7 inch German Shell

[Alan Smith]

Yes - please post photos of the scrapyard find (and any details you have of its history).

[opus5150]

Not able to post pics. Not sure if my user name is causing an issue. Will keep trying.

[Alan Smith]

Opus,

You need to be a Forum member ($25 per year fee) to post photos.

If you like, I am happy to post the photos for you; send them to my e-mail of: asmith@bakerdonelson.com

Alan

[Alan Smith]

Posting photos for Mike in Richmond, VA

[Alan Smith]

Mike's Photo #2

[Alan Smith]

Mike's Photo #3

[Alan Smith]

Mike's Photo #4

[Alan Smith]

Here is mine again, this time next to a U.S. 155mm shell. Both now live out in the garage due to a recent house move; eventually the shells will be relocated to a proper "war room" for display.

[opus5150]

Thanks, Alan! I appreciate you putting these up. For those wondering how an almost century old German shell ended up in a Virginia scrapyard, well, your guess is as good as mine.
I have a friend who works at a local recycling yard, and he called to let me know the guys had found something that I may be interested in. He remembered that I have past experience in the ordnance field with the Marine Corps, and wanted to know if I'd be able to help ID a "big bullet" that had been dropped off earlier in the day. (He mentioned that it was hollow and could see into the empty fuze well, but wanted a second opinion). One cell phone picture later, I was in the truck and on my way.
At fist glance, I wasn't sure what is was. It didn't look American, no discernible fuze, just a hole all the way to the base of the round, an extra rotating band, size, etc. I discovered later that the shipping "haube" had been pushed into the windscreen, and had fallen into the fuze well/explosives cavity. That was my queue that it was not live, as I could see into the shell and see that it was inert. (Still, UXO should only be verified by professionals, we were lucky. I advised my friend to call the police next time something like this shows up in the yard. The temptation for me to take it home is too great, regardless of its so-called inert-ness).
Once home, I began to clean the years of rust and dirt off the round. ID marks became visible, and my web searching began. There are not too many of these big shells around, I soon learned. This site, plus a couple others shed some good light on it, and I was finally able to ID it. Getting it apart was a battle in itself, and it separated where I did not expect it to. It was nice to get the haube out and fit it back on the windscreen where it belonged, however.
I still have no idea how it got to where I recovered it. Someones yard art? Retired military man passing away? We probably will never know. Still, the stories it could tell I'm sure would be amazing.
Thanks for listening.

[Alan Smith]

I obtained two (2) more of these big shells over the weekend, after meeting the seller near his residence in northern Arkansas (USA). Per the seller, he acquired the shells for $20 at a fund raising auction for a local Volunteer Fire Department in Amissville, Virginia c. 1993 - 1996. This was a sale where local persons donated various items to the auction, with all proceeds to go to the Volunteer Fire Department. Other than assuming that the shells came from the local area, we have no information on them prior to having been dropped off at the Volunteer Fire Department as donations for the charity auction that was conducted on-site at the fire station. The seller that I purchased from is a retired US Navy EOD guy, who now does EOD work as a private contractor.

Here are the shells, loaded into my car for transport their new home at my house.

[Alan Smith]

Shells 2.

[Alan Smith]

Shells at their new home, in my workshop.

[Alan Smith]

Shells soaking with penetrating oil, in effort to facilitate removal of the ballistic caps.

[Alan Smith]

I'll soak the shells with penetrating oil for an extended period, prior to doing any further work to remove the ballistic caps.

Again, the seller that I obtained them from is an EOD guy who had checked each shell out by weight (and X-ray) to confirm that they are inert.

[lugernut]

I have been looking for years now for an WWI Austrian 100mm projectile with no luck.