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Unknown (to me). Can you help?

B

Benjum

Member
Hello all.

Here is something else that was left to me when a friend died. I hadn't seen this before he passed away and was surprised to be taking home when I collected two 4.5" spent Vickers shells and some other bits and bobs.

I have tried to identify this many times through online searches, thinking it must be easy to find out what it is...... but no. It looks to be a cast iron spitzer shaped projectile and old by appearance, inert as there is no fuse in the nose and is quite heavy. I have measured the base and is about 4.5" in diameter. It has a coarse screw thread in the base and what looks like a stainless steel hook affair set into the casting inside. There is a bullet shaped casting mark/escutcheon containing three letters - CMV or OMV perhaps?

I cleaned it up as I wanted to preserve it as best as I can and also to see if there were any other marks to help with it's identity. I could not see any other information in the cast iron. I have given a bit of temporary paint to stop it rusting again but wondered what colour should it be.......

I would love to know more about it so have turned this forum for kind assistance. I am prepared for anything..... Even that it screws to the top of a fence post lol.

Thanks in advance,
Benjum.
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Thank you Dreamk.

Stunned, i would not have ever thought that was used for that!

I could see that it wasn't a modern design of munition but assumed it had a military application. This identification has left me feeling happy that I now know what it is, yet sad now knowing that it was used to kill whales...... in a really gruesome manner. Very much a mixed emotion ID. Nevertheless, I am greatly appreciative of your help. I now wonder if this came back from the Falkland islands due to the whaling history there...... Quite possible when considering my friend's military history.

Many thanks again!
 
They were plentiful on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia in particular, just left lying around at the old whaling stations. A lot were brought back by marines following the Falklands War and are now not uncommon. There were several different styles that one occasionally come across
 
Hull Museum had quite a collection of items connected with whaling etc.
Here is Brand's Bomb Lance of 1852, from an earlier period.
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Forgot to add that Rrick is quite correct, and I knew several servicemen who brought back harpoon warheads from the Falklands, there were several patterns that seemed to be quite common.
Alan1.
 
Thank you both for your insight. I guess once you know, you know and life is one big learning curve. After Dreamk's assistance with the ID, I spent the rest of the evening reading this... https://whalersmemorybank.sgmuseum.gs/ It gives a good account of the life and times of whaling in the South Atlantic and kinda justifies why it was done. I was also able to find a post on the forum from 2015 regarding harpoon grenades.

It is certainly a relic of a bygone time and dare I say, one to be consigned to the history books. For me, this has also stirred up memories from the mid eighties, when I was in my early teens, about saving the whales, Greenpeace and music groups releasing songs - Nik Kershaw for example.

I now fully understand how these things have made it back to the UK, it is what servicemen do!

I now wonder if the thread title can be changed to show that an ID has been made as it may help others.... I cant see how to do it.
 
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