What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Help in Identifying this "mortar"

REDHAT6

Ordnance Approved
Ordnance approved
[FONT=&amp]Greeting again friends,

It has been a while, but looking for strange things to Identify is getting harder and harder. I think it is a British WWI mortar but can not find it in any of the publications. Item was located near Silicon Valley, California. Any assistance in Identifying would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,

Redhat 6



ca pic 1.jpgca pic 2.jpgca pic 3.jpg[/FONT]
 
Fins and body look like a fairly standard WWII UK 3", but I don't recognize the nose piece.
 
Help in indentifying this "fuze"

Fuzed ordnance was found in California, in what is to be believed a UK WWI mortar round. We are still trying to positively Identify the body and fuze; the fins have been ID as being from a British 3 inch British mortar.
This info was also put into the Mortar forum, because I was not sure if fuze people checked all the other forums.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

ca pic 3.jpgca pic 1.jpg
 
It looks more like a nose plug for a practice round than a fuze. Maybe a spotter round.

Has anyone X-rayed it for explosive content?
 
I agree with US Subs, its a "British" 3" mortar, but I don't recognise the fuze. The fins are usually dated. I believe they were also made in the 'States . It could date from before ww2 though.
 
The item in the right hand picture could possibly be an adapter (Adapter, Nose, Steel No 1) which is threaded internally to the 1.375-inch fuze-hole gauge fitted with some sort of closing plug. There were a number of Plugs (typically used during transit rather than having the bomb fuzed) but if the one in your picture is a plug it looks almost impossible to remove easily. If the object doesn't have a threaded 1.375 inch hole through it then it is clearly not an adapter.

Sorry this isn't particularly helpful.
 
Since the right hand picture really did not look like a mortar"fuze", I was thinking outside of the box and wondering if it could be a mortar adapted to be hand dropped from aircraft; but again what little "internals" (none) of the "fuze" shown did not fit that theory either.

I wish to thank everyone who assisted in Identify this item.
 
Not sure if you found a date on the bomb but I have seen an identical body style dated 1941.
 
Top