16 Inch Projectile identification

[timothyduke]

Gidday fellas,

I have a 16 inch projectile that is mounted on display at an Australian Naval Base. I am not 100% certain what it is. I think it is either Royal Navy (from Nelson Class battleships) or US Navy (IOWA Class battleships)??? Any help would be appreciated. The driving band starts approximately 50mm from the bottom of the projectile and is comprised of two bands with an approximate dimension of 60mm.
Cheers

 

[HAZORD]

It is definitely not U.S.! U.S. projos have a large single rotating band and have a radiused ogive, instead of the straight tapered one on this projo. In addition, it isn't U.S. color code.

But in the mean time, how about hopping over that fence and getting photos of the snakeye bomb, slick bomb and depth charge that are just to the left of it in the photo.

 

[timothyduke]

HAZORD, you recognised the MK82 Snake Eye, but the depth charge is a Limbo Anti Submarine Mortar....same concept as depth charge except you can fire the mortar forward of your ship.

My 16 Inch is an APC proj with a base fuze, does that change your mind about your observation of the ogive?

 

[HAZORD]

If the ogive is a straight taper like the one in your photo, it isn't U.S. If it has a large radius then you have a chance it is U.S., but one single rotating band about 6 inches wide, not two smaller bands like the one in your photo.

The photo is of my 16 inch Mk. IX Target practice, 16 Inch HE, and 14 inch APCBC-T HE projos. If you look close you can see the large radius of ogive on each. The radius might be 10-15 feet, but it's a radius. Also, large monolithic thick rotating bands. The projectiles are designed to be fired broadside to 50,000 yards from Naval Rifles, so a massive band is needed to take the energy and weight. The red projo weighs around 2,700 Lbs.

As far as base fuzing goes, all APCBC-T projos are only base fuzed, and a large percentage of HE projectiles larger than 3 inch have base fuzes with auxiliary fuzes under a penetrating nose plug, if they are to be fired against other ships and hard targets. Therefore, if the projo hits a hard target and mangles the aux detonator under the plug, the base fuze with delay element can still detonate the projo after it penetrates the target. The hardened nose plug isn't used on projectiles designated for antiaircraft use.