I posted this in the US section then thought I should have posted here. I picked this up last month and just thought it was another trench art ashtray until I started looking at the head stamp. I know nothing of these things. I did a quick search on line and didn't find much at first. The head stamp from top to bottom. Above the primer reads N.G.F. and below that is 1943. In line with the primer reads LOT NO 2991. The primer reads 4M on the left arm. 534 on the top arm. The right arm has a box H, LT with a 427 on the bottom line. The bottom arm has MK13 on the top line and the bottom line has a box H 48. Below the primer reads 5in MK.IV MOD.2 25 CAL. Below that reads F.L.R. and J.R.R. Inside, the coins read " Commonwealth of Australia, one penny, 1915.
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Then I found this information. The 5"/25 caliber gun (spoken "five-inch-twenty-five-caliber") entered service as the standard heavy anti-aircraft (AA) gun for United States Washington Naval Treaty cruisers commissioned in the 1920s and 1930s. The goal of the 5"/25 design was to produce a heavy AA gun that was light enough to be rapidly trained manually.[2] The gun was also mounted on pre-World War II battleships and aircraft carriers until replaced by the standard dual-purpose 5"/38 caliber gun, which was derived from the 5"/25 and was similar except for the barrel length. Guns removed from battleships were probably converted for submarine use by late 1943, while a purpose-built variant for submarines was available in mid-1944, and was widely used by them.[3] United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 inches (127 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 25 calibers long (that is, for a 5" bore and a barrel length of 25 calibers, 5" x 25 = 125", or about 3.2 meters).[4] -
So, the information jives with the date of the shell and the Australian coins points me towards a submarine making a stop in Australia. What do you guys think? As a side note finding anything on this shell on line is like looking for hens teeth. I think the reason these don't show up much is because if it is off a submarine deck gun the shell is dumped over board. Even state side target practice they were still dumped.Last edited by p-59a; 05-22-2020, 10:15 PM.Comment
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I think you're right and the artifact is a beautiful witness to that time...............Comment
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I took a hard look at the coins. They date 1915, 1917 and 1926. I bring this up for a reason. When I was looking at other trench art shell ashtrays I came across a 5 inch Mark 5 WW2 Navy shell posted by the son of the Vet. The ashtray his dad made had British coins dated 1913. He then noted his dad was born in 1913. I am not saying the coins on mine have the same meaning, but they could have some meaning. I thought it odd the coins were as old as they were. So what I am suggesting is if you have a trench art ashtray with coin holders look at the dates and see if they could have some meaning beyond just being used to hold a cigar or cigarette.Last edited by p-59a; 05-23-2020, 12:06 PM.Comment
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