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Yellow Painted 75mm M48 HE Shell - US or British?

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peregrinvs

Well-Known Member
I’ve just bought this rusted 75mm M48 HE shell with a view to restoring it. As you can see it has a well rotted yellow paint scheme with a crude hand painted red ring around the base.

I was wondering how I identify this as either an early US M48 painted yellow, or a British made M48 painted middle buff? I can’t see any stamped markings on the drive band - which I believe is a US feature. Neither can I see any British style markings stamped on the body - but they might have been destroyed by corrosion.

I’ve included an illustration from ‘Firing Now’ by Dick Taylor.1069F560-C8C1-4B63-AF94-8756EE33F653.jpg5EDEF013-4CA2-4A0E-AF1F-E9061E6F7811.jpgB7084CDE-5FA7-43DC-9CD6-6C283A0B1886.jpg485BB9E1-6A63-405C-88C8-1F94FB73C421.jpg
 
US M48 shells were normally stamped just above the driving band. I have not seen one with markings on the drive band.
 
Thanks. That’ll teach me to make assumptions.

Having looked carefully with a magnifying glass, I can just make out the stamping ‘LOT’, but it seems the rest has been eaten by rust. Likewise I think I can just about make out the remnants of a ‘SHELL’ stencil on the side.

Would it be reasonable to assume that British tank units during the Western Desert campaign would have been using yellow painted 75mm HE ammunition in their US supplied Grant and Sherman tanks? I read somewhere that the change over to olive drab happened in 1943.
 
Pretty sure it's US, because I can see a few faint traces of black where the inscription would be on a US shell but I can't see a single trace of either a green or a red ring, which the British shell would have.

Also, here is another yellow US M48 in a slightly better shape found in Russia, and what's interesting is the presence of the same orange residue around the crimping groove - I assume this has something to do with waterproofing the cartridge, since I know for sure that the French, for example, coated the bottom of their shells with clear lacquer before inserting them into the case.

m48 russ.jpg

Oh and about Dick Taylor's "Firing Now," it always bugged me that the illustration of the yellow M48 is marked both "G" and "H", which would be impossible, since you can't fire the same ammunition in both the M5 Howitzer and the M2/3/6 Gun because this is fixed ammunition and they have different case lengths.
I believe the confusion comes from the drawing representing the M48 shell markings in "Ordnance Ammunition Drawings Book No.4" which indeed has both, but of course that is merely for illustration purposes as all the shells I've ever seen are marked for one or the other.

0e3f5d6a135f2b2e4da5896bf57124d6b18731fb.jpeg
 
Here is a yellow example that just sold on Gunbroker. It went for $400. M48's are very hard to find. I have only found two.
 

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Thanks for all the input. I don’t think there’s any doubt it’s a US one. I’d be unsurprised if it’s come out of Eastern Europe such as the ones illustrated above.

M48 shells seem to be scarce rather than rare in the UK, although finding a non-rusted one with original paint etc. is another matter. My one came with a scruffy M18 case, although it’s rather redeemed with having legible M48 SHELL SUPER markings on the base.

Could anyone confirm the WWII US name / code of the original yellow paint colour?
 
The closest paint match that I have found in the US is "Caterpillar Yellow" - from the heavy equipment company. Several paint companies here sell spray cans labeled with that color name. Of course, that color is a copy of the yellow used by France in WWI for its shells.
 
41 or 43? Normally referred to as "pre-43" yellow.
 
My bad! Some SOB moved the pointer on the dial from Pearl Harbor to Paint Change.

I've never heard the expression "Pre 43 yellow" before.
 
pzgr40 said:
Now al you need is either a 75mm M18 shellcase when for the M4 sherman, or the 75mm M5A1 shellcase when used in the pack howitzer. The first one cannot be much of a problem I suppose.
Click to expand...
It came with an M18 case. Said case isn’t in good cosmetic condition, but it is redeemed somewhat by having legible HE and SUPER stencils on it.
 
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