What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Help Identifying Japanese Artillery Round fuse

kaydee

Member
I have posted this all over the Internet with no help. Maybe I can get some information here.
I have posted this on the Japanese Forum and the Ammo Bunker with no help. Therefore, I am hoping that someone in the BOCN has the answer. This is a Japanese WWI or WWII Artillery Round. It is a 75 MM X 85 mm shell I believe was fired in the Mountain Gun. I have spent months looking for the projectile and fuse information with no success.
See the image for identification. The nose fuse is missing and that is the information I am looking for along with the projectile identification.
Type 41 75mm shell.jpg
Any help is appreciated.
Dwight Brown
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The case is dated showa 14 8 so is from August 1939. It was made at Nagoya Army Arsenal.

The primer is dated showa 16 8 so is from August 1941. It was made at 1st Tokyo Artillery Arsenal.

I don’t have access to my reference books but there is Japanese reference material in the download section of this forum, I think there is a Japanese 75mm identification chart that you could do a search for.
 
Thanks for the reply. I already had the information on the shell. What I need is the information on the projectile and the fuse.
Dwight
 
It looks like the projectile is brass and was soldered into place. My thought is that this is something that someone made after the war.
 

Attachments

  • Japanese 75mm Comparison Chart.jpg
    Japanese 75mm Comparison Chart.jpg
    289.6 KB · Views: 36
You are correct in that it is brass with a Lead tip that the fuse was screwed into. It was not soldered but was pressed into the shell. Don't think it was made after the war, it is 14 pounds and almost solid brass. I can see down into the threaded area that the fuse was screwed into. The threaded part on the tip is brass. If someone made this, they went to a lot of trouble.
Dwight


It looks like the projectile is brass and was soldered into place. My thought is that this is something that someone made after the war.
 
I'm in agreement with M8owner, something crafted for display. No driving band makes it a little suspect. Having handled and collected a few Japanese pieces of ordnance over the years, and checking some references, the fuze in your example is not one I've ever seen. ogreve is the expert on these. Hopefully he'll see this and jump in with a comment.
 
No driving band makes it highly suspect. Brass projectile makes it highly suspect. I have quite a few Japanese items also, and nothing looks like your item. No one here as ever show any Japanese drill round that looks like that - actually, no one here has ever shown a large Japanese drill round at all. The members on this forum have seen countless such fabricated items from ages ago. It seems folks in the 1940's were rather skilled with their hands and had lots of free time - without the internet having been invented yet.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply. I already had the information on the shell. What I need is the information on the projectile and the fuse.
Dwight
Ok, I thought you didn’t know as your original post said WW1.
I saw that Bougainville has said the projectile is definitely not Japanese. He is very knowledgeable on Japanese ordnance and is (was?) a member on here also.
Can the fuse or projectile be removed and photgraphed?
 
There are Japanese drill rounds made of brass, but all of the ones I have seen were one piece (cartridge and projectile) and hollow brass. I agree that this has the look of a post war case filler. Not badly done, but not typical of Japanese manufacture that I've seen.
 
Top