple, cleaned or uncleaned. Uncleaned normally around a tenner. Heres a Canadian no 80 1917 dated with transit cap which strips right down. I bought this at Malvern fair last year for £30.

20121219132843.jpg

20121219132731.jpg

Good hunting ....

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no fakes known, too much original fuses left

Cnock

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  • 1 month later...

These are early british fuses I found on the banks of the Saint-Laurence river in Quebec on what was the target side of an artillery practice range from around 1870 up to the early days of WWI (So I've been told).

I could not correctly identify the fuses but they have an 18 seconds delay/percussion. You can see some nose cones I found at least one or two of which did have the fuse on when found. I also found what seems to be an adaptor to fit a bigger opening. I put an old MkIII fuse in the adaptor.

IMG_0936_zpsd216b66e.jpg

IMG_0937_zpsca69d1c5.jpg

IMG_0938_zps7f7908d1.jpg

On the very same area I found quite a few intact 1863 Armstrong 9 pounders ALL WERE EMPTY. Also found were some shell fragments, like the ones on the next image.

ShrapnelampBoxerShellDesigns_zps907ec5e2.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

These are early british fuses I found on the banks of the Saint-Laurence river in Quebec on what was the target side of an artillery practice range from around 1870 up to the early days of WWI (So I've been told).

I could not correctly identify the fuses but they have an 18 seconds delay/percussion. You can see some nose cones I found at least one or two of which did have the fuse on when found. I also found what seems to be an adaptor to fit a bigger opening. I put an old MkIII fuse in the adaptor.

IMG_0936_zpsd216b66e.jpg

IMG_0937_zpsca69d1c5.jpg

IMG_0938_zps7f7908d1.jpg

On the very same area I found quite a few intact 1863 Armstrong 9 pounders ALL WERE EMPTY. Also found were some shell fragments, like the ones on the next image.

ShrapnelampBoxerShellDesigns_zps907ec5e2.jpg

Take a look at this video of my boer war shell with a no56 mk2 fuse, similar to the one shown above:

if you look at the other videos on my channel you'l see a couple of other videos on these types of "bell" fuses

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Good another opportunity to post yet again photos of my favourite WW1 subject :thumbsup:

British fuses, the middle one is sectioned and from the UK the other two are from France/Belgium

9370061322_702dc2372e_z.jpg

Norman

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Take a look at this unknown model German ww1 fuse I bought the other day, I managed to take it apart today- which is quite an achievement concidering its made of steel aluminium and brass- and didn't damage a single piece :P Its probably 1915 as the Germans made the exact same fuse as this for the Turkish army during the Gallipoli war, The full brass fuse is the Turkish version and the steel etc is the unknown model.

post-86960-0-88232300-1374962822_thumb.j

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This is in such good condition that the steel nose cone and small ring haven't got a single rust pit-nor has the steel adapter. But Best of all, the pins that lock the steel adapter to the brass section of the fuse can actually be unscrewed- Ive never seen a steel and aluminium fuse in this condition before!

post-86960-0-23081300-1374963166_thumb.j

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Turkish version made by Germany in 1915- this one field strips the same as the one pictured above!

post-86960-0-10260700-1374963298_thumb.j

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  • 2 weeks later...

great pics chaps, love the turkish one espeicially, few and far between, ill post some pics of mine when i get the chance

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I picked up a nice Turkish fuse at the Daisy Patch (Gallipoli) but common sense prevailed and I left it with Eric of the Gallipoli Houses. Interestingly the impact had shifted the rings slightly so that it had the same shape in profile as a turkish helmet...

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Some that I have. John

Very nice relic/semi relic fuses! most of them would come apart no problem and would clean up nicely. The steel topped ones would be the problem, and the corroded aluminium one would never disassemble. The KZ14 is nice, I always like seeing full brass versions of that fuse :) and the HZ14.. well, I would never take one apart again! they take soo much time and effort to get apart, then when you finally get it apart they never go back together! you end up spending an hour filing down the threads to get the nose cone to screw back on..but heres how its done:

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I think I'd rather section one with a hacksaw! John

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Some great fuses on show i have around 20 a mixture of both british and german i must get around to cleaning them up they have been sat in a bucket of oil in my garage for about a year

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