Mystery shell.

[skeeter4206]

I remember somebody else showing some artillery shells on this forum before. I think they were missing the point of it, but I saw some just like the one he had earlier on Ebay. They aint as cool as the ones yall have but still a conversation piece.

[andwaahs]

So I was in the garage to my neighbour and we had a look at a few relics he had, but this shell was a real conversation stopper.
It seems to have been fired, but is incredebly heavy. I unscrewed the small brass cap off the tip and there was a small firing pin and a detonator cap! no idea how to tell if this was inert.we removed them however.
Anyone any ideas on this one?

[Steinar]

Ohh.. Your neighbour better call the police about this one. Not much fun having something like this in the garage!
As you probably know, they will then give the job to the military bomb spesialists. Almost as a routine job for them.. Many shells are still beeing found here in Norway.

Here are two recent findings this year (articles are in Norwegian, but the pictures aren't )

http://www.nordlys.no/nyheter/article6512983.ece
http://www.vg.no/bildespesial/spesial.php?id=10130

[andwaahs]

Thats my thoughts to Steinar, I thought it was just interesting looking, and had been fired so as my neighbour had assumed,safe.
the weight of the thing when I picked it up suggested to me it was still packed with something though, and the detonating cap looks super clean so someone either cleaned it well and filled it with gold coins orits still packed with kapow powder.

I think I will suggest he calls the police on it. I cant find any reference to that detonator/fuze head anywhere on the net if anyone has an idea just what this thing could be.

[GySgt1811]

[/QUOTE] I cant find any reference to that detonator/fuze head anywhere on the net if anyone has an idea just what this thing could be.[/QUOTE]

Just a guess on my part...

I'm an old M-60 tanker and the calibrated nose piece looks like a variable range setting device. We had a "fletchette" round, called "BeeHive" that had to have the range set to the desired explosion point before firing. The device would detonate 75 meters before that point and inundate the area with thousands of small hardened "fletchettes" that looked like finishing nails.

The Arty boys had one, too. I know of a Bardstown, Kentucky group in Viet Nam that had to "drop tubes and bee hive" when the bad guys came over their emplacement wall. That's what your round looks like.

But maybe, like was said, it's filled with gold coins.

Best Regards,

Gunny John

[andwaahs]

thanks for the reference Gunny, I think its the same era as the previous shell which turned out to be shrapnel (lead balls) flechete isnt a to big of a step and I think the pot of gold theory is just wishful thinking.
if i understand correct, the calibration ring would set a time/distance/altitute that needed to be met before the fuze became armed? hence this could have been fired and not exploded if it fell short?

[GySgt1811]

Originally Posted by andwaahs

thanks for the reference Gunny, I think its the same era as the previous shell which turned out to be shrapnel (lead balls) flechete isnt a to big of a step and I think the pot of gold theory is just wishful thinking.
if i understand correct, the calibration ring would set a time/distance/altitute that needed to be met before the fuze became armed? hence this could have been fired and not exploded if it fell short?

Not quite...

On ours it was a "time" thing which, of course, related to distance traveled. It worked like this; I would spot the target and announce to the crew, "Gunner, BeeHive, Troops in the open, Range 9'er zero zero meters." [900 meters from the tank.] The gunner, when he picked them up in his sights would announce, "Identified." The loader would take the BeeHive round from the ready rack and turn the range ring on the nose to "900", place the round in the breech and announce "Up!"
I, the Tank Commander, would command "Fire" and the gunner, when he was satisfied with his sight picture, would announce "On the WAAAAY!" and fire the main gun.

The BeeHive round would time itself (based upon time of flight for a given range) and automatically detonate 75 meters before the 900 meter setting so as to give the fletchettes time to disperse to do their dirty work. All this was done mechanically by a ballistically compensated cammed fuse whose initial activation was caused by the firing force of the round. On our BeeHive round, if the range was NOT preset before firing, the round detonated 75 meters from the muzzle...I guess figuring the crew was already in deep do do and didn't have time to mess with ranging.

I understand that before the invention of fletchettes, early arty rounds employed a load of metal balls...sort of a modern equivalent of grape shot.

Nasty business all around. I do so hope yours is filled with gold coins.

Best Regards,

Gunny John

[GySgt1811]

"Nasty business all around. I do so hope yours is filled with gold coins."

Opps! Haven't heard from "andwaahs." The shell must not have been loaded with gold coins!!!

Gunny John

[andwaahs]

Ha, not quite, Been working away so not seen the neighbour again yet. I am shooting in the Norsk CAS nationals from friday till sunday so I do hope he dont blow up his garage before I get to see him on Monday