Simon127 Posted 18 February Share Posted 18 February Hello all, Could anyone tell me more information about this? I believe this to be an early 20th century British pom pom shell, but I am not sure. There are no markings apart from VSM on the projectile. One of the feet seems to be from a bullet. I'd be very appreciative if someone could give me a steer on period and country of origin. Thanks and best wishes, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Bailey Posted 18 February Share Posted 18 February VSM is Vickers Sons & Maxim of Crayford and Erith in Kent. These shells date from before the Great War and yours may actually be a Boer War Souvenir. The VSM mark was mainly used up to 1911. That said undated VSM 37mm shells could well have been used in the Great War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 18 February Author Share Posted 18 February Ah, many thanks indeed. I have had a look at the bullet ‘foot’ and it is the round-nosed Boer war 303 type rather than the later Mk VII projectile that you typically find used on most Great War era rounds; that would seem to fit with this being a Boer War souvenir piece. I paid about £25 for it in an antiques place on the Kent coast, so I figure it’s not a bad find. Best, Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1890 ottoman Posted 19 February Share Posted 19 February Yes indeed I have just purchased one german 1903 german navy marked for 40eur (that's how much I know about it) and I might end up paying even more due to shipping issues. These are HP rounds. Not paranoid but just thinking that they are likely to still have charge inside the round itself although the propellent is long gone. A fact is they were known to be ineffective against the canvas skins of the aircraft back in the day. So it is likely that you need to work harder than just dropping it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Posted 19 February Share Posted 19 February 10 minutes ago, M1890 ottoman said: charge inside the round itself I wonder if weighing it would show up whether it was empty or not, assuming the original data is available to compare against? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon127 Posted 19 February Author Share Posted 19 February What do you mean by HP? Sorry, brain’s not working after first day back at work… S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1890 ottoman Posted 19 February Share Posted 19 February 2 hours ago, Simon127 said: What do you mean by HP? Sorry, brain’s not working after first day back at work… S My bad it means high explosive, there were tracer and AP (armor piercing) rounds available back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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