French 37mm Incendiary

[orcutteod]

Enclosed are pictures of a dated 1918 French 37mm incendiary round. These rounds were supposed to be balloon busters during WWI. My question is how exactly did they work?

 

[Gspragge]

The firing pin sets back on firing and strikes the percussion cap which inturn ignites the incendiary compound (something like a road flare composition in effect) via a short internal fuze and the flames escape out of the holes in the side of the projectile

 

[US-Subs]

Nice round.

 

[orcutteod]

Thanks for the info I wondering were these rounds effective? So far this 37mm is the only incendiary I have come across.

 

[Weasel]

Nice round,
It looks a little less pitted than most i have seen, has it been turned down on a lathe maybe or just a rare good example ?
Best regards Weasel.

 

[highlandotter]

Rumor has it that a batch of these were found buried together . As they hit the market, they were in pitted condition and need a bit of scrubbing to get them presentable. I have seen 6-7, and this is the best of them.

 

[orcutteod]

No lathe work on this one.

 

[bdgreen]

A little bit of info here: http://www.histavia21.net/Histoire/munitions_37_Spad-Canon.htm