British 13 Pounder Shrapnel Shell

[M8owner]

I turned this projectile up in the US, and it even came with a nice No. 80 fuse. Price was not bad either. I thought it was an 18 pounder when I bought it, but it must be a 13 pounder as it fits nicely in some of my 75mm shell casings. It was rusty, so I have already repainted it with the wonderful guidance from some of our members in past conversation threads on this site.

How difficult is it to find a 13 pounder casing in the UK? Does anyone have one to spare? The projectile does not have much in the way of markings. The driving band also appears different from other 13 pounder images I have observed. I would appreciate any additional guidance you can provide on its identification or who made it.

Thank you.

Steve

 

[MINENAZ16]

Hello,

Could you post a picture of the bottom and the driving band ?
I'm not sure your shell is a 13pr (narrow driving band and low crimp groove ?)

Regards

 

[M8owner]

Here is the photo of the driving band you requested. I am reasonably confident it is not US as it will not thread a US Model 1907 time fuse. It does fit nicely into my German 77mm shell casing. The threads on the fuse adapter fit the British No. 80 perfectly; however, it is my understanding the British licensed this design from Germany.

 

[M8owner]

I see there are images of Canadian Cartridge Company (CCO) made 13 pdr shell casings on this site. I have not seen any images of Canadian made shrapnel projectiles. The A1 on my projectile looks like the lot codes used by CCO on their brass casings. There is a logo on the bottom of the projectile that looks like a "C" in the middle of a circle. It could be a variant of the CCO logo. Is this a Canadian made 13 pdr?

 

[MINENAZ16]

Hello,

Never seen this shell before. Very different from common WW1 13pr shrapnel used in France.

Regards

 

[M8owner]

I measured the outer diameter of the driving band. It is 3.075 inches. This matches my US 3 inch Shrapnel shell for the 1902 gun. My US WWI and WWII 75mm shells measure at 3.005 inches. 70 thousands of an inch (1.778 mm) is a big difference. So, I now believe we have a 3 inch or 76.2mm shell here. The fuse adapter does not mate to the US M1907 fuse, and it is not like my 3 inch shrapnel at all. I am now leaning towards a US made shell for the Russian 76.2 or 3 inch guns. I do not have a Russian shrapnel fuse. Do the threads on a Russian fuse match those on a British no. 80? It is probable the British fuse is only on there because it is what someone had on hand and it fit.

 

[M8owner]

I have now looked at enough posts on this site about Russian 76mm shells to know the Russian Shrapnel fuse has completely different threads from the British no. 80 fuse. It is probably not Russian. Now, we are down to a 3 inch shell with a fuse adapter that will only take a British fuse. I need our member's help. I do not know what I have here.

 

[MINENAZ16]

Not the same thread between british and russian fuzes. Maybe your shell is fitted with a special adapter for 2in british fuzes.

 

[M8owner]

Thank you Minenaz16. Your drawing answered the question. My shell matches your drawing for diameter, length, driving band, and crimp groove. The internal construction is different. It has straight walls internally with a cup that looks like it was press fit into the bottom. It looks like it is a Russain 76mm shrapnel with a special adapter for the British fuses. Do you think this was a test design? Is there a chance the Russians ordered some of these with British fuses due a shortage of Russian fuses?

 

[Burney Davis]

There were two different Russian fuzes used with these Russian shrapnel shells enabled by a different adaptor. They did not used British fuzes, you are looking for the fuze on the right to complete the projectile.

D

 

[M8owner]

Excellent. Thank you. That is the missing piece of the puzzle. Does anyone have a spare correct Russian fuse or shell casing? Also, what color should I paint a Russian 76mm shrapnel shell?