Hi,
I'm specialising in medium and large calibre Japanese stuff. I may have a chance at a (part of) an APT or more likely APCBC-T projectile, which would be interesting for me if it's a Jap one. It doesn't look at all like a WW2 Jap one, but perhaps it's from the Russo-Japanese war era.
I asked some very knowledgable people on US and Russian ammo too, and neither of them could positively identify it as being from those countries, though Tony Williams just e-mailed me that it resembles the US 3 inch M79 one, but that that one is longer.
With some of these most likely alternatives probably eliminated, it's driving me crazy what it's origin might be. It may be early Jap or Chinese, or perhaps foreign manufacture for Japan; most likely then British, French or German.
The only two markings on it both appear at the bottom, and they are an arrow (not a British broad arrow) and the number '18'. Maybe someone recognises it from the description and/or the pictures, or maybe from the general style of the projectile?
The bottom engravings, may be tell-tale, but I just need to come across the right person who recognises them. :tinysmile_eyebrow_t
Some further details (coming from an e-mail I previously sent about it):
The calibre is given as being 3" but it could of course also be
something else in the 75mm - 77mm range. The length is between 8" and
8.5" and the only markings that can be made out, are on the very
bottom, being a short arrow (pointing inwards, to the centre of the
projectile) and the number '18' right next to it.
It came along in a batch of military Jap stuff brought back by a US
WW2 veteran. I went through my docs on both IJA and IJN ammo, and
don't see it anywhere... In IJN ammo I don't see any AP ammo at all in
the calibres around 3". In IJA ammo, there are two 'AP' projectiles
that I have documentation on, but they're both of the APHE kind and
have different shapes (boat tailed, etc.).
The projectile may still be Japanese, as the documentation I have
isn't always complete, but it certainly doesn't look like a typical
Japanese AP projectile, at least not of the WW2 era.
The straight base, without crimp and without boat tail, as well as the
short profile suggest it might be older than WW2, possibly from the
Russo-Japanese war, but it might also have been manufactured by a
different country (most likely USA in that case), and it might have
been capped.
O.k., thanks for taking the time to read this message, and hopefully someone can identify it or at least its origin,
Olafo
I'm specialising in medium and large calibre Japanese stuff. I may have a chance at a (part of) an APT or more likely APCBC-T projectile, which would be interesting for me if it's a Jap one. It doesn't look at all like a WW2 Jap one, but perhaps it's from the Russo-Japanese war era.
I asked some very knowledgable people on US and Russian ammo too, and neither of them could positively identify it as being from those countries, though Tony Williams just e-mailed me that it resembles the US 3 inch M79 one, but that that one is longer.
With some of these most likely alternatives probably eliminated, it's driving me crazy what it's origin might be. It may be early Jap or Chinese, or perhaps foreign manufacture for Japan; most likely then British, French or German.
The only two markings on it both appear at the bottom, and they are an arrow (not a British broad arrow) and the number '18'. Maybe someone recognises it from the description and/or the pictures, or maybe from the general style of the projectile?
The bottom engravings, may be tell-tale, but I just need to come across the right person who recognises them. :tinysmile_eyebrow_t
Some further details (coming from an e-mail I previously sent about it):
The calibre is given as being 3" but it could of course also be
something else in the 75mm - 77mm range. The length is between 8" and
8.5" and the only markings that can be made out, are on the very
bottom, being a short arrow (pointing inwards, to the centre of the
projectile) and the number '18' right next to it.
It came along in a batch of military Jap stuff brought back by a US
WW2 veteran. I went through my docs on both IJA and IJN ammo, and
don't see it anywhere... In IJN ammo I don't see any AP ammo at all in
the calibres around 3". In IJA ammo, there are two 'AP' projectiles
that I have documentation on, but they're both of the APHE kind and
have different shapes (boat tailed, etc.).
The projectile may still be Japanese, as the documentation I have
isn't always complete, but it certainly doesn't look like a typical
Japanese AP projectile, at least not of the WW2 era.
The straight base, without crimp and without boat tail, as well as the
short profile suggest it might be older than WW2, possibly from the
Russo-Japanese war, but it might also have been manufactured by a
different country (most likely USA in that case), and it might have
been capped.
O.k., thanks for taking the time to read this message, and hopefully someone can identify it or at least its origin,
Olafo
