Unknown 76.2 headstamp

[Luuk9319]

Who can identify the headstamps on this cartridge? Dimensions are 76.2x385R so probably the m1902 divisional gun.

 

[Alpini]

At 9 o'clock it looks like a weird Rheinmetall factory monogram. Other stamps like the "B" can also be found on other russian 76,2 mm cases.

I wonder if the 901 is for 1901 which would be very early for the obr. 1902 field gun.

 

[AKON_]

Hi Luuk9319

The Model 1902 gun was preceded by the Model 1900 gun (3-inch Rapid-fire field gun, Model 1900)

3-дм. скорострельная полевая пушка обр.1900 года. ​

) ; both used the same cartridge case—namely, the 76.2x385R.

Note the wording in the gun's designation: "field," not "divisional." Since it was introduced with that specific designation, the matter seems clear to me, and I won't be speculating any further on it.

-----
Interestingly, you won't find an actual manual for the Model 1900 gun anywhere on the internet—excluding minor excerpts in manuals published by civilian firms with GAU approval. There is simply no purely military manual or set of firing tables available in a downloadable format...
Akon

 

[Luuk9319]

Thanks for the explanation!
So I assume 1901 is the production year and 31 is the lot number? Then what is te factory mark?

 

[AKON_]

: Alpini : At 9 o'clock it looks like a weird Rheinmetall factory monogram....

+1 : Akon

 

[Hoeksel]

It looks as if that Rheinmetall look-alike logo is in a square-like figure. Possibly not a Rheinmetall logo. It also made me think about the Serbian 75 mm M1907 mountain hun shell cases that also have a Rheinmetall look-alike logo, but are highly unlikely really Rheinmetall.

 

[AKON_]

It looks as if that Rheinmetall look-alike logo is in a square-like figure. Possibly not a Rheinmetall logo. It also made me think about the Serbian 75 mm M1907 mountain hun shell cases that also have a Rheinmetall look-alike logo, but are highly unlikely really Rheinmetall.

There are a lot of questions regarding the state's production capacities: what did Serbia actually possess in 1907? Manufacturing artillery shell casings requires specific machinery and tooling, as well as the necessary skills... We also have to consider where Serbia sourced the semi-finished materials for the casings—again, a specific alloy... So, until that supply chain was established, I assume it was a matter of imports—and then we’d have to discuss the source... Who established the shell-manufacturing facility in Serbia, and when? I don't know that off the top of my head... A machine shop for bullet bodies is one thing, but this is another highly specialized type of arms production facility.
Akon

 

[AKON_]

... I’m toying with the idea that it’s a graphic symbol—one that isn’t immediately obvious—belonging to the company Keller, Karlsruhe (if you join the two Ks together in a specific way, a graphic symbol emerges)...
Akon

 

[Luuk9319]

Wouldn't German stamps be a bit neater? They are always organized, even the export ones.

 

[AKON_]

Wouldn't German stamps be a bit neater? They are always organized, even the export ones.

Yes, that’s right—in open-style lettering, they always look "neat," but that’s precisely the problem here: this logo isn't an open-style wordmark, nor is it a famous logo like Krupp, Škoda,Bofors etc. or anything of that sort; for reasons unknown to me, it is an obscure logo.
Akon

 

[Hoeksel]

The case and the primer are without doubt Russian to me. The later added markings make it interesting....with a bit of fantasy there might be another "Rheinmetall" logo at 12-o-clock above the 2.

 

[Hoeksel]

A friend shared attached picture with a very convincing Russian WW1 case reworked by DWM. So I guess we are indeed looking at a Russian shell case reworked by Rheinmetall.

 

[fert]

hello,
again russian case reworked by Georg Roth 1905

 

[Luuk9319]

Nice te see these examples. They al got the B mark at 6 o'clock, thats probably the manufacturer I guess.

 

[AKON_]

The Russians use this system:


At 12 o'clock – Brass batch
At 3 o'clock – Manufacturer
At 6 o'clock – Acceptance stamp and (the letter "Г." after live-fire testing) or possibly a small g
At 9 o'clock – Cartridge case series and year of manufacture.
* manufacturing plant inspection mark inside a circle.
** Russian "Cipher ,,IX" cartridge case designed for the Model 1909 and Model 1904 mountain guns.
*** The letter "X" is stamped on the cartridge case for the 6-inch howitzer (Model 1910).
Soldiers stamped their marks onto the cartridge cases. In 1901, the marks were specifically of this type.
I don't have a sample for the time being.

An example from the GAU Circular of 1902:

přepis textu :
8 октября, № 58.
О клеймахъ младшихъ артиллерійскихъ пріемщиковъ штабсъ-капитановъ Межинскаго и Смирнова.
Доп. цирк. Глав. Арт. упр. 1902 г. за № 49.
Главное Артиллерійское Управленіе объявляетъ по артиллеріи, для свѣдѣнія, что младшимъ артиллерійскимъ пріемщикамъ штабсъ-капитанамъ Межинскому и Смирнову установлены слѣдующія клейма: для штабсъ-капитана Межинскаго — Ме, а для штабсъ-капитана Смирнова — (См).

October 8, No. 58.
On the inspection stamps of the junior artillery receivers, Staff Captains Mezhinsky and Smirnov.
Supplementary circular of the Main Artillery Directorate, 1902, under No. 49.
The Main Artillery Directorate announces to the artillery, for information, that the following inspection stamps have been established for the junior artillery receivers, Staff Captains Mezhinsky and Smirnov: for Staff Captain Mezhinsky — Me, and for Staff Captain Smirnov — (Sm).

To understand the specifics, you need to consult the cited "Циркуляр ГАУ" covering the period from 1900 to 1919; in addition to names, it will certainly contain the graphic symbols of the factories...