US M1902, 04 and 05 3 inch Shrapnel Complete Round

[M8owner]

These are not uncommon to find the US. However, unfired excellent condition is unusual, so I added this to the collection. I did not see many good photos using the search function, so I am adding these. I removed surface rust on the projectile and cleaned up the M1907 fuse. What color should the projectile be if I decide to repaint it?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Gspragge]

This is from 1921, your projectile wasn't listed, but if pre war colours
were maintained then it should be pretty much the same.

 

[HAZORD]

As Gordon's diagram shows, Shrapnel bodies were painted dull red with black lettering.

You didn't mention if it still had the balls inside although it kind of looks empty in the photo. But if it does have the balls and/or pusher plate in the bottom, you should check to see if the black powder base charge is still intact or if it was washed out. Kind of like a huge loaded dangerous shot gun shell if the powder is there.

 

[US-Subs]

As Gordon's diagram shows, Shrapnel bodies were painted dull red with black lettering.

Kind of like a huge loaded dangerous shot gun shell if the powder is there.

After aging and a little corrosion the plate does not push so well, not so much like a large shotgun shell any more, more like a small pipe bomb. We've been seeing quite a few of them around home, found 3 so far this year with the plate and charge still intact.

 

[HAZORD]

That makes sense, and good to know! So the chamber at the base actually breaks up into fragments? Will it still frag even if the balls are missing?

 

[M8owner]

It is completely empty and harmless. Should the black lettering be "3G" vs the "75G" in the illustration provided by Gspragge above?

 

[M8owner]

Attached is the only picture of a painted round that I could find on the web. Does anyone think this paint scheme is correct?

 

[US-Subs]

That makes sense, and good to know! So the chamber at the base actually breaks up into fragments? Will it still frag even if the balls are missing?

Not terribly effective, but if you are the one providing ignition you probably won't notice the difference. The gas has to go somewhere, if there is enough resistance to jam the plate it will find another way out. Seen a couple that blew out on the side, but could not guarantee what happened. We discussed trying to test one, but could not think of a justification other than that I wanted the pieces. That did not seem like the best response, so no test yet.

 

[US-Subs]

View attachment 98915Attached is the only picture of a painted round that I could find on the web. Does anyone think this paint scheme is correct?

No, as explained above, the entire round is a dark red with black markings. See the center round in the attached picture. This is a terrible picture, blown up from a shelf shot of 4x8 shelving. Send me a PM in two days and I can send you a better photo. This round is actually well marked for a fired/recovered projo.

 

[pzjgr]

Maybe it might be helpful, here is a thread with my repainted 3" shrapnel....

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/86542-After-a-Long-Dry-Spell-Success!-US-3-quot-Mk-IIA1

 

[bacarnal]

On one job we were finding 3", 75mm and 155 mm dud shraps on a very frequent basis. Several even had the red paint and black markings as described on them even after 90+ years. A procedure was developed to ensure that the base charge was dealt with, and during that, a small percentage did come from together as described by Subs, even if no shrapnel balls were present. Cheers, Bruce.