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French 47x380mm Case Markings

P

peregrinvs

Well-Known Member
I spotted this 47mm Model 37 (I think) case for sale locally and am considering buying it. Could someone translate the headstamps?
Thanks,
Mark
 

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It is special. Most are made by ARS, but not yours. It is a 47mm AT gun Mle 1937 case. Nice find. You should buy it.
 
I shall probably reinvestigate then. I think it’s about £25. One thing I did notice is that it doesn’t appear to have suffered the attentions of metal polish.
 
I don't know about your side of the pond, but they are hard to get over here. The closest I've come to one is a Naval (Mle 02?) made in 1910 which has the same dimensions. As Steve said, I'd buy it!! Cheers, Bruce.
 
There was also this Soviet 45mm anti-tank gun case for about the same price. I assume this is rather less exciting?
 

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The Soviet 45mm may be more common, but I don't know if they are THAT common. For that price, I would have snatched both up if they were here in the States.
 
I went back and bought the French case today. It said £23 on the price tag, but for some reason this turned into £21 at the till. (Grumble I did not) The neck wasn’t quite straight, but an unpainted 3pr practice shot used as a mandrel has cured it.

An exciting feature is that the base stencils are still just visible. They appear to read:

F.C.P . 1 . 12-1-39

And then:

BG4-18-37-5

Are there any hardcore French ordnance specialists out there who could translate?
 
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