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18PDR Solid Shot

bacarnal

bacarnal

Ordnance Approved/Premium
Ordnance approved
Over the weekend I went to a military vehicle show around the Poconos, the Red Ball Express. Not expecting there to be much ordnance there, I came ill provisioned with cash. Luckily there was an ATM, unluckily I visited it several times since it had a low limit. Naturally I over spent myself, but there were so many GREAT deals!! One of the items I found was a 1916 dated 18PDR Solid Shot/Armor Piercing(?) with a 1917 case. OAL for the round is 290mm and by my highly accurate bathroom scale:bigsmile:, weighs 18lbs. Since this is my first ever 18PDR, I know almost nothing about it, but I am jazzed with it and all the other finds. More to follow...Cheers, Bruce.


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Very nice, and very interesting. Didn't know that a solid shot was made in this calibre. AP or Practice? Never seen one over here.


Roger.
 
think there has been a post or two on these solids. for a first 18pr its a pretty rare item.
 
Bruce,

I suspect the projectile was made by Traylor Engineering Co, Allentown. P.A.

The case was made by The gramophone Co, London
The primer was made by Kings Norton Metal Co, Kings Norton Metal Works, Birmingham.
(I think, even on maximum size, it's difficult for me to read the whole headstamp)

Tim
 
Very nice and unfired as well!!!

I had a WW2 vintage fired one - there's a pic in my gallery (Large Ordnance 2) of it.

Yours is the second one that I have now seen.

Cheers
Drew
 
I'm wondering if these are partially hollow, it is pretty much full size yet still 18 Lbs. Perhaps a base plate is put in and then machined over ? Not seen one in Canada yet.
 
Here is another pic of 18pdr WWII AP shot. Unfortunately they are re-paints.

Enjoy, Ozzi.
 

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Hi It looks more like a common pointed APHE dose the base unsrew
Andy
 
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Would this one have been for naval use?....would seem a bit OTT to be used against the land armour around in 1916.

Cheers
Tony
 
Hi Tony, from what i have on the 18pdr APHE they were used more for destroying bunkers and like you say a bit ott for a tank
Andy
 
The base is solid with no discern-able break or seams in the metal and the lathe marks are consistent and constant with no fuzing evident. The body has several broad arrows and no anchors, so I would tend not to think Navy. That said, there could have been a plug welded in to the base and as Gordon suggests, and machined over with the rest of the base. Thanks, Bruce.
 
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I guess if the volume of it could be obtained by displacing water into something that can be measured and that volume compared to an equal volume of steel we would find out for sure.
 
the water displacement way is an on the patio job and a bit of calculation, I'd save having a favour done x-raying for something there is no choice. I did the water method on a 4in solid so know its pretty good.
 
The 1940 dated 18 PR handbook has an armour piercing shell:

The Mark I armour-piercing shell is of steel with a 1.5-calibre radius head and plain base. It is 3.14 calibres long and has a parallel cavity for the explosive, which is loaded into an aluminium container. The base is bored and threaded to take a steel adapter....The base is reduced in diameter externally to receive the screwed securing ring of the base cover plate, the other portion of which, namely, the perforated plate, being thus retained in postion against the pressure plate of the fuze. The screwed ring may be shaped to screw into instead of over the base of the shell, which whould be prepared to correspond.
 
Howdy Quatermass,

Is that a US or English publication, the 18pdr AP I show in my previous post is a solid shot, no cavity except for tracer? It is very similar to 25pdr AP only slightly smaller & driveband configuration is different.

Any chance of a scan of a diagram from the book, if it has one please?

I am unaware that the US made 18pdr in WWII, but did for WWI.

Thanks,

Regards Ozzi.
 
The information comes from the British handbook dated June 1940, the handbook has amendments (No. 1, Dec 1942) pasted in but there is no change in the statement of ammunition

18 PR AP Shell.jpg
 
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Quatermass,

Thanks, excellent info.

Just need to figure out what the proj is in the original post now!

Regards Ozzi.
 
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