Strange US 37mm round..

[RichardB]

Chaps,
I was browsing Specialist auctions and came across a US 37mm APCTM 51 round for sale from Siegfried.. I've looked through the reference material I have as well as other sites, but cannot find anything similar. I've asked Siegfried if there are any decernable markings on the projectile body or driving band and there are none. Neither the shape of the projectile nor driving band look familiar to me....so I am a little lost as to what it could be.

I eventually bowed to greater knowledge and asked Q ...I think its fair to say he also wasnt sure, and it wasnt in the Americam TM on artillery ammunition (1944)...

Does anyone know what this round could be??

Rich

 

[RichardB]

Close up of projectile....

Rich

 

[bombmonki]

It is an Armour Peircing Capped Trace M51 for the 37mm Gun. Hence the APCT M51. The markings appear unusually close. I have attached some info(not a good scan).

 

[bombmonki]

second page

Leo

 

[bombmonki]

some more scans from a British WW2 pub Notes on Nothr American Stores and Equipment Section 9 Ammunition.

 

[bombmonki]

and again

 

[Quatermass]

Thanks for the complement Richard, its entirely unjustified!

The profile doesn?t look right for the APCT M51 (in the projectile pictured below it?s a M51B1).

The joint between the cap and the shot is distinct in my M51, while the round in Richards picture is smooth and a different shape.

The stencilling also doesn?t follow the pattern seen in the manuals.

The driving band also look different from the normal style, could this is be a replica projectile?

Any body else have a view?, I?m happy to be proven wrong as I?m not sure what the round is and I?d be keen to know.

Quatermass.

 

[bombmonki]

You are quite correct. The profile is quite different. I have had a look through the information I have and have found some M51's with the same profile/style of driving band but the profile and construction of the projectile is incorrect. It looks more like a TP-T projectile or similar. The colour and markings also appear incorrect. I have about 50 photos from EOD types in the US on 37mm projectiles and there are none that are like this one. Interesting...

 

[Thomasthecat21]

Hi guys, did anyone ever solve exactly what this projectile is? Only because I have one as well, exactly the same with the four dots in a square stamping and groove near the drive band, and I can’t for the life of me work out what it is!