OK, a cheeky heading - they've probably never been near Normandy. But I recently added something to my collection which has taken me years to find - an inert 17-pr A/T shell, similar to the type used by the Sherman Firefly. The projectile has been fired and recovered ( strangely, with no damage ) and the brass casing is dated 1944. It sits on the right of my complete PaK/KwK 36 'Tiger 1' 88mm A/T round and makes an interesting comparison. One of my great interests is the armoured fighting in Normandy and I'm very pleased to have these two shells in my collection. ( BTW, that 17-pr is heavy ! You wouldn't want to drop it on your foot....)
Got a chance to handle some modern AP penetrators a few years ago. As you say not light. The long rod was particularly deceptive that way.
Boy I'd love to have a cannon shell like that, the biggest I have now is a 20mm and a few 50.'s...........I would especially like to have an 88. If you have an extra lying around Martin, I'd be happy to take it off your hands
I got a 40mm Bofors shell from a Derwent Class patrol boat stationed here in Darwin when I was about 12...by the time I was 16 I had turned it into the best looking bong you've ever seen!
They're getting harder to find over here.....it took me four years to put together the 88 ; projectile, shellcase , correct electric primer and fuze all being bought separately at various militaria fairs. But I'm just an old skinflint - a complete round was for sale at the recent Detling show for £320.....
Great comparison photo, Martin. The case of the 88 illustrates a greater powder capacity and boy is that 17 pounder projectile huge!!. Now you can search for a Konigs Tiger round!
At the risk of making myself very unpopular - I've got one ! BTW, the very small shell in the pic is an early-war 3.7cm KwK A/T - which shows just how far tank-against-tank firepower progressed in four years.......
Well, more popular in my book! That is a fantastic comparison as the 37MM was a common AT round at the beginning. That 88 is HUGE !! I know there were not many, some 400 + , but the idea of your Cromwell or Sherman being hit by one would be bone chilling. Well if any bones would be left ! It would give a new definition to the term "Brew up" I would have dropped my cup of Fortnum & Mason tea and run !!! Thank you for the illuminating post! Gaines
Thanks, Gaines - I'm glad you liked the pic. It's being able to see and handle relics like this which gives some insight into the engineering difficulties which must have been overcome - just think of the increase in recoil, breech pressures, etc......
It certainly is, PzJgr....and so are the guns which fired it. As well as the King Tiger, the PaK43 also caused havoc among Allied armour. This one is a genuine Bulge relic - sadly, my car didn't have a towing hook ...
Pleasing item, Martin. Aren't they rather tricky to track down in decent nick? We once chatted to a bloke from Cobbaton Combat with a 17pdr on display at a show along with a decent selection of available ammunition, including APCBC & Sabot. He reckoned the collection of cased rounds was probably worth more than the actual gun.
Hello Adam Yes, ironically, 17prs are far harder to find than 88s. I've been looking for ages without success but recently a few wartime-dated rounds have appeared at the bigger fairs such as Beltring. Mine, being a fired round and AP, was 'cheap' at £150. Decent APCBC rounds tend to go for around £350 - if you can find one. There was one Sabot round on a stall at Beltring - asking price, £650. Anyhow, it's proudly dated '1944' so is fine for my collection. For my purposes, the two represent the type of shell Wittmann fired at Villers-Bocage, and the type which ended his life a few weeks later at St. Aignan.
kiddy stuff, this is a real projectile at 20 miles, this could ruin your whole day. the lady is 5'4". taken at USS South Dakota memorial.
Yes indeed, naval shells are in a totally different league. And of course, they played a vital role in the Normandy fighting - killing, among many others, SS-Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt, CO of the Hitlerjugend Division, on 14th June 1944.
That would go rather nicely with an HVSS 76mm Sherman... Wouldn't it... Know anyone who's got one? Eh? I want it to be live.
i wonder why the projectile i showed was never fired during Normandy battles. the navy just sent a couple of old battleships and they left, along with any other USN bombardment force, after a month or so.