French 37mm Projectile Identification Please

[oldshotandshell]

Could someone please identify this Pre-WW1 French 37mm projectile type? No markings apart from a I on the base. Length is 95mm and weight is 410g. The projectile has a hemispherical base and is closed with a copper 'tip' which is not obviously removable. Steel body with copper driving band 30mm wide. Many thanks for any assistance.

 

[sgdbdr]

Hi,

Have a look here : http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/71788-37mm-by-member-Gspragge and follow the links to the galleries

 

[oldshotandshell]

Excellent reference material, but unfortunately it's not in there :-(

 

[MINENAZ16]

Hello,
Your shell is a Model 1877/1881, with trench art design plug.
The hole in base makes me think to a rejected or unfinished shell.
Regards

 

[oldshotandshell]

Interesting. I have now measured the diameter where the plug meets the projectile thinking I'll remove the plug and replace it with the standard percussion nose fuze only to find the diameter is 19.2mm at that point which is 2mm less than the standard Model 1877/1881 which measures 21.2mm. If it is a trench art plug why the difference in diameter?

 

[Gspragge]

Is the drilled into part different material then the projectile body ?
Does the weight compare closely to a normal PD type ? Perhaps
some one started to drill into it and stopped. The only reason to drill into a solid shot
like this is to lower the weight to that of the regular PD. I have one like that, drilled deeper
but even so it is quite a bit heavier then a PD type and the copper banded solid shot types have a flat base
and the heaver weight is not seemingly a concern , perhaps a benefit at close range.
There is little reason to drill into a hollow shot unless this is a plug some one was trying to remove
and the hole is threaded for an external fuze. But the external fuzed French Hotchkiss is a rare type
and likely only made to order.
Likely more questions than answers here.

 

[oldshotandshell]

Hi Gordon. Many thanks for your input. Very good to hear from you. Re weights: this projectile weighs 410g compared to an empty explosive 1877/81 which I have weighed at 428g so it is 18g lighter. The cavity in the base is not tapped its just a concave depression and goes into the base which is steel, no other metal is present. I'm thinking Target Practice? But in the end it is all guess work!

 

[MINENAZ16]

No registration of this combination. Our French 37mm specialist think it's not an original service shell.
I found one recently and very surprised of the excellent machning of plug. I did not see the plug before cleaning it !