I just had this shipped from Canada. Nice original paint and markings on it. It is marked "inert", and the explosive chamber was filled with resin and steel shot (now removed). No base fuse was included. I am going to assume that these were made for M10 tank destroyers supplied to Canada from the US? The casing is marked "3 IN MK 7 50 CAL". The correct US made casing was a Mark 2 MII. Is this the correct casing for a Canadian made round? It has a different priming system from the US casing. The projectile is marked "ODGM - 2-32-1944-2 3 Inch M-62A1" on the driving band.
When you look at one of these compared to a German 88, you would think that it would have similar armor defeating capabilities. However, all I have ever read stated that its anti armor performance was little better than a Sherman's 75mm. There is no way that could be true. The Sherman 75mm AP round had two pounds of propellant vs. the 3 inch with four pounds - per my ordnance data sheets. I do note that the 3 inch casing was only 2/3 full of powder with a significant paper wading. Perhaps the US was too much on the side of caution for our loadings during the war? This round should have been a world beater.
When you look at one of these compared to a German 88, you would think that it would have similar armor defeating capabilities. However, all I have ever read stated that its anti armor performance was little better than a Sherman's 75mm. There is no way that could be true. The Sherman 75mm AP round had two pounds of propellant vs. the 3 inch with four pounds - per my ordnance data sheets. I do note that the 3 inch casing was only 2/3 full of powder with a significant paper wading. Perhaps the US was too much on the side of caution for our loadings during the war? This round should have been a world beater.