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90 x 353R Case manufacturer ID

Falcon

Falcon

Well-Known Member
Ages ago at a boot sale I bought a 90 x 353R case for the Belgian Cockerill 90mm AFV gun. It appears to never have been loaded / fired. It has no primer (threaded for a screw-in type). The case is very clean on the inside. It had been polished and lacquered on the outside, I removed the lacquer with Nitro-Mors household paint stripper and steel wool.

The headstamp is:

12 O'Clock: "90 MM NR 5499 A1"

6 O'Clock: "M M J - 2 - 5 - 81"

Is this case made in Belgium? Is "81" the date? Are 2 and 5 lot numbers? I guess "M M J" is the manufacturer ID. What is the name of the exact factory in whatever country it is made in? I have never been able to find anything on the maker of this case before, so any info would be extremely helpful!
 
Hello Falcon,

Your case is made in Belgium.
MMJ is indeed the manufacturer ID, which is Metallurgia (Mechelen).
This factory in Mechelen exploded in 1966, so I don't think 81 can be the date.

I have also a case made by MMJ, but this is a 90X602 shell case.


Mathias
 
Thanks for the reply, I cannnot find any information on this factory on the internet. What does the J in MMJ stand for?
 
I don't know where the J in MMJ stands for.
The complete (French) name of this factory is: Metallurgia Societ Anonyme Maline. (Maline is French and Mechelen is Dutch, but this is the same city.)

I searched on the internet and I can't find any information about it either. I only found two photos taken after the explosion in the neighbourhood of the factory.
I don't think this was a big ammunition factory. They probably only made "large" (>20mm) ammunition. In the Walloon region there is FN where they produce "small" (<20mm) ammunition. In the years between the First and the Second World War, FN made "large" shell cases as well but I haven't seen a "large" FN shell case dated later than 1940. I haven't seen shell cases of Metallurgia dated before 1945 either.

http://www.hbvl.be/dossiers/-e/eeuw/1966/1966_5.html
http://www.hbvl.be/dossiers/-e/eeuw/1966/1966_6.html
 
Thank for the links, I checked the markings again and they are definitely as I originally wrote.

This case is brand new, it has never been loaded, fired or had a primer in place.
 
Does anyone have any more information on the company using the initials "MMJ"?

I have now found a 75mm M18 case made by them that is dated 1980. Was the factory rebuilt after the explosion?
 
MMJ =

- SARL MINNESOTA DE FRANCE, PARIS

- Metallurgia Socit Anonyme, Marlines, Belgium


 
So are these two companies related or are they separate companies?

Does either of the still exist, do they have websites?
 
MMJ manufacturer

I think you two are talking about different factories/companies.
I have had in the past a few rounds made with the stamps "MMJ" on them and one of these was;-

a 130 mm Rocket Assisted High Explosive shell which I always thought originated from Finland ???????

others were;-

90mm practice projectile for cockerel gun
Stamped:-
90MM NR6479A3 MMJ-04-03-89.

90mm practice for cockerel gun.
Stamped:-
90MM TP-T NR6479A3 MMJ-01-16-90. 3MM.


Drawn brass cartridge case for 90 mm Cockeril gun.
Stamped:-
90MM NR 5499A1 MMJ-2-12 483

There have been others but they went before I kept better records:tinysmile_cry_t4:
 
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