60mm Cartridges, Ignition, M4

[pzjgr]

Here is a couple of boxes of M4 60mm mortar ignition/propelling cartridges I came across...one is late WWII Winchester manufacture, the other just post Korea vintage Federal....Although the cartrdiges are all WWII Winchester...I found the boxes seperate from the cartridges.

Neat little cartridges, basically cut down 28 gauge shotgun shells...they have a bulge in the case which is intentional, helped keep them up the pipe....

 

[jvollenberg]

Can you take some pictures of the cartridges outside the box? And do you mind if I use these pictures for an EOD publication? All I have is a VERY bad 1955 schematic of them.

Joe

 

[pzjgr]

Sure thing, I will get some detailed pics tonight and post them later....

 

[pzjgr]

Hey Joe,

Here you go, see if these work for you, I can also e-mail you bigger pics, I had to make them smaller to post them...

Mike

 

[fert]

Hi
Anyone knows if the M4 cartridge was used before the introduction of the M32-M5 primer-cartridge, or if it was issued for other purpose, like training or other?
thanks in advance
best regards

 

[pzjgr]

It was issued prior to the two piece M32-M5....then they decided to go with the two piece design, with basically a shotgun primer inserted into the aluminum holder. A paper hull with the EC powder, which basically was the shotgun shell without the brass head attached, was inserted up the pipe, and the aluminum primer holder was screwed in after.

But for some reason, I think mainly for ease of loading they went back to using the old one-piece version.

Modern 60mm (at least the practice types) use a single piece shotgun shell type ignition cartridge, with a screw in aluminum closer with a floatin firing pin...the pin in the tube contacts the floating firing pin which hits the shotgun shell...