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British/Japanese 57mm/6Pdr 8/01 Brass case UK Help Please

Chris Collins

New Member
Yes sir,a batch of the M86s popped up here in the midwest,with good original paint,green,and I was lucky enought to snag a few of them. Finally got a couple in orig black finally too. Its a great round to collect. Impressive enough in size but not too overbearing as to hog shelf space.
And yes sir that is a Japanese 57mm. It was a great lesson in,"not getting too excited when finding something on a table priced well below what is normal". Needless to say,I was pretty disappointed when I got it home. But was my bad for not inspecting it closer before getting my wallet out.
Anyone have extra 6pdrs to trade? APC for APC?


First of all, a Big hello to all of you, and thankyou for welcoming me to the group.
My Name is Chris , and I live in the County of Somerset in the United Kingdom .

I just got hold of a Japanese 57mm brass case( pictured Below) , its early I believe, and may have been one made in Gt Britain early before WW1.. Problem is.. I want a Shell head /Projectile for it, and I am unsure as to what exactly it would look like??.. is it the same as the one mentioned above , the Japanese one ??, also , Ive tried quite hard to find out more about this Brass Case , all I seem to find is the information on this Link, from Wickepedia( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QF_6-pounder_Hotchkiss ) I have had a Japanese Friend confirm that one of those symbols on the base stands for the number "9" in Japanese. funny thing all the other stamps are in what i think is English.. "BOC" .. W .. 88/01 .. would that mean 1901 ?

Would any be able to tell me if this is a Rare Brass case , and also what type of shell head i should get for it,.. would it have been the same as the British 6Pdr/ 57mm Shell ? .. this Case came as a pair, , they came from a Veterans sale , who had served out in the far east during WW2 .. I guess, and its only a guess mind !, this must be where this souvenir was picked up
I thank you all in anticipation of your helpful Knowledge.
Kind Regards
Chris

PS
the 3rd Phot is one from the Internet of a british Victorian /Edwardian 6Pdr , of which I am wondering if this brass case i now have would have been identical ???

57mm jap no 2.jpg57mm Jap.jpg57mm 6Pdr  British Pre ww1.jpg
 
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That marking is "EOC", which stands for Elswick Ordnance Company. This was based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Your case was cartainly made in the UK. It also appears that the "8" stamp jumped on stamping. It is supposed to read "8/01", which refers to be August 1901.

I would think the projectiles would have been the same as those made for UK use. However, this is not definite.
 
Many Thanks Falcon .. I wondered if the Stamped had jumped, and as for the EOC mark, thank you for the info , I guess 6pdr heads are hard to find ? .. , to be honest its the first time i have seen a shell with British and Japanese markings on it..
if only this piece could tell its story ! is it a common Piece or quite a oddity ?
 
6 Pounder projectiles are not that common but they are around.

There are quite a few cases made by EOC for Japan around. The 47mm Hotchkiss ones are fairly common, but I have never actually seen a 6 Pounder. I think the order for the 47mm Hotchkiss cases must have been cancelled and the cases sold off. This is judging by the amount of them that are around in this country.
 
well If I cannot get a 6Pdr Japanese head I guess I will have a good loook for any 6pdr british head i can find, just to make it look complete. its a shame because its the perfect size item, not too big but big enough to be impressive , I am struggling to find a 2pdr head, let alone a obscure 6pdr, I also have a 3pdr shell , with the markings S.M II on it, after much deliberation ive concluded with others that its a common 3pdr shell , but what the markings mean on the shell.. I am at a loss ?
 
A 6 Pounder projectile made by EOC would be as close as you could get. They most likely supplied complete rounds to the Japanese.

What sort of 2 Pounder projectile are you looking for?
 
I have both types of cases for the 2Pdr, one of which is the short type (PomPom ) "pdr No1 Mrk IIQF made By EOC in 1943 , with N naval stamp.. .. and also a Head for the other I have which is almost twice as tall as the one I have just mentioned , which I am Guessing is a Anti tank/ tank gun 2 Pdr . it is marked on the base as follows "2pdr I No2 QF made by RLB (Royal Labratories??) in 1942 .. as for the heads that should be in them ?..apart from there 2 Pdr..

As I said Previously I also have a 3Pdr Head Common type, its partially hollow inside, and a threaded 0.5" hole in its centre , which i guess is for the fuse (missing) , it also has the letters S.M II stamped on the side, .. which I still havent been able to fathom out , even after hours of checking through the internet, what S.M II actually stands for ??
 
Rare is a relative term when it comes to cases and shell etc. The British marked 6pr case of the sort you have are fairly readily available. As EOC made them for the Japanese they also exist here ( I've one dated 7/01 different Japanese character and I'm sure others have them) Japanese marked shell would be hard to get as even British ones are not that easy to aquire. Make sure you get the correct 6pr shell as the later 6pr 7cwt anti tank solid shot are a bit more common.
 
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