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Recovered #80 underwater

Gspragge

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I picked this up today, I'm hoping I can get it back to some kind of
reasonable condition as I've not found one with an unopened
cover before. There is a leather ? seal , I have not seen this before
at all, was it just for shipping or was it left on the fuze. If left on
I've never encountered one before.
 

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Gordon, I have several No. 80 fuzes with the original leather washer. As far as I'm aware this washer was fitted on all shells. I think yours has swelled a little as mine are flatter.
Graeme
 
How odd then that in all the years of picking at 18prs and no 80 fuzes I have never seen
this leather washer before ~ Now I suppose I could use about 10 of them :tinysmile_hmm_t: where to find such things ?

I have managed to beat the cap to some semblance of original shape, but even allowing for some
stretching and distortion it is quite different from this other example. Does any one have anything like
mine ?

Question, when rounds were loaded into the limber were these caps left on ?
 

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I have quite a few 18 pdr fuze caps, but none have a big rounded nose like that one. Also none are stamped on the top like that or have the designation No. 4 Mk I. All my caps are stamped with No. 80 Mk … etc.

I would have thought that the soldered caps would have been removed when the shells were fuzed - but I don't know for sure. It would be dry in the limber and you wouldn't want to be removing the caps and setting the fuze time at the last minute.
 
I don't know how much distortion or stretching might have occurred due to
water pressure. So I guess until some one has another example of the same mark of cover
we won't know. Hopefully some one has another one in good nick and will post an image.
 
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heres some info that may help
 

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