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3 pdr Hotchkiss 47x376R

Quatermass

Well-Known Member
A couple of pictures of 3 pdr rounds in my collection.

BOCN_3pdr7.jpg


From left to right:
Common shell.
Practice shot.
Common shell, marked II EOC. Anyone know more about this round?

Quatermass
 
Bottom of the case that came with the common round.
Nice to find one with the original stencilling but the case mouth is belled, anyone know how to repair them?

BOCN_3pdr2.jpg


Quatermass
 
The Ordnance QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss was a light naval gun introduced in 1886 to defend against new small fast vessels such as torpedo boats, and later submarines. It was also used ashore as a coast defence gun and later occasionally as an anti-aircraft gun.

In 1886 this gun was the first of the modern QF artillery to be adopted by the Royal Navy. It was adopted at the time together with the very similar Nordenfeld version, but the Nordenfeld gun eventually fell out of favour.

By World War I the Hotchkiss gun was obsolete, and was gradually replaced in its class by the more powerful Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers gun. But many were brought back into service on merchant vessels used for auxilliary duties in World War II, or as subcalibre guns for gunnery practice until the 1950s.

QF3pdrHotchkissRN1915.jpg
 
Cheers Rickoshae, it such a shame that the case mouth is belled as its a lovely example of a case thats not been cleaned, it still has all the lacquer on the sides.

As far as i can make out the markings are MkVII CON????8,8,14 ??778

Anybody know what the above means?

Cheers.

Quatermass
 
Hi Q,a pic of my 3pdrs,i dont have a problem with recovered items so 2 included.The cases seem to be scarcer than the projectiles.From the left 3 pdr P II N. 3 Pdr 2 Cwt tank.3 Pdr 2 Cwt tank.3 Pdr P II N/T. 3 pdr common.Nice to see your projectiles in original paint,cheers Tony.
ammo_575.jpg
 
If the case mouth is "belled" then perhaps you could try the following;-
Place the case in a full bucket of water to a depth that will allow you to heat the belled area (allow a little extra depth as water will carry away all the heat local to it)than heat the brass to a dull cherry red-sounds drastic but your case will have embrittled itself over the years with any attempt to straighten the neck ending in splits or hairline cracks.
When cherry red allow to cool naturally (the water only stops the whole case heating up and destroying your stencils!)
Then assuming you have a bar of metal that will fit into the mouth gently tap the case mouth back to its original shape-this may well take a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery long time and will probably take a few sessions of heat treatment, but the end results will be perfect !

In a couple of months I will have my workshop up and running so if you lack the confidence let me know and we will come to an arrangement!
Chris
Good luck-have a go at it.
 
BOCN_belledmouth.jpg


The offending case mouth!

Nice 3 Pdr 2 Cwt's Tony, I've never seen one for sale, a rare projectile.

Quatermass
 
tengo una bala 47x376r quiero saber la historia y que armas la utilizaron,gracias

I have a bullet 47x376r want to know the history and that weapons used, thank you
English translation added by spotter(admin)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Find a brass bell that will fit over top of your case, a longer bodied bell will have a better shape than a short angular one. By placing the bell on top of the case and striking it with a mallet you will force the bell down over the case and this will resize the top of it,, which seems to be the problem, I use one all the time on 37mm cases, you do this until the fit is what you want, this will work on the top 1/4 of the case, You can't go much farther than this or you will curl in the top too much The longer and less severe the shape of the bell the farther you can go). But this method helps and from what I see may be all you need. Annealing as described is a good idea first. The bell has to be smooth on the inside or it will leave marks.
 
Perhaps easiler to find a 37mm projectile (any 37mm proj) and just invert into the case mouth after heating to cherry red tapping around the case circumference - yes may take a "few" goes until perfection!

(of course don't go using a nicely painted one!!!)

Cheers
Drew
 
Here is one 47 x 376 casing.Made in russia,under license from Hotchkiss.
 

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repair damage case mouth

:tinysmile_hmm_t:
BOCN_belledmouth.jpg


The offending case mouth!

Nice 3 Pdr 2 Cwt's Tony, I've never seen one for sale, a rare projectile.

Quatermass
to do it correctly, you fill the case 1/2 way with water or place in jar with water to 1/2 case length, you will need to heat the top 1.5 inch of the case with a touch to red hot. let cool if no cracks at the mouth, if cracks, you must repair these while heat treading, , clean with liquid brass cleaner, apply hight temp flux, place hose clamp around lip, lighten until crack close, use a low temp brazing rod, heat red hot and apply rod just enough to fill crack, this will also heat treat the mouth of the case. , now you will need to machine or have a shop do it. you will need a round stock of steel about three inch OD and at 5/8 inch thick. you will machine a taper hole in the center of the round stock. only first 1/8 inch has the taper . hole ID is your final OD you wish on the brass case, plan on 0.005 over the size of the projectile, plus the total case brass thickness, now you have the case ready to resize. best to use a lathe, as i sometimes place a projectile of the proper size nose first in case. open chuck so not to touch projectile, carefully place case into the steel ring, slide projectile hose first into case. , move lathe post base slowly forward to push on the base of the case -keeping all align . now you must move the lathe base forward to push the case into the die you made. carefully remove the assembly, remove lose projectile from case. now you will have to drive the case from the die you made. i use a piece of pipe, place ring on top of open vise, pipe into case, insure case will fall free,, drive out the case and catch it before fall to the floor. use grease on die and projectile so you can get it apart. joe gatz CWO4 RT
 
Anyone got an example of a 3pdr 2cwt projectile that still has it's cap, I have only seen fired ones with cap missing?
Regards Ozzi.
 
bonjour, je m'appelle Joel , et je suis collectionneur de grenades à main toutes périodes, merci de m'accepter dans ce groupe
 
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