British 75mm cases, tank or field gun?

[Vasco Da Gama]

Posted are 3 pictures of 75x 350 cases which are very familiar to us as the famous French 75 of WW1 and then as the M18 case for the US field gun and Sherman tank gun in WW2. I have picked up these 3 cases over a period of years in different locations and they do not fit the standard Headstamps but appear related, they all have AM-LOT 781 and H. I would offer 2 suggestions, they are US manufactured cases for the 75mm Field Gun supplied to the UK in 1940 (potentially old WW1 stock) or they are US manufactured cases for the British QF 75mm tank gun that armed the Churchill and Cromwell. I cannot determine a date on any of the 3 but they appear to follow the style of the US M18 case for the Sherman. As always very glad to have your views and comments.

 

[bdgreen]

My guess is U.S. 75mm Field Gun as all 3 casings have primers dated 1918. Note on the primers near the edge of the rim is stamped 18 (the year) then a 7 digit lot designation and U.S.

Nice casings!

Brian

 

[HAZORD]

The F.G. on the headstamp of the first case stands for Field Gun.

 

[ydnum303]

The middle case has "C.F" stamped on it, which is a British/Commonwealth marking, so that one was probably used by us, but I do not know in which gun.

Roger.

 

[bdgreen]

Perhaps the 75mm Field Gun, Model of 1917, British.

 

[Vasco Da Gama]

Many thanks for the comments, after some further research I think that these cases are US made probably at the end of the First World War. They only say 75mm Gun as the US had 3 different guns in service all using the same ammunition. The first being the US designed M1916, or the crime of 1916 according to US gunners, the British 18pdr chambered for 75mm ammunition, the M1917 and the French Mle 1897. These guns were the first to move away from the 3in calibre and so the ammunition did not need a model number. Many of these guns found there way to Britain in 1940 following Dunkirk, the CF marking probably indicates some work on the ammunition being completed in the UK to support these Weapons. Does anybody know when the standard M18 cases markings came into use? I suspect that all US 75mm tank ammunition supplied to Britain later in the War used the M18 case.