Hi all,
Upon informing the people at the IAA forum of my new site http://www.japaneseammunition.com a most interesting reaction followed from John Schmitts. I know John is far from popular over here, and I have had my clashes with him too in previous years, but maybe it's time to see if these matters can be fully left in the past.
He certainly made some interesting comments in the respective thread, and he asked me if I had any idea about the casing shown in the three pictures. He wrote that it is a 37x124 calibre one (possibly 37x124R ?), and that Robert Mellichkamp thinks it is likely a 1 1/4 pdr. with Tokyo Arsenal reload markings.
However, I cannot ID it as such.
The British (particularly EOC) have manufactured a variety of casings for the IJN, right around the late 1980s and early 1900s. Those seen include at least the 47x131R and 57x306R calibres, but others seem to exist too. A fellow Dutch collector has an alleged Japanese 1.5 Pounder casing (though I'm not 100% certain that it really is that). The shown casing was obviously manufactured by EOC and it seems to have the 'C' of a 'charge' marking (such as the 'CF' = Charge Full) marking on it. The absence of a broad arrow ought to mean it was never accepted by the British forces, and hence almost certainly was manufactured for export. So far so good. However, as for the stars, I could be mistaken, but I am not so convinced these are from the Tokyo arsenal. Before 1933 Tokyo used the three interlocked circles (later this arsenal marking was used by the Okura arsenal), after that, the Tokyo arsenal did use a star, but not a pointy one as this one. Besides... It seems that the British solely (or mainly, at least) manufactured for the IJN and not the IJA.
I also have no explanation for the 'JM' or 'LS' markings. Finally, I have never seen a Western date (i.e. like the 1913 shown on this one) on a Japanese casing.
John wrote that the casing came from Tokyo recently with a projectile which he thinks is Russian.
Does anyone have any idea what this is exactly, and for whom it was manufactured?
Also: being the most commonly seen foreign contractor for ammo production for Japan, EOC has got my attention, and I want to include them in my line of research for my own site too. It could be very helpful for this particular question, as well as for my site as a whole, to have good notes on EOC manufacture. Does anyone have notes on EOC manufacture? When did they fulfill which foreign contracts? What calibres? For which nations?
Cheers!
Olafo
Upon informing the people at the IAA forum of my new site http://www.japaneseammunition.com a most interesting reaction followed from John Schmitts. I know John is far from popular over here, and I have had my clashes with him too in previous years, but maybe it's time to see if these matters can be fully left in the past.
He certainly made some interesting comments in the respective thread, and he asked me if I had any idea about the casing shown in the three pictures. He wrote that it is a 37x124 calibre one (possibly 37x124R ?), and that Robert Mellichkamp thinks it is likely a 1 1/4 pdr. with Tokyo Arsenal reload markings.
However, I cannot ID it as such.
The British (particularly EOC) have manufactured a variety of casings for the IJN, right around the late 1980s and early 1900s. Those seen include at least the 47x131R and 57x306R calibres, but others seem to exist too. A fellow Dutch collector has an alleged Japanese 1.5 Pounder casing (though I'm not 100% certain that it really is that). The shown casing was obviously manufactured by EOC and it seems to have the 'C' of a 'charge' marking (such as the 'CF' = Charge Full) marking on it. The absence of a broad arrow ought to mean it was never accepted by the British forces, and hence almost certainly was manufactured for export. So far so good. However, as for the stars, I could be mistaken, but I am not so convinced these are from the Tokyo arsenal. Before 1933 Tokyo used the three interlocked circles (later this arsenal marking was used by the Okura arsenal), after that, the Tokyo arsenal did use a star, but not a pointy one as this one. Besides... It seems that the British solely (or mainly, at least) manufactured for the IJN and not the IJA.
I also have no explanation for the 'JM' or 'LS' markings. Finally, I have never seen a Western date (i.e. like the 1913 shown on this one) on a Japanese casing.
John wrote that the casing came from Tokyo recently with a projectile which he thinks is Russian.
Does anyone have any idea what this is exactly, and for whom it was manufactured?
Also: being the most commonly seen foreign contractor for ammo production for Japan, EOC has got my attention, and I want to include them in my line of research for my own site too. It could be very helpful for this particular question, as well as for my site as a whole, to have good notes on EOC manufacture. Does anyone have notes on EOC manufacture? When did they fulfill which foreign contracts? What calibres? For which nations?
Cheers!
Olafo
