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Anybody own a 90mm HVAP M332A1 projectile? I need to know which way the cap screws on

J

jeff w

Well-Known Member
I have a 90mm HVAP M332A1 projectile which I'd like to open up so I can examine the core, but I've bent my wrench trying to get the ballistic cap off!
Does anyone have one and can tell me for certain that the cap is normal thread (clockwise to tighten, counterclockwise off)?

I have another earlier version which is normal thread, but this is a different design. I'm wondering if for some reason they might have decided to reverse the thread on this later model.

Thanks!
 
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I have a HVAP, but never taken it apart. You might try using a heat gun around the joint to degrade any cement that might be preventing the disassembly.
 
Thanks for the tip Hazord. I will try that.
Have you actually experienced cement in these things before - or is that an educated guess?
 
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I haven't disassembled HVAPs, but I have seen indications of cement on other projectiles where components are threaded together. Also you can freeze the projo and then dip in boiling water, or heat it up then place in cold water, to cause the metal to expand and contract and help break the joint loose. Cycling it back and forth can help loosen the fit.
 
HAZORD said:
I haven't disassembled HVAPs, but I have seen indications of cement on other projectiles where components are threaded together. Also you can freeze the projo and then dip in boiling water, or heat it up then place in cold water, to cause the metal to expand and contract and help break the joint loose. Cycling it back and forth can help loosen the fit.
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That's worth a try too. Too bad the paint is decent, I could put a torch to it.
 
jeff w said:
That's worth a try too. Too bad the paint is decent, I could put a torch to it.
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After a long career in bomb disposal that just seems like such a bad idea. Kind of like putting an empty gun up to your temple. Sure its empty, sure you checked, but still......
 
SG500 said:
See link below that may be of use (I assume this is the same type you are asking about?)

Dave.
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Hi Dave - that is the M304 90mm HVAP (from 1951)- the penultimate version. It is of different construction than the M332. I have an even earlier version of the M304 (WW2 T30E16) which is basically the same.
The M332A1 is the ultimate version and is a different animal (mine is dated 1953). It does not unscrew above the drive band, the drive bands are different, and maybe they reversed the threads on the cap(!?!).
Here is The Beast;

DSCF0814.jpg DSCF0817.jpg
 
US-Subs said:
After a long career in bomb disposal that just seems like such a bad idea. Kind of like putting an empty gun up to your temple. Sure its empty, sure you checked, but still......
Click to expand...

The number of times that I have had that feeling...
 
jeff w said:
"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
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So I used that Melville quote.
Yesterday an 18 pounder shell case arrived for me.
It is engraved with the name Captain Delano.
I tried to research who this guy is and first thing that pops up is "Captain Delano was the narrator in a novella called Benito Cereno BY HERMAN MELVILLE!
Something is fishy around here...
DSCF0879.jpg
Anyway the wrench is finished. Tomorrow is D-Day for The Beast (or me). I'll find out if this was an omen of good fortune or doom.
 
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