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Japanese contract Hotckiss 3pr

Gspragge

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
What are these really worth these days -
They haven't a clue of course to what it really is -
 

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in the UK the 47mm are common, probably to to contracts not being taken, if you want to sell one you'd be lucky to get about £30 'cos most people who want one already have one. I'd want tp be sure it is 53mm as described not 47.
 
As 2pounder said, they are very cheap when you get them in the UK. I think 750 is an insanely stupid price, especially considering its condition doesn't look immaculate either.
 
Well given the measurements it's a 47mm.
That being said I bought two other rounds from them, none a bargain but not crazy like this.
I will report on them when I recieve them. This site doesn't know the difference between a
French 37mm common shell and German 37s. Also confuses 1" aiming for Nordenfelt 1" , and priced accordingly :wink:
 

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First I would love to obtain a 47mm at the values mentioned, but I am afraid there is no way
to get one to Canada at the presnt time ~ Common in the UK, never found over here.

Okay; these are what I purchasesd. The first a common Wincherster 37x120, but some what better than my current example.
Then this, now the description is humerous, how any one identified it as this is , well beyond me.:tinysmile_hmm_t:
But it is one of those 1915 exported to the UK 37x136 cases. I have had these before and there seems to be some confusion
if not mystery as to what was done with them. An article published in 1917 but using 1916 PE&M cases for the Mclean Gun as an example
clearly states cases were exported to the UK and shows a shipping case (if that is what it is). So even here there is some confusion as what is shown went to Russia loaded and what went to the UK in 19i5 was not. Though maybe not to be discussed in 1915- a secret ?
Roberts book Vol. 2 A Gun for all Nations would lead one to belive that these were loaded with BSC type projectiles as for the French BSC contracts.
I think it is clear that these cases were shipped empty and meant to be loaded in the UK with UK projectiles, 1pr stocks on hand would make sense.
There is mention of these as a subcalibre use after some guns were damaged also. The original use was if I have it correctly was to arm small gunboats
of some sort or another. Now there is this WW1 German image of captured British equipment no date or location given. What is clear is that there are two 37mm guns of American make on Navel mountings. These are the type of gun that would use the American 37x136 cartridge and are pretty much the same as U.S. Navel pattern guns. Where would the Germans have captured these. Well these was a very successful German attack later in the war (I have read of it and can't remember the name) in a flooded canal ridden area of near coastal Belgium where there were about 5000 British captured being trapped , there are images of the prisners being marched out. So in this area small armed boats could well have been taken. So this round with the 1pr projectile could be correct, that said we all know that one 37mm fits any other ~. The only thing I can say is that these have been together for a while, long enough for the projectile to have been pushed a bit too far in over time. One thing seems rather certain is that these cases being shipped empty to be loaded, this would be one of the two projectile types used. But until I see the thing I can't add any more for now.:tinysmile_hmm_t:
 

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Error Error --- Correction !
Crow pie for me on this---
The German image of captured weopans is not all Brirtish as has just been pointed out to me today
by a clever lad. The machine gun is an Italan Reveli - Therefore this image is on the Italain
front/theatre. The motars look like 3" stokes and the 37mm guns certainly look to be American made.
But my context of them being captured form the British is completely out of context. :tinysmile_cry_t2:

Of course this opens up anther can of Worms regarding Italian use of such guns and what ammunition-
These Worms I dare not comment on - over to the Euopean experts on this one :xd:
 

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To follow up on the 53mm which was a 47mm, the price dropped greatly and with a trade here it is. While still not at UK rates
other than the white and green paint gone as usuaul it is fine. The Case is Japanese made Kure dated to 1914.(image from Ogreve's
site of a 1916 case as a comparison( is he still around ? I emailed him))
I also obtained another one of those UMC 37x136 1pr plugged rounds. From the same sourse as it has the same marks
on the case frome being taken apart, just a different lot No. Nobody has yet come forward informationas to what
or where these were used. Pice of wood in the primer tube , now gone.
 

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Another 47mm , this one has a number on the band and the same matching number
on the base, plus what looks like inspection marks. None of this is mentioned on the Japanese
ammunition site. Since there are lots of these in the UK are there others marked like this.
Numbering the body and base on 37mm base fuzed Hotchkiss rounds is standard so this may mean nothing ?
It has the same Anchor mark as they all do a bit further around the band, typical EOC case.
 

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