shell case - a souvenir from ypres

[Guest michael56]

hi ... i have a shell case which has 'a souvenir from ypres' engraved on it.

it has a single rim around the base and a single indent in the middle of the base.

it measures 90mm across the diameter

engraved in the base are: St GF SP 292 JAN 1917 and something i can't quite read ending in 7, possibly a four figure number.

is this british? and if so do you know what it is?

thanks

michael

[Torrey McLean]

Hello, Michael - Your shell case is a German 77mm shell case for the standard German 77mm field gun. Regards, Torrey

[Guest michael56]

hi torrey ... thank you for that. i had hoped it might be a british one but great thatyou could identify it. i'll see if i can find some images of the field gun. i'm guessing it was quite common? thanks. michael

[SiegeGunner]

Manufactured in January 1917 by Geschoss-Fabrik Spandau [spandau Shell Factory, Berlin], 'St' = 'stark', indicating a strengthened case. 292 is the Lot number and SP197 is the inspector's stamp.

[Torrey McLean]

hi torrey ... thank you for that. i had hoped it might be a british one but great thatyou could identify it. i'll see if i can find some images of the field gun. i'm guessing it was quite common? thanks. michael

Hello, Michael - Yes, the German 77mm field gun was one of the most common types of field artillery used during the war. There were two models. The first (and much more common) was the 1896 model, designated the 7.7 cm FK 96 n/A, which was the workhorse of German field artillery during the war. The second was the 1916 model designated the 7.7 cm FK 16, which had a longer barrel and different carriage and consequently had a longer range. ["FK" stood for Feldkanone ("field cannon" in English).] If you can provide a photograph of the mouth of your shell case and tell me the length (230 mm?) of your case, I might be able to tell you which gun fired it. Regards, Torrey