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Help id required 155mm 6" American? Naval star projectile?

Wgreen

Well-Known Member
Hi all I have a projectile which is causing a bit of a headache to i d I have tried to research it myself like I do with everything but its proving a hard one so I'm hoping that the very knowledgeable people on this great forum can help I was told when I acquired it ,it was a British 6" star shell but after looking can find nothing like it ,stamped on the side just above the copper band is what looks like LEI_21_97_52_155 hard to make out the next bit but ends in 1881 also has in white stencil paint 7354 the thread is also not what I would expect for British being 40mm any help would be welcome thanks wg

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Hi that link was very useful thanks it would seem to be a m118 illumination shell but there is a few ? It seems to be painted blue not gray could be age and I think I understand the screw top the others I've seen don't seem to have a separately attached top section

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155mm and 6 inch (152mm) are entirely different animals. Your projo is stamped 155 Army. LEI is not in my list of U.S. manufacturers. As was said above it looks like an M118 old style 155mm Illum. The U.S. didn't make them with a screw-on top end, and if U.S. it would have a gray body with a white band around it. If someone can find out who LEI is, you will know the origin.

6 inch Navy illuminating projectiles are taller and would be blue with large white stars on the body, ID stamped on the rotating band.
 
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155mm and 6 inch (152mm) are entirely different animals. Your projo is stamped 155 Army. LEI is not in my list of U.S. manufacturers. As was said above it looks like an M118 old style 155mm Illum. The U.S. didn't make them with a screw-on top end, and if U.S. it would have a gray body with a white band around it. If someone can find out who LEI is, you will know the origin.

6 inch Navy illuminating projectiles are taller and would be blue with large white stars on the body, ID stamped on the rotating band.
Hi thanks for the info the markings are quite hard to see and I could be wrong on the make I'm sure the first two are le but the last digit is harder to make out the paint is very worn as well it seems blue with a white band around the middle I can not see a star but that may have worn away also very faint at the top of proj is illum 155 the rest is very worn I was told this came of a ww2 British ship did the u.s ever supply 155 illum proj to Britain could that maybe explain the screw top but the thread is definitely not the British 2 " gauge

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The M118 uses the older time fuzes that are 1.4 inch thread, so that makes sense.
 
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