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Please help identify these cartridge cases

O

oktato

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Hi,

Can anyone help me to identify these 3 cartridge cases?

I don't think they're anything special, I've just had them for years and would like to know a bit more about them.

The first is 20x85mm and headstamped 188 42. I guess it's Russian, made in 1942, but I can't see any mention of this case length on Google.

The second is 20x64mm and headstamped HIRTENBERG No. 12 * * *. Is this just an Austrian shotgun cartridge?

The last is 55mm long and headstamped WB ^ 233 VI.

Any information on country of origin, weapon and era would be much appreciated!

Thanks in anticipation!

Gary

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I agree with your assumptions. The first one may be a cut down Russian 20X99R. The mouth looks a little thick. Maybe check for saw marks.
The "No. 12" is a 12 ga. shotgun shell. The last one is a primer.
 
Slick is right here.

The first one is a cut down case for the 20mm ShVAK. The case should be 99mm long. It was made at Novosibirsk Low Voltage Equipment Plant, Russia in 1942

The second is a 12 Gauge shotgun shell made by Hirtenberg in Austria. This likely dates from the early 20th Century.

The third is a British naval "Vent Tube" primer mark 6 made by Wilmot-Breeden Ltd of Birmingham. This company made various ordnance iotems during the 2nd World War, so the primer likely dates from then.
 
The third item is a Tube Vent Sealing Percussion .4 inch or .5 inch. You can find out which by measuring it across the base. The word 'sealing' was dropped sometime between WWI and WWII.
These go back to the 1870s and that Mark is WWI at the latest.
The tubes .4 inch and .5 inch were both made in electric and percussion versions using identical cartridge cases and both could be used on the same ship, according to gun size and model, so to make them readily distinguishable the percussion tubes were notched on the base.
 
Hi,
Thanks for brilliant information - as always!
The cut-down 20mm case is disappointing, but the information on the "Vent Tube" more than makes up for it!
Is it possible to say if it's from WW1 or WW2?
Thanks again for your help.
Gary
 
If the tube is from WW1, the manufacturer must be someone other than Wilmot-Breeden.

WB Didn't exist until the 1920s.
 
I may have been overenthusiastic on the date.
It is certainly early but I should have looked at how long it remained in service before the next mark was introduced.
 
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