I have been on the lookout for a reasonably priced 18 pounder in the US for well over a year now. They do pop up on auction sites regularly, as well as the No. 80 fuses. I was able to pick this up affordably because the previous owner did not remove the surface rust to see all the wonderful markings. Both the fuse and shell are made by BSC. It is my understanding that this is Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
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US Made 18 Pounder Shrapnel Shell
- Thread starter M8owner
- Start date
The fuze was actually made by Scoville Manufacturing Co., USA. who were sub-contractors to the Bethlem Steel Co. Scoville were also sub-contractors to American Locomotive Co., USA (A.L.C.O). A lot of WWI munitions are attributed to Bethlem Steel and American Locomotive but it appears they sub-contracted a lot of their work.
TimG
TimG
Darkman
Well-Known Member
Nice 18 pdr! Great to pick up with unfired driveband and unfired M1907/No. 85 fuse. Unfired shrapnels are very rare here in Australia.
Interesting to note that is only a Mk III shell as late as 1916. My earliest British WW1 dated 18 pdr shell is dated 8/14 and is a Mk V.
Interesting to note that is only a Mk III shell as late as 1916. My earliest British WW1 dated 18 pdr shell is dated 8/14 and is a Mk V.
Darkman
Well-Known Member
Just had a close look at this shell. It's an HE shell (so Mk III is correct for that period), not a shrapnel, and incorrectly fitted with a No. 85 shrapnel fuze. The fuze screws directly into the shell without the socket (adapter) so it's an HE. Should be much heavier with much greater wall thickness than a shrapnel. A suitable HE fuze for this period would be something like a No. 101B.
Darkman
Well-Known Member
Yes Golden Yellow with a green and a red band. You can get the marking details from an 18pdr handbook in the downloads section, or by doing a search.
The WW1 yellow was a much brighter colour than the WW2 era HE projectiles (Middle Buff) which was a much duller straw colour.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/93213-18-Pounder-HE-shell-colour?highlight=paint+colour
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/22017-british-ww1-shell-yellow?highlight=paint+colour
The WW1 yellow was a much brighter colour than the WW2 era HE projectiles (Middle Buff) which was a much duller straw colour.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/93213-18-Pounder-HE-shell-colour?highlight=paint+colour
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/22017-british-ww1-shell-yellow?highlight=paint+colour
