Vasco Da Gama
Well-Known Member
This small case turned up in the UK recently and I added it to the collection based upon not often seeing German made cases for I think Bulgaria. The size is: length 118mm, rim 88mm and mouth 75/76mm. The case was without a primer, I have shown it with a standard German primer for the M15 Skoda mountain gun which screws in easily. Also pictured alongside a M15 case for comparison.
My reading of the Cyrillic script would indicate the case was made in Karlsruhe, with an abbreviated Friedrich Krupp added to the case, dated 1917 with a Cyrillic G for date. This pattern of marking is similar to Krupp made cases for the Turkish military. The seller thought it was Russian, but I really don't think Krupp would be making export cases for Russia at this point! The only record of a case of this size I can find mentions a Krupp blockhouse gun. The general size for me could also indicate a mountain gun, very happy to be educated. I guess this item was a souvenir of the Salonika campaign, a part of WW1 often overlooked in the UK.
My reading of the Cyrillic script would indicate the case was made in Karlsruhe, with an abbreviated Friedrich Krupp added to the case, dated 1917 with a Cyrillic G for date. This pattern of marking is similar to Krupp made cases for the Turkish military. The seller thought it was Russian, but I really don't think Krupp would be making export cases for Russia at this point! The only record of a case of this size I can find mentions a Krupp blockhouse gun. The general size for me could also indicate a mountain gun, very happy to be educated. I guess this item was a souvenir of the Salonika campaign, a part of WW1 often overlooked in the UK.