105mm How M67

[flak18]

Hello to you all....I today acquired, at a car boot fair, a WW2 US 105mm How, M67 HEAT projectile. It is unfired and contains the cone as well as the base fuze M62. As you can imagine I am VERY pleased to find this. I have been searching for about 30 years for one of these and suddenly there it was. I hasten to add that all the explosive material has been removed, from both the fuze and the projectile so it is totally inert.
Unlike all the other 105mm How rounds, the M67 HEAT round was a fixed round, so my question is, has anyone ever seen a 105mm How case with a cannelure for crimping purposes ? I live in France and I obviously see lots of 105mm cases at all the weekend car boots, but I have never seen a crimped case. Hope someone can help....please!!!! By the way, keep up the good work on this forum. There is such an amazing lot of sound information here.

 

[HAZORD]

flak18,

My copy of TM 9-1901 Artillery Ammunition dated 29 June 1944 states that the round is semifixed and the case fits loosely around the projectile. The major difference between the M67 and the other 105H rounds, was that the M67 had a single bagged propellant charge that was not adjustable.

 

[flak18]

Thanks for that info. I must confess though that I am still uncertain about this. My book source is full of errors...Hogg, British and American Artillery of WW2, however, the book contains a drawing taken from a manual showing the M67 round and states that this round used a TYPE II case. I have never seen a TYPE II case, just TYPE I. What also worries me is that my projectile has a definite crimp groove about 1 inch below the driving band...not the groove just below the band as seen on the M1 HE shells. Certainly at a later date the M67 was a semi fixed round. My manual dated 1960, Supplement of American Ammunition states this quite clearly. There could not be a better source than a 1944 dated manual, but ..... was it right or did someone in an office just follow the way all the other 105H rounds were described ??? I see dozens of 105H cases here and I always check them out carefully but never a crimped case or a TYPE II. I always understood that the round was fixed because the charge was standard and needed no adjustment...hence no need for little fingers to be prying inside the case and getting it wrong. Who knows ?? Thank you for your reply. You have great knowledge on this subject as I have seen from your many posts.

 

[HAZORD]

flak18,

Thanks for your generous compliments.

I checked my 1950 edition of the same manual, and it also said that the round used the standard loose cartridge case. I know the ammo for the Gun on the C-130 Spectre gunship is crimped, but that is because that gun points down.

Another reason for not crimping, is the method in which 105H rounds are packaged (separately). They would have to develop new packaging to deal with a crimped round.

As a side note, the groove you see on 105H projectiles directly below the band, is for the rotating band material to move into when it goes through the rifling of the Howitzer.

Now I'm going to have to check my M67 projos for crimping grooves.

 

[Western]

There was a Type II case. I am lucky to have one in my collection. They were used a very short time. My case has no crimpings so I think it was used semi-fixed.
First I thought the Type II was only for HEAT but it is possible there is also a cannister round wich used the type II case?

 

[flak18]

VERY nice case.....I am envious and will intensify my searching for one. HAZORD....you lucky devil...you have several M67 projectiles ?? WOW !!! Like I said, I have searched for about 30 years for one. The crimping groove on my projectile is below the one for the driving band to set back into. I will be interested to hear if your projectiles have grooves as well....maybe they were just surplus stock from when they were crimped and they were just being used up. Again, thank you both for your input. Isn't collecting great ?