1 1/2 Pdr Shell Mk 1

[johnnie]

I have just picked up a small bit of trench art in the form of a simple candle stick or vase made out of a cartridge which is marked as being a 1 1.2 Pdr.

I have never come across such a small calibre cartridge before and was wondering what kind of gun it would have been fired from, or if anybody could tell me more about the head stamps.

It is dated 1915, and I think it may be naval from the "N", but I am at a bit of a loss. I did wonder if the 12/14 might suggest it was originally used in 1914 and then reused in 1915, but I wasn't sure.

Any help would be great.

Johnnie

[TonyE]

The 1 1/2 pounder was a Vickers semi automatic QF gun of which there were two marks in Naval service from 1915. They were experimentally mounted on a Short pusher Hydro biplane.

Regards

TonyE

[johnnie]

Many thanks for that. Does that mean that this type of gun was only fitted to sircraft or was it also more widely used on ships?

Are casing of this size common? I have not come across one before, but then again I don't really collect this kind of thing.

Johnnie

[TonyE]

Yes, it was a shipboard weapon also.

1 1/2 Pr. cases are fairly common.

Regards

TonyE