Projectile id please...

[aquachigger]

A friend of mine brought this into my relic club meeting last night and we were hoping someone might be able to give us a little information as to what gun it went to and/or what era it was used. It was found in Richmond, Virginia. There are no markings on it other than a very faint anchor and a crude "x" stamped in the flat nose. The approximate measurements are... 14" long, 4" diameter and 30.5 pounds. Thanks for checking it out.

 

[HAZORD]

Most likely a 4 inch "Common" projectile for the 4" 40 cal or 4" 50 cal guns. The 4" 40 cal was a straight case older design used from around 1900 up through at least the early 1920s. The 4" 50 cal used a bottleneck case and was used up through WWII. We actually had someone inquire about these about a week ago.

Some photos in this post:

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threa...Navy-from-the-O-Brien-room?highlight=inch+cal

 

[shelldude]

Hello aquachigger,

Here is some information regarding the closest match I could find of your U.S. 4-inch Naval commom shell. The projectile shown was used from the early 1900's thru WWII. Your blunt tip projectile I suspect dates from between 1890 to the 1920's. It's a very nice piece of turn of the century naval ordnance.

Best regards,

Randall

 

[charley777]

So was the 4" 40cal the same as the 4" Mk6 with a case 725mm long and a rim 121mm across?
Thanks , Charley

 

[aquachigger]

Thanks for the speedy replies guys. I'm more of a ACW era artillery guy, but this stuff is fascinating as well. I hope to be more active here in the future. Thanks again...

 

[shelldude]

Hello Charley,

If you look at John's (hazord) photos from his above post, you'll see his 4"/40 shell (1st photo, 2nd shell) with the classic AP shot design projectile. It's my understanding that the 4-inch MK 6 projectile was used only with the 4-inch/50 longer bottleneck style casings.

Best regards,

Randall