M48A1 .50 cal spotter round dummy

[Slick]

A couple more items added to the collection today. These two Israeli spotter rounds. These differ from my other example in having the screw out base "plug". Can anyone explain the reason for this option on a dummy round?

Rick

 

[EOD]

Maybe for easier replacement of broken "rims" which happen more often on dummies since they undergo extraction many more times than regular cases?

If not so then it is just not to have the "rim" made of aluminum since it breaks extremely easy - a point which every two or three decades has to be reestablished by ordnance designers since archives became very unpopular (actually too expensive) and the engineers have to reinvent the wheel. I heard about many experiments which had to be repeated since no files on the prior ones existed anymore or were simply unknown.
This reminds me also of Rheinmetall in Germany which inspected ammunition recovered at Hillersleben test range of WWII in 2000-2001 to see the old designs and test vehicles to get an impression what got done long before.

 

[Slick]

EOD

Great insight into the "design" process. One hopes the advent of the internet has allowed better access to tech data, drawings and such, limiting the reinventing to a minimum.

Back to the spotters; No sooner had I hit the SUBMIT button, I thought the same as you regarding the rim ripping that would go on if the aluminum alloy shell was without the steel reinforcing.

Rick

 

[EOD]

EOD

Great insight into the "design" process. One hopes the advent of the internet has allowed better access to tech data, drawings and such, limiting the reinventing to a minimum.

Back to the spotters; No sooner had I hit the SUBMIT button, I thought the same as you regarding the rim ripping that would go on if the aluminum alloy shell was without the steel reinforcing.

Rick

Rick, I fear none of those engineers is digging the internet. Do not forget that what we have in the net is a tiny fraction of what was really developed, tested and built.
Also searching for a particular design feature will be almost impossible for an engineer. Noone of them will have the time to do this and I think many even do not consider to look up old documents (which they have to have at first) or study patents.
As you see for us interested folks it is a full time job and we do for personal interests. Imagine that being done by "normal" engineers - "no way" in my opinion.
Sorry for going off the track.

 

[jonnyc]

FYI: The word at the bottom of the headstamp is TOLAR, which is a Hebrew acronym for Recoil-less Cannon...just in-case you wanted to know.

 

[Falcon]

Israel must have scrapped thousands of these in the late 2000s. They were all over at the militaria shows in the UK about 3 years ago. You could pick them up for 2 or 3. I only ever saw the yellow-green ones here though.

 

[Slick]

FYI: The word at the bottom of the headstamp is TOLAR, which is a Hebrew acronym for Recoil-less Cannon...just in-case you wanted to know.

Thanks Jon. And yes, I did want to know and hoped you would see this thread.

Falcon

They're pretty common over here, but I had not seen this style with the rim "plug". These sold for $3.55 each. I have another in the shed and will compare, with pics, later this weekend.

 

[jonnyc]

Did you guys also get the 20mm Oerlikon version of these? If not, let me know, I have a few.

 

[Slick]

OK. Got the rest of them for comparison. I thought the other dummy was different, but it isn't. Same-o same-o as the two new ones. The other "live" rounds are actually inert, and not sure if either of the projectiles are pertinent to the case. The tip paint appears original.

Rick

 

[Slick]

Just got a pair of 20mm mates to the dummies. 20 X 110s, I believe. Gotta do a little more research. The used one reflects the agressive nature of the action of loading and unloading. Really beat up in the process. Anybody know how these came boxed? The 20mms or the .50s.

Rick

 

[Slick]

While putzin' around in the shed today, I ran across this ammo can.