Unfinished 37mm US APC M59

[Brian Keith]

I think this is an unfinished US Armor-Piercing Capped projectile, M59. It is unmarked and is missing the rotating band and the cap. It is drilled for the tracer componet. Base width is 37mm and it is 107mm tall.
Hope you enjoy seeing it.
Please correct any errors I may have made.
BKW

 

[Lou]

US 37mm AP M51B1. Pretty sure this one never had a ballistic cap,mines got a touch of red paint on the nose.

Nice bullet.

 

[EODGUY]

The M51B1 projectile did have a wind screen ogive attached to the projectile body in the groove near the nose of the body cap. I have several engineering drawings of the projectile, but don't have the time right now to copy and post one. If you are interested I will do one later this evening. Bob

 

[Lou]

Cool,Id appreciate that. Ive seen a few of these projectiles but never one with a cap?

So its supposed to look just like the M51 then??

 

[Brian Keith]

Thanks Guys,
Lou, funny you use a ruler from Ft. Wayne, that's where I'm posting from.
BKW

 

[Lou]

Chalk that one up to the small world syndrome,lol. I dont even remember where I got it from.
I hope EOD guy can come up with the info,Id always thought the B1 never had a cap. I have a couple 57mms without the cap too. Might help to find the answer why they dont.

 

[EODGUY]

I am going to post several drawings and I already apologize for the quality. By the time I scan them and size them down to post them here I lose a lot of detail. The first drawing is the M59 and as you can see it clearly has no false ogive, just the soft nose cap. The second drawing also is labeled M59, but you can see there is an alternative design that does have a false ogive. The third drawing is the M59A1, again without a false ogive. I have no drawing that shows there was an alternative to this design that had a false ogive. The fourth drawing is the M51, which is shown with the false ogive. The fifth and last drawing is the M51B1, which also shows the false ogive present. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to read much of the print, but it really doesn't help much anyhow. The dates on the drawings range from 1939-1942, which hopefully you can make out in the box in the lower right corner. Bob

 

[Brian Keith]

Neat images, thanks for posting them. So I have the M59A1? in unfinished state.
Thanks!
BKW

 

[shelldude]

Odd M51B1 projectile...

Hello Lou,

Your M51B1 projectile has an unusual crimping grove (if that is the purpose) at the base of the shell.

I've included a few photos showing the difference between the 37mm M51B1 APC & M51B2 APC projectiles. The B1 armor-piercing cap is pointed while the B2 is rounded.

Ranadall

 

[Lou]

Yeah Im confused. Along with the case crimping grove, the groove for the cap seems to more closely match the M59A1 in the above set of line drawings. And this projectile is clearly marked M51B1. Would the lot numbers have anything to do with any changes in design??

Mine says ,,, Lot-TOTP-1-29

 

[Gspragge]

Let me make it worse ~

The projectile on the left is an undated but fully marked M51 , no cap. I have seen another with traces of the solder that held the cap on.
The one on the right is an M80 - marked and dated 1942.

These are identical.

So were uncapped M51 used like this prior to the designation M80 being applied
to the uncapped version ? This has been suggested, but I cannot verify it.

 

[Grenademan2005]

And what about the M74?

 

[dwagner825]

I have a 37mm M51B3 marked round. Not to keep this thread going, but what was the difference with the B3 design?

 

[shelldude]

Hello dwagner825,

Could you provide a photograph?
Best regards,
Randall

 

[dwagner825]

Here are pics. I can't get my windshiled to unscrew. There appears to be a crimp on one side.

 

[shelldude]

Hello dwagner825,

When you compare your photograph of the M51B3 with the photograph of my M51B1 & M51B2, the only OBVIOUS difference is the width of the crimping grove on the B3.
It's 2 to 3 times wider.

Randall

 

[Grenademan2005]

Nobody with an M74?

 

[jeff w]

I have a 37mm M51B3 marked round. Not to keep this thread going, but what was the difference with the B3 design?

Just thought I'd give this thread a bump and see if anyone ever solved the mystery of what makes an M51B3 unique. Its been over ten years now and still a mystery...

 

[mdot633]

Until I found this thread just now, I had no idea a B3 version existed. I have some M51s with press fit ballistic caps versus the threaded ones although they don't seem to be very consistent. I thought I had an example of each type, but now there's a new one to find!

 

[Weasel]

I have examples of each and i will take some pictures for the thread, there are differences in the way the windshield is attached ansome unscrew while others don't as mentioned.
I am after a M80 if anyone has a mint example for trade.

Top M51 B1
M51 B2
M51 B3