Artillery Shell - Identification

[Guest Jwert02]

Folks

Greetings. I recently came into possession of an artillery shell that I have been unable to make much headway on identifying. It was claimed to be a WWI German Naval Shell, but I generally take such things lightly and try to confirm as much as possible.

It measures 17cm at the widest part of the shell and is approximately 60cm tall. The top and bottom both thread into the central part of the shell.

It has very few discernible markings, but below the top threaded section is the markings of "4715" and then a cartouche that I can't make out. On the opposite side there is a "1" over a "20". No markings on the bottom

Attached are a few photos of it.

Any help or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

[Michael Haselgrove]

Hi Jwert02,

It is not too easy to identify from photos. If it is German I would perhaps expect to see more in the way of markings. Are you sure the "4715" is not repeated on the body of the shell? Could the "cartouche" be a crown with a M beneath it? Are you certain there is nothing on the base? A light wipe over with oil and viewing in strong light sometimes reveals markings not immediately otherwise visible.

However, starting with your information that it is a naval shell and subject to the above, I think it may be a German 17cm. streamline Naval H.E. shell with false cap(missing in your photos). These guns were mounted on either a wheeled carriage, a platform mounting or a railway mounting. They were only fitted with a percussion fuze which could be adjusted for either delay or non-delay and had a maximum range of 25,700 yards. Some further measurements may help with identification. The base should be 150mm wide and 50mm thick. The height to the bottom of the lower driving band is 122mm.

The above information is taken from Notes on German Shells 1918 page 312/313. Incidentally, that book is available from The Naval & Military Press.

Regards,

Michael H.

[Guest Jwert02]

Michael

Many thanks! You've given me more to go on than I have been able to parse. I'll update once I give it the hard measurement