Replica 9.2 inch Projectiles

[NZ L1A1 Collector]

Following on from the work I started last year with the No. 36 replica charge bag cylinders, I've managed to get the replica 9.2 inch projectiles underway. The first stage of the project is to produced concrete projectiles as these will be going outside and will have to resist damage from the vandals. The drawback of this is we have one expensive mould and its been formed around the SHOT, PRACTICE form of projectile as this is the simplest form to make. It will be used to represent Practice, APC and HE rounds. Its not the optimum way to go, but its the best way for rounds that are likely to be damaged or stolen. The shells will be painted with their correct colours and markings for the 3 types APC, HE and SP.

Here's a photo of the Pattern. Due to the weight (380 lbs/172kg) of a 9.2 inch projectile using an original as a pattern wasn't feasible. The pattern ended up weighing around 40 kgs.



Mould




Concrete 9.2 inch projectiles destined to be PRACTICE, APC and HE rounds. Ohhh and colourful bollards. The dark one on the far right has just come out of the mould after sitting in it for 7 days.



The projectiles have to sit and harden for at least 28 days once out of the mould then I can look at painting and stenciling them. At the moment I have a number of questions and it relates to the markings. I've worked out most of the markings and know what model the projectiles will be.

APC: Mark XIII B
HE: Mark XVII B
PRACTICE: Mark VIII B

These have been chosen because they all have the same CRH and driving band design to lessen the number of moulds that will need to be made in stage two of the project.

Dose anyone have a reference to the various fill method codes that are used on the 9.2 inch projectiles. APC is fine as I have the code for that 6269.

Dose anyone know what the code is for 9.2 inch Mark XVII B H.E. rounds is?

Anyone have any photos of HE stacked up in which I could get the code from?

Can anyone confirm for me if the SHOT, PRACTICE rounds had the standard markings stenciled on the projectile in white such as the Calibre, Type, Mark, Weight and Lot/serial number? The few photos I've seen of the SP rounds show the white tip, yellow band but never any markings (they could be on the other side of the shell of course).




Stage two of the project will be the construction in a similar manner to the No. 36 cylinders in which the projectiles will be made using foam ends fitted to a steel tube body. To do this will require the making of 5 separate moulds (2 base types) (3 nose types) and possibly 3 lengths of steel tube sections (still have to work that out).


Roller63, if you read this could you check your PM's

[Slick]

VERY interesting. Nice mold. A shame they will be, as you say, stolen or damaged. Where will these be displayed?

[HAZORD]

Seems like quite the interesting project. You should think about selling some copies to recoup some of the costs in making your molds.

[NZ L1A1 Collector]

VERY interesting. Nice mold. A shame they will be, as you say, stolen or damaged. Where will these be displayed?

We will do our best to ensure that they will not be stolen, the headache is if they are made from a more flammable material the little angels will just set first to them or try to break them. These will end up being in the emplacement to help our visitors understand what the storage lockers and shelves are for dotted around the floor of the gun pit. There is nothing worse than having visitors come back and looking at the same empty hole in the ground.

All this work is for 165 Battery, 10th Coast Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery. Site 'W' or locally known as the Wrights Hill Fortress which is positioned on a hill above the suburb of Karori in Wellington, New Zealand. http://www.whfrs.org.nz

[NZ L1A1 Collector]

Seems like quite the interesting project. You should think about selling some copies to recoup some of the costs in making your molds.

Selling these could be an option, and like you said I have thought of doing that to fund stage two of the project. I think Kahu1 would like to roll one of these down the hill and over to home. The concrete versions weigh about 45 kgs (I think) production of the projectiles is slow, 1 a week, then they require a month to harden. The initial batch will be around 24 projectiles.


There are a number of items I'm looking for relating to 9.2 inch ammunition. They are:-

No. 16 or 16D Base Fuze

No. 346 Base Fuze

No. 45 or 45P Fuze

No. 15 Fuze Hole Plug

Tube, Vent, Percussion, .5 inch

Tube, Vent, Electric, .5 inch


Anyone know what size threaded screw hole would be in the side of the HE Projectile for the lifting bolt at the centre of gravity? I have to put the hole in the side of the concrete one and can't find any refernce to the size of the lifting bolt.

[kahu1]

Just don't roll it form the top of the hill,it might go through my house!..

[HAZORD]

You can actually strip the forms off within a day or two. You can get the concrete to set up much faster if you use hot water to make it, and if you go to a local concrete plant and get some of their calcium additive to mix with the hot water, they will set up in a few hours. Just don't abuse them when you strip off the forms, and then let them cure for the 28 days if you wish. We also have a cement here they call high-early. They use for winter when the concrete doesn't want to set up and for the prestressed beams used in bridges. If you mix your concrete with high-early, calcium, and hot water it will set up almost before you get it in the mold.

[NZ L1A1 Collector]

You can actually strip the forms off within a day or two. You can get the concrete to set up much faster if you use hot water to make it, and if you go to a local concrete plant and get some of their calcium additive to mix with the hot water, they will set up in a few hours. Just don't abuse them when you strip off the forms, and then let them cure for the 28 days if you wish. We also have a cement here they call high-early. They use for winter when the concrete doesn't want to set up and for the prestressed beams used in bridges. If you mix your concrete with high-early, calcium, and hot water it will set up almost before you get it in the mold.

Thanks for the information about the concrete, I will pass it along to the guy making them.

[Slick]

And there's this stuff: http://www.quikrete.com/PDFs/DATA_SH...%201004-50.pdf

[NZ L1A1 Collector]

Thanks for the information, we've just picked up an electric pencil concrete vibrator, hopefully this will help with some of the slight issues that have been happening lately where it looks like a 'snail trails' running across the surface........ where it looks like the cement hasn't mixed or is washed out.. This is on the inside of the mould. I think these particular projectiles will be used in the areas that are most likely to be damaged.... no one will notice the difference LOL



Here's a question..........

On a PRACTICE SHOT round, what markings are stenciled on to it?

Shot Practice Round markings aren't detailed in the handbook for the Gun, it details they different marks of rounds but not what their markings are.

Since the round isn't 'Filled' and there is no tracer element I can remove the reference to the filling station and date.


This is what I'm proposing to mark in white on one side:


9.2 " GUN MK VIIIB

LOT 109

379 LBS.



Of course 3 inches of the tip will be painted white and it will have the 2 inch yellow band around the shoulder and will be marked with the Center of Gravity -()- in three places in white.

Would the above be correct for a British 9.2 inch Shot Practice Projectile? any changes, additions, deletions, alterations that anyone can suggest?