1917 6 Pounder Case re-used as Blank 1940

[hicky1300]

Found this whilst having a sort out at the weekend & found it interesting (forget when & where I got it).
It is/was a 6 pounder MKIII case made in 1917 so as there is no N on it for naval use can I therefore take as being for use in the British MKIV tank shortened 6 pounder gun? I understand these were first used in 1917?
It was a CF load & has GN stamped on it - could this be Great Northern rail?
It was then cut down at some stage (I assume same time) & made into a 6 pounder MKIV Blank at RL (Royal Laboratories?)
It has several crowsfeet - one of which has a B below.
Also a dimple above the 6Pr - is this the mark for a reload as well? (similar to German cases).
Cheers in advance

 

[TimG]

The case would appear to have been made in 1917 by Kynoch and then converted by Woolwich in 1940.
The presence of a punch dab near to the calibre stamping indicates the case has repairable defects.
GN in this case is more than likely an examiner's stamp. If it were one of the railway companies it would be suffixed 'Ry' and although the railway companies did make cases, most of their work appears to be repair work and thus their monogram would be surrounded by a rectangle.

TimG

 

[hicky1300]

Cheers for that TimG
There appears to be the corner of a rectangle/diamond around the GN but it may be another crowsfoot.
I understand this shortened gun was used on armoured trains in the UK in WWII so maybe it would have been a training/drill blank for these as I am not aware of any 6 pounders used other than A/A use in the Navy in WWII & these would have an N stamped on them.
All the saluting cases I have have been reloadaod numerous times and are all smaller calibers.

 

[butterfly]

Hi,

I dont know much about cases but had a look at the image and although there is no N on the case, I think I can see an anchor mark - does this indicate Naval use?

I have circled it below in the photo.

regards Kev

 

[hicky1300]

Kev
I had noticed that.
Looking closely it does not appear the right construction to be an anchor symbol.
Not sure if UK ever used the anchor symbol?

 

[butterfly]

here is a link to another 6 pounder thread, it gives details on some of the markings, hope it helps.......

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/60775-6pdr-markings?highlight=pounder

regards Kev

 

[hicky1300]

I remeber that post.
Seems to bear out my belief only N ever used to designate naval use.
Also shape on mine is not close to being an anchor.
I would also expect the stamp to be clear of others not interferring with another in order to remain legible?

 

[butterfly]

Sorry I cant add anymore. I have to agree though that if you were going to mark the case you would have thought it would have been done in 'clear space' and not crossing other marks. If its not an anchor then I'm not sure what other mark it could be, but I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with stamps on cases, so will have to pass over to someone who has more experience. I wish you luck in finding out more and thanks for posting a case with a very interesting history. I will follow the thread with interest.

regards kev