pre WW1 88mm proof round? but is it and from which country?

[Rrickoshae]

please see the attached photos of a strange 88mm or 90mm solid projectile. It measures 19.25 inches long and has its weight stamped in the nose - 20K. There are no other stampings. The drive band style may be an indicator of which country it comes from. It would appear to be a proof round. What can anyone tell me about its use and country of origin

many thanks, Dave

 

[Rrickoshae]

come on guys, someone must know what this really ugly duckling is?!

Dave

 

[highlandotter]

Have no idea what it is, but the length to diameter is very unusual, and I can imagine it tumbling end to end overcoming the rifling!

 

[MINENAZ16]

Hello,
I can't find it but I recently saw a post about this round. No answer.
Regards

 

[Rrickoshae]

yes, that was my thinking - probably designed not to go very far. The RMCS Shrivenham have an experimental WW2 German high capacity 105mm HE shell that is about half again as long as the standard shell. It failed for the same reason. And we carried out the same experiment in the 1970s, possibly using the design of the German round as the dimensions are almost identical but that too suffered from tumbling.

Dave

 

[Rrickoshae]

you may have seen my first post minenaz. Certainly nobody could call this thing aesthetic looking!

 

[Alpini]

For most of such proof rounds their trajectory characteristics were not important. Their purpose was testing the gun's carriage/recoil behaviour, new powder lot's (pressure test), testing the strenght of cartridge cases, barrel wear, etc.

I have seen a lot of such proof slugs but most of them had a weight which was not larger than ~1/3 compared to a common shell for the same gun. This one here must be exceptionally heavy. May it have 20 Kilograms (20K)?

 

[Rrickoshae]

yes I agree Alpini, far heavier than a normal proof round of the calibre and the 20k is probably the weight as although I didn't weigh it, it was very heavy.

 

[RichardB]

Hi Dave, I spent a while searching, and came up with not alot!. Hardly worth waiting for.
But for what its worth, these are my thoughts...

- The 8,8cm proof projectiles Ive seen are pretty much flat topped, as are most of the german proofs in this thread (http://www.wk2ammo.com/showthread.php?3287-German-WW2-Proof-shot-gallery&highlight=proof+shot) and they dont appear to have grooves. (When did grooves start appearing - Pre WW1?)
- The only other 8,8cm I can think of is 3.45in/25PR which doesnt seem to fit, so focussing more on 90mm
- The style and (sintered'y looking) texture of the driveband has a hint of American about it, but then the K would probably be replaced with lb if it is indeed the weight (which does seem likely as a 90mm projectile is around 10kg and visually half the length)
- The drive band reminded me most of the 53mm Gruson and a little of czech rounds, and ended up searching Gruson, Škoda, Hotchkiss etc.

Ultimately no joy, best guess is 90mm proof for French Mle26 Naval or Skoda kanon vz12/20.
Rich

 

[Rrickoshae]

many thanks Rich, food for thought. And I do like that technical phrase 'sintered'y looking', I shall try and use it more often! Actually I think it was caused by the 'slug' - Alpini's technical word that I also like - it certainly looks like one, having been soft blasted to remove rust.

Dave