3inch Mk 5

[charley777]

Hello again... I have recently received this US case. John Campbell's WW2 naval weapon book is not helpful as to ID of the weapon used. Although clearly it is dated from that time. Can anyone please tell me what gun(s) fired it , what projectiles were used , and in which ships/boats it was fitted. Case length is 232mm and base diameter is 88mm. Thanks.

 

[charley777]

And forgot to mention....can anyone decode the headstamp please?

 

[HAZORD]

Charley,

You have a U.S. Navy 3 inch 23 cal cartridge case which could also be stamped 3 inch LG for landing gun. The 23 cal means the gun barrel is 23 times the caliber long or 23 X 3 inches = 69 inches. NGF stands for Naval Gun Factory which was the bigest producer of Navy cases, and the 8-41 is August of 1941 when it was manufactured. Your primer is also dated 1941, just before the U.S. got into the war. All other manufacturers would have their own codes. Info below about the combinations of components and the rest of your headstamp. I will need to take photos of projectiles tonight to show you what they look like.

It is a relatively rare case.

Ammo Info came from here:

http://www.hnsa.org/doc/projcat/index.htm#toc

Gun information:

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_3-23_mk13.htm

 

[HAZORD]

Family photos of the 3 inch Landing Gun and later 3 inch 23 cal projos.

L to R
Common Mk III Mod 4
Common Mk III Mod 7 marked for tracer
Common Mk III Mod 5 marked for Blind Loaded and Plugged
Illuminating MK
Landing Gun Shrapnel
Landing Gun High Explosive Shrapnel (The gray area is a chamber filled with explosive.)

The 3 inch Landing Gun dates from the late 1800s.

 

[shelldude]

3-inch MK V

Hello John,

THANKS for sharing the photographs of your spectacular U.S. 3-inch LG & 3"/23 projectile collection. REALLY NICE! Can you provide some details regarding the fuze on your 1897 HE/shrapnel projectile? I don' recognize it...

Best regards,

Randall

 

[HAZORD]

Thanks Randall! Good to hear from you again. I will look at the fuze closely. I'm thinking it might be a product of the American Ordnance Company, who made the projectile. I will shoot a few photos of it.

I forgot to mention it last night, but I have two cases just like Charlie's from the NGF, one made a month before his, and one made 3 months after his, with the same inspector and superintendant stamps.

John

 

[charley777]

Thank you very much indeed. Excellent quality of info. Now i am even happier to have this case (-: