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Larger 37mm type case with no markings

BMG50

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Bought this case at a car boot thinking its was a 37mm pom pom round, but after close examination it looked as if the rim was a tad larger than your normal 37mm round plus it has no markings on the base. The casing has a slight taper like the normal 37mm round. not being marked i was wondering if this case was comercial maybe a large punt gun round?
Details of measurements as follows in mm.
Outside case mouth di 37mm 37.53 Unknown 40.00
inside case mouth di 37mm 36.53 Unknown 38.8
height 37mm 94.23 Unknown 100.08
Rim di 37mm 44.22 Unknown 47.89
Rim thickness 37mm 1.82 Unknown 1.91
Taper down 37mm 17.00 Unknown 26
Has same Berdan primer two hole inside.

As you can see slightly larger than you 37mm round. The guy i bought it from got the case from France. Anyone know what i have and the type of projectile that goes with it.
 

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Last edited:
Hi, its a 40x100mm French "flank defence", only seen them with canister projectile
earni74
 
Thanks for your quick reply, Where would these be used, on board ships or bunkers. Is there anymore details about the gun it was used with and the type of shot and pictures if any, did google but didn't find much, the more info the better, is it a rare round?
 
These were used in Hotchkiss 5-barrel manually-cranked revolving cannon mounted in forts for close-range defence (which is why they normally fired canister ammo). They would typically be sited to sweep the ditches created in front of the defences. I recall reading that although introduced sometime in the 1870s (IIRC) some were still in service at the start of WW2. It was adequate in doing its job, so why change?
 
Were early cases not marked for canister shot, just wondering why the absence of a marked case
 
Thanks Weasel, were early cases not marked up to a certain point in time or was canister shot cases generally not marked at all. Now to find a top.
 
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