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20mm & 30mm

J

jos30

New Member
Hello everyone, I recently bought 2 shells on a flea market.
a 20mm shell (with just 20mm fn and the number 57 on the cartridge and with a hole drilled in the cartridge)

and what appears to be a 30x113 aden shell (with completely nothing written on it and no primer).

both the copper shells are empty, and they feel very light.

Can anyone tell me something about the projectiles? real or replica? Were they explosive?, and if so, can i rest assured they're fine?
 

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Hi jos30 the 20mm round is belgium fabric national 1957, the projectile by the looks of it is fused so its probably a high explosive round, dose the brass fuse unscrew ? if it dose and its empty your resonably ok .The 30mm round it has a n aden case which appears to be an unloaded uncrimped one. has the primer been fired?.The projectile is not an aden one but by the looks of it is a french 30mm defa projectile
 
thanks for the reply.

the aden one: the cartridge doesn't have a primer. It appears to be an unfinished empty cartridge. The tip of the projectile doesn't unscrew.

the 20mm one: the brass head does not unscrew. the primer hasn't been fired, but there is a hole drilled in the cartridge so it is empty.

when i bought them i didn't think too much of it because it is far from unusual to see such things on flea markets. I just assumed they were fake or inert.
 
If the primer hasnt been fired and the case has been drilled and emtied and the fuse dosent unscrew the projectile may still be live .It would probably be a good idea to check it out for your own pease of mind .I would agree the aden case is an unfinished one that hasnt been loaded or crimped
 
Hi,

Be very careful with the 20mm round: I've come across this type (as well as green painted ones) several times, all from Belgium, and several of them still contained a lot of high explosives in them; others have told me they are often sold fully live. I think the one you display is a Belgian HEI projectile. If you cannot safely make sure that it is inert, you're probably better of getting it disposed of properly.

Cheers,
Olafo
 
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