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French 37x94mm oddity

earni74

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
This unassuming 37mm has a couple of differences to the normal ones, please look closely at the pics, the fuze has a white metal adaptor, without this the fuze body is narrower than the top of the projectile, the blob on top of the fuze feels like lead, also the spew at the base of the shell is tidier than normal
All comments welcome
 

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It looks to me like someone just took a standard french "modele 1888" common shell and modified it for display by casting a fake ogive out of lead in the cavity left by the removal of the wooden plug of the Desmarest fuze.
There should be a white metal ring under the fuze itself, but not that shape and not that thick, so I'm going to assume this is also made by whoever modified the fuze.

688_004.jpg
 
Hi,
I confirm what wingsofwrath wrote.This is a classic Desmaret fuze that has been tinkered with, probably to give it a decorative look.
As for the base, they come in all sizes, machined on a lathe or cast in rough form, and sometimes completely off-center.
 
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