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Canadian made WW2 M72 AP-T projectile

Spaceinvader

Well-Known Member
Hello all,
This long weekend was a little vacation for me an my family. Headed out to a small town a couple of hours away and had a great time!

Lots of antique places along the way one of which held 2 small treasures! Ended up with a very nice Canadian Ross rifle bayonet and this 75mm M-72 AP-T. When I got it it was covered in horrible silver and red acrylic paint (a pain to get off). Its all cleaned now and has yielded some nice markings. I was only aware of the US using the M-72 on the Shermans. Can anyone tell me if this is a Canadian one for Canadian Shermans or manufactured by Canada for US use?

Band markings: "LOT 1 34205.12 1942 STC 75mm M72"

It also has a capital "A" above a broad arrow and a "5" below that.

On the base is the following: "64" "A" "A" a broad arrow in an oval, and another capital "A" above a broad arrow with a "7" below it.

I would like to know what the markings mean, and if possible what the color code would be on this projectile. I know US ones are straight black with white markings, are Canadian ones different?

All INERT, solid steel and no tracer.

Thank you very much!
Rhys
 

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Rhys,

A rather complex situation, until today I was totally unaware of "War Supplies Limited" which was a Canadian Crown Corporation. Apparently, their function was to sell Canadian manufactured stores to the U.S. who then supplied it to the U.K. (and others) under the "Lend-Lease agreement." Apparently, the ammunition was inspected both by the Canadian and U.S. Inspection Boards. What little information I have on Canadian manufacture, does show manufacture of 75mm cases, which were either filled in Canada or the U.S. This means a new avenue of research to me.

A broad arrow stamped on the driving band is invariably the final acceptance workmark. Is the 'oval' an 'oval', not an enlongated 'C'?

TimG
 
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Hello Tim,
this just got much more interesting. I had assumed Canada made them for either our own use or made by Canada for US use but that didnt explain the broad arrow.

Could you explain where you got the War Supplies Limited from? I assume from the markings on the band? I have certainly seen Canadian M18 75mm cases before but not projectiles.

Unfortunately for the broad arrow on the base I think it is a partially stamped oval, not a "C". I had a Canadian made 1" round and the broad arrow was in a perfect "C", not an oval. My guess is the stamp wasnt fully applied.
 
Great info! Would you happen to know the color code for this projectile as well?

The St. Catherines Steel Products makes sense, I found this not too far away in Picton, Ontario. Looks like it never left Ontario! Will need to find a nice casing to complete this one.
 
I have the exact same projectile - even has the same lot number - 34205!
Canada made about 700,000 of these from July 1942 til about April 1943 via US funds - so would have been in US specified paint scheme as pictured. Black, the easiest color!


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That is seriously awesome Jeff, Just what I was looking for! Got some good quality paint waiting for it at home. Hardest part is always the stencils....

Next will to be to find a case, im not super picky, but I would guess they loaded them into American cases? Or Canadian ones?
 
The US contracts would have been for complete rounds so you would assume the cases were Canadian too.
But then again, tanks built in Canada like the Valentine used many USA sourced parts. The Ordnance Plant putting these rounds together, theoretically, could have sourced the cases from anywhere based on availability and cost....
 
Thank you for the great info Jeff, much appreciated. Im not too picky so if I can get an American or US case either will work for me.

I will be getting to painting it later tonight. Did you repaint yours? I have never had good luck with painting stencils.
 
What do you mean by it being remarked Steve? Different paint markings? Or different stamps?
 
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Thank you for the great info Jeff, much appreciated. Im not too picky so if I can get an American or US case either will work for me.

I will be getting to painting it later tonight. Did you repaint yours? I have never had good luck with painting stencils.

Yes! Repainted and then remarked.
Agreed - doing markings are the most tedious part of this hobby. But a few undisturbed hours with some good music helps. Music from the country you are remarking can be inspirational too.
If you are doing Canadian markings the album Caress of Steel by Rush would be appropriate. :)
 
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Canadian... questionable.
It looks more like a South African "U Broad-Arrow" to me.
The Canadian C Broad-Arrow I'd more a circle, not an oval.


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Well, as fate would have it I just picked up a 17pdr APCBC-T projectile today from another local collector. Its a little rough and needs some work but the most interesting part is, it was also made by St. Catherine's Steel! I will be seeing what I can do about the battered ballistic cap and the tip of the nose being cut off this weekend. A very nice score indeed!

Does anyone have the color codes for a Canadian 17pdr? All I can find online is British ones, just below the secondary cap a white band, red band, and white again on top. However there seems to be no trace of that on this projectile. Paint of the body is original, only the paint on the cap is in-original.
17pdr full.jpg17pdr markings.jpg17pdr nose .jpg
 
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Excellent score on the 17 pdr, Rhys. You can make a new tip out of steel on the lathe, weld it on, and then clean it up on the lathe to finish. No problem at all.
 

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That's perfect Steve, just what I was looking for.

I have stripped the white filler and crappy black acrylic paint off the nose. The paint on the body is original but the paint on the secondary cap and ballistic cap is not. The cone is pretty beat up. Not sure how I am going to fix it but possibly filler. Unfortunately I don't have a metal lathe, only a wood lathe. As you can see from the pics the poor thing has seen better days, drive bands are also pretty marred up but when I am done with it hopefully it will look better.

Funnily enough, I have a 77mm Comet casing coming that this one will be going into!
 
Nice find... looks like your lot number is about 100 off of mine this time... I guess we shop at the same ordnance factory! Is your 77mm case from the UK? I am guessing Canada didn't make any 77mm cases.
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wow that is fantastic! Hahaha, very nice!

The case I have coming is a British one. I don't think we made any, and as far as I can tell 77mm cases used 17pdr APCBC-T projectiles so close enough for my liking.
 
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