16 in. Naval Round

[Pea Shooter]

When I was showing my collection a while back, I forgot a round out side. It was my 16 in. Armor Piercing round. It is a practice round weighing 2700 lbs. I forgot how heavy it was trying to stand it up right.
It has a cavity in the base. Was that for a charge? I thought I read that some where. It was originally painted gold with white stenciling. The tip was cut off flat with a plug for a lifting eye. Thank you for looking. Vaughn

 

[HAZORD]

Nice bullet! I have a Mk IX TP also. The hole in the base is most likely for a tracer. What is the Mk and Mod of your bullet? We can look it up and see what it is supposed to look like.

 

[Pea Shooter]

Hello HAZORD;
The base I am referring to has a plug in the bottom, which is like a 5 or 6in. plug. It says 2. (something,) cubic ft.? written on the base. Isn't that for an explosive and a fuse?
The round is marked.... Lot 1 MK II Drill MOD I (a large anchor), then a large GB, then a small anchor, then a small gb. Then 9.66 Cubic Ft. That is all I could make out in the dark with just a flash light. Sorry, Vaughn

 

[HAZORD]

OK, so you most likely have a projectile intended for loading drills. It's hard to see in the photos, but has the rotating band been turned down flush to be the same diameter as the main projectile body? That would be why it was painted bronze. It was made to be loaded in the chamber repeatedly, and having the band turned down keeps it from engaging the rifling and sticking in the chamber. The cavity in the rear would be to facilitate retrieval equipment to pull it out of the chamber.