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40mm M25 M81 Bofors 1944 experts

917601

Well-Known Member
I picked up this 40mm M81A1 with an unusual crimp. I have seen these crimp styles before, but always assumed the unusual crimp was a crimp that was "punched in " by Bubba. The seller says it was the Army M25 style of crimp ( not Navy) true or false? The projo is marked" Lot-FNL - 8-1944-40mm M81A1". The case marked" 40mm M25 1944 Lot F.A. 385". No primer. The green Navy Bofors pictured for comparison.Comments please.
 

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Never seen a U.S. crimp like that. If Bubba did it, at least he was careful.
 
All the WW2 40mm Bofors US Army M25 cases I have seen in Europe have this style of crimp, it is an easy way to identify them without turning them over and struggling with reading a dirty headstamp! The US 20mm wartime Hispano cases M21A1 have a similar crimp. Please see pictured a couple of fired cases so the crimp is not so deep as on your example. The seller was right for me!
 

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All the WW2 40mm Bofors US Army M25 cases I have seen in Europe have this style of crimp, it is an easy way to identify them without turning them over and struggling with reading a dirty headstamp! The US 20mm wartime Hispano cases M21A1 have a similar crimp. Please see pictured a couple of fired cases so the crimp is not so deep as on your example. The seller was right for me!
Thank you for the reply. It confirms what the seller has stated. Now, The rest of the story.....the seller had few of these M25 cases for sale ( a long time collector of WW2 dated Ordnance) he stated he obtained a few of these untouched cases many years ago and was told they were WW2 cases that were " downloaded", and he kept them because they were in such good shape. I had a 1944 dated M81 projectile, and he had a 1944 M25 case, so why not? The difficulty I had in joining the two together was much, I took his word, heated up the case, and froze the projo, it went in very, very, very, tightly, thus giving some truth to his statement. Thank you for the information.
 
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