30mm RARDEN practice projectile?

[peregrinvs]

Bought this at Chatham this morning. Is it a 30mm RARDEN practice projectile? It is marked ‘Inerte’ on the solid nose and marked ‘24 180 154’ on the body. I assume the paint isn’t original.

 

[Charlie]

In theory yellow is HE. Paint isn't original unless it was an HE for promotional use at a show or something. Does the fuse/plug unscrew?

 

[peregrinvs]

I’ve now removed the paint and it’s shiny bare metal underneath. The dummy fuze does unscrew. The shell body is hollow and empty.

The French ‘Inerte’ on the fuze might suggest it’s something from the French 30x170mm family rather than a British RARDEN projectile.

 

[peregrinvs]

More pictures:



Edit: having browsed through Tony Williams’ superlative online ammunition gallery, the ‘30x170 (Rarden and early Oerlikon KCB with brass case)’ looks like a good match projectile-wise:

https://www.quarryhs.co.uk/tankammo1.html

 

[peregrinvs]

What’s better than matching up a case with a projectile? Yes, it’s matching up two cases with projectiles.

On the left, a case for the RARDEN projectile I got last month. On the right, WWI German 3.7cm HE shell to go with a trencharted naval 3.7cm case I bought some years ago. I don’t usually go for trench art, but I thought the addition of the centre of a Prussian army belt buckle was rather cool.

(And as the old WWI British army joke used to go, WE’VE GOT MITTENS TOO!)

 

[Charlie]

Now you just need to paint it yellow :hahaha:

 

[rigby]

I would say that it is a target practice for the Oerlikon KCB.
I have one with similar stamping on the bullet.
63 180 237 on the bullet and INERTE on the dummy fuze.

 

[peregrinvs]

Interesting. I note that the Royal Navy has used the Oerlikon KCB - is it possible the same shells could have been used in RARDEN practice ammunition?

 

[Tony Williams]

As far as I am aware, the projectiles are very likely the same (they would be interchangeable, anyway), but the cartridge is another matter, the Rarden ammo being brass-cased, the KCB steel-cased. I have been told that the KCB and Rarden rounds are not officially qualified to be fired in t'other's guns, but in practice probably can do so, although the brass-cased rounds might be given a rough time by the more violent handling of the KCB, which fires about six times faster.