18 pounder shell..

[Nismosonic]

Anyone know the location of the maker "D L & Co ?" (faint stamp on the L so may be another letter capital F or E possibly)
My shell has a Canada marked fuse adapter so i'm wondering if the whole shell is Canadian.
Shell is fitted with VSM 80IVA fuse. all dated 1917 apart from the adapter thats 1916.
So question is are British made shells fitted with Canadian adapter rings ?
Or has this shell been made up from parts ? Shell has been fired and is empty, Shell adapter looks to have never been removed from shell, there are traces of red paint on the shell below the adapter ring.
If a shrapnel shell functions does the charge blow out the adapter ring and fuse to expel the "bullets" thus ruining the threads ?

 

[TonyE]

D.E. & Co.

No D.L. & Co. listed.

D.E. & Co.is Doty Engine Works, Canada, so the whole shell is Canadian.

Red paint is correct for a shrapnel shell and AFAIK only the fuse blew out. The Shell could either have been made and filled in Canada or just made ther and filled in the UK. I would expect to see fillers marks stamped on the shell somewhere.

Of course the Vickers No.80 Mk.IV fuze would have been fitted in the UK or France.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Nismosonic]

Thanks Tony, greatly appreciated.
There of plenty of marks on this shell.. a large number 1 with X next to it.. there are lots of crows foot stamps with letters under.. "WF" "EX" "EF" and "ZF" all with crows foot marks.
Upon looking at the shell under direct sunlight the stamp is DE&Co. 10 with 17 stamped over top, with 1917 below.
I have attempted to take photos but the markings dont come out.
I have just started on the WW1 stuff, but have lots of more modern shells including a 1989 made 25 pounder! (stamped 25PR-MK3_ MMJ-2-017-02-89.) I didnt think they were made this late.

 

[spotter]

No D.L. & Co. listed.

D.E. & Co.is Doty Engine Works, Canada, so the whole shell is Canadian.

Red paint is correct for a shrapnel shell and AFAIK only the fuse blew out. The Shell could either have been made and filled in Canada or just made ther and filled in the UK. I would expect to see fillers marks stamped on the shell somewhere.

Of course the Vickers No.80 Mk.IV fuze would have been fitted in the UK or France.

Regards
TonyE

Tony i have to disagree with this part that "only the fuze blew out",,we often recover 18pdr shrapnel projectile bodies minus the adapter ring and found the expended fuzes with the adapter ring still fitted.in fact i dont recall finding an expended projectile with the ring still in situ

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Adaptor rings

Spotters right on this one, you usually see the fuzes with the adaptor ring firmly attached to them but never the empty shell body with the adaptor still fixed to the body.

Some of the bodies even have the "pusher" plate still inside them.

 

[Nismosonic]

In any case I would expect the threads to be torn ??... what i'm trying to determine is if the shell I have is (or was) a dud. the fuse threads are fine, and the ring is firmy screwed in place, BUT the shell has been fired as the driving band is rifled.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Adadptor rings stripped

Nismosonic, regarding the threads you would expect the shell body threads to be in pretty much mint condition as a rule as the adaptor rings are usually made of softer (Brass) so they are the items that "gives" when the whole thing detonates-98% of fuzes with adaptor rings from shrapnel shells will be stripped due to this.

Hope that answers your question:ahhhhh:

 

[TonyE]

Tony i have to disagree with this part that "only the fuze blew out",,we often recover 18pdr shrapnel projectile bodies minus the adapter ring and found the expended fuzes with the adapter ring still fitted.in fact i dont recall finding an expended projectile with the ring still in situ

I bow to your greater knowledge my friend.

I am a small arms man after all and I did say "as far as I know.."

Cheers
tonyE