Unknown bakelite mortar round

[horsa]

Unknown at least to me that is....

Took this one in trade as part of a lot of British gear I picked up but I don't think the bomb is British. Construction is brown Bakelite with some type of snap cap at the nose and in the tail unit. Would guess it's a training round of some type as the body can separate similar to the base ejection rounds mentioned in the previous thread. Length is 15 inches and diameter at the centre is 3 inches / 76mm.

 

[Slick]

I have a similar "bomb". Not so sure it is a piece of ordnance. Will add pics later.

 

[US-Subs]

It is a navy piece, used in conjunction with a hedgehog type system. Very strange. I've got a couple of the pieces, but had never seen the carrier till just recently. I'll dig up some photos.

 

[US-Subs]

Found it, got lucky and it was in the first place I looked. The body is not bakalite, steel center and plastic ends. Here is the description I was given -

The item is a cutaway of a US Navy 4.0 inch Rocket, Mark (MK) 1 Modification (MOD) 0. It is a subcaliber training rocket for the MK 108 "Weapon Able" or "Weapon Alpha" antisubmarine rocket launcher system that was in service aboard destroyers and other antisubmarine vessels during the 1950's and early 1960's.

The assembly consists of a MK 15 Practice Depth Charge (also known as an Underwater Sound Signal -simulated in your example) propelled by a modified 2.25 inch rocket motor. The ballistics of the combination approximate the air and underwater trajectory of the 12.75 inch MK 1 MOD 0 Rocket. The sound signal is pushed out of the tube by an internal charge upon the rocket's entry with the water. The Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, CA (NOTS) developed the rocket around 1953 in response to a fleet requirement for a training round for the Weapon Alpha system. We believe that NOTS manufactured some portion of the requirement, possibly amounting to several thousand units, at its on-site production facilities.

Six of these rockets fit into the MK 19 rocket launcher, which inserts in the guide for the MK 108 launcher during training exercises. The launcher is tied in the MK 108 launcher's electrical supply and fires the rockets sequentially. You can see more about the launcher in Ordnance Pamphlet 1855 "Missile Launchers and Related Equipment Catalog"(1 June 1953) at this link - http://www.hnsa.org/doc/launchers/cat-0129.htm.

 

[Slick]

All this time I was figuring it was some piece/part of hydro testing equipment. Which, I guess, it sorta kinda is.


And here are pics of my example. Gomin for the crappy last pic. Just trying to show that the base has the same "fuze" as the nose.



P.S 20MM for scale

 

[horsa]

Very interesting and unusual. Thanks for posting the description. My example matches the others with the exception of being brown and having the yellow nose.

 

[US-Subs]

I only have the owner's word to go on with this, no doc yet. He said that he got the two pieces assembled together as is. He then asked a navy museum for info and that was the response that he got. When time permits I'll try and use their description to look further, I noted that in the description they identified his internal piece as simulated?

 

[Slick]

Here's a reference to a subcal practice"DC"; assuming that's Depth Charge. About 1/2 way down the page. Under Mark 15.

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WAMUS_ASW.htm

Just read a little more on that page. Lots of practice DCs mentioned for various Marks.

And a bit of technical trivia noted: [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]"It should be noted that the USN considered that the Hedgehog projectiles to be missiles, not rockets, as the propelling charge was entirely used up prior to the projectile leaving the spigot."[/FONT]