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Wooden 40mm round

A

ajf.350d

Well-Known Member
Thought this might be of interest to some of you and hopefully also get a bit more information about it too.
Seems to be an exact wooden replica of a 40mm Bofors round with brass nose cone and rear.
It has been given to me by a friend of my Dads and he know nothing about it or where it came from.

I assume it is some kind of training or ID round?
Any idea on age or origin etc?


IMG_1687.jpgIMG_1686.jpg

Andrew
 
Thank you bery much for that :)
I believe Woolwich is quite a well known arsenal? I saw the 8/40 stamp which I assumed was a date, but which is the arsenal stamp?
I am not really familiar with manufacturer stamps etc.

The guy I had it from apologised for the condition, but given its age I think it looks pretty good!
I guess drill rounds like this were used for practicing loading?

It will be a nice addition to the collection and something a bit different.

Andrew
 
The Woolwich stamp is "R L", standing for "Royal Laboratory". RL was the major manufacturer of British munitions from the 17th Century until about 1954. Since the late 1800s there is often a Broad Arrow stamped between the "R" and the "L", particularly on small arms ammunition.

The Arsenal at Woolwich was also the home of the Royal Gun Factory and the Royal Carriage Works as well as much administrative work connected with munitions. Arsenal football team was originally from Woolwich Arsenal.

Regards
TonyE
 
Hi Andrew,

Yes, this would have been used for loading practice, and as part of the gun-drill generally. Bofors drill rounds come in a variety of forms, some of steel with red-painted flutes in the body, and some with brass case bodies but with steel projectile and head. Yours is the first wooden one I have seen, so I think it must be a less common type.

Roger.
 
Many many years ago I bought two of the wooden type in a junk shop in Putney. I think I traded them for something more in my line of collecting a couple of years later. Since then i don't think I have seen any more, although the stell fluted type can be found, as Roger says.

Regards
TonyE
 
Thank you for the follow up information Roger and Tony. I did a bit of reading about Woolwich last night too just to get some history.
Interesting to hear it is not a very common type too! I am pretty certain it is a genuine item as the brass parts are exact matches for the wooden centre part.
It will be staying in my collection for a while though and goes with the other Bofors rounds I have.

Andrew
 
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