Piat practice shot

[bakkie]

Hello
I'm new to the forum, I'm from Belgium and I've been collecting WW2 militaria (mainly British and Belgium) for +- 20 years now.
My main focus is on uniforms, insignia and
Equipment.

However since the summer I acquired a metal detector to visit some local areas where was fought here during the liberation. To find some relics.

A friend recently showed me a site were there was practiced with the piat by British troops just after the liberation. We found some canisters for fuses, tails of exploded projectiles and also these piat practice shots.

I've done some research on them because in first Instance we didn't know if it was safe and what they were.

Now I know they are piat practice shots
A full metal head and a metal tube.
Inside is a cartridge (fuse)
I cleaned it gently with a brush, and I was expecting to see a mark down the tube on the cartridge to where the firing pin would have touched the cartridge.
But I don't see it, It looks just flat metal.

I carefully unscrewed the head and the cartridge became visible.
To me it looks it might not have gone off?
Or is it supposed to look like this?
(Looking at other mostly ground dug practice shots, they look the same) But I want to be sure) Otherwise it will go to the EOD for disposal.

I didn't want to take any further risks so I leave it like this until I know that it is safe to continue or not.

We found 2 practice shots
From one of them came 2 cardboard roundels out of the tube while cleaning out the sand.
What were they? Unfortunately 1 broke because it is very brittle after +80 years in the ground.

Thank you

 

[ron3350]

Your cartridge has been fired, The dimple in the middle is from the dimple in the cap after firing.
Here is a diagram on the cartridge details (from IAA Forum?)

 

[bakkie]

Thank you

Know I also see where the paper roundels came from.

 

[ron3350]

Here are some old photos from my collection both fired and unfired cartridges. Glad to have been of help with your query.

 

[bakkie]

They clean up very well, the second is still derusting but this one is as good as it gets.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the result with the original white paint largely intact.

There still is original grease on the threads.

 

[BMG50]

Normally we find the back end of the propellent cartridge on the old training areas. When the Piat is fired the primer end of the cartridge drops just in front of the Piat so you know where the firing position once was, the other half of the cartridge remains in the projectile to be replace with a fresh one when its recovered. On HE Piat rounds this other half of the cartridge remaining in the fired round gets propelled back out which forms a brass ring from the HE detonating its hollow charge back wards half way between the target and firing position, great in a archaeology sense to discover how a range worked and its position target and firing point long gone. Very hard to find a mint Practice round, I am sure there were boxes of these rounds unfired left over after the war, that would be a good find, be nice to have one for the collection.