40mm Lorenz karlsruhe, any ideas?

[Rrickoshae]

what do you experts out there make of this? Its 40mm x 146.5, rimmed and with raised centre to base and strangely, raised headstamps which read * Lorenz * Karlsruhe. Clearly of some age but what was it for please.

 

[saintlo990]

37mm x145R Gruson werke

Could your round be 37 mm? there was a 37 x 145R Grusonwerke SFK with a case that looked like this. i have only seen impressed headstamps - about 70 - and not one was raised except on the 11 mm mauser.

 

[Rrickoshae]

hi Saintlo, no, its definitely 40mm - the neck is parallel sided and not belled out. And as you say, very few rounds of any size have raised headstamps, mostly small calibre European rounds from the late 1890s. Hopefully one of our german friends will have the answer. cheers, Dave

 

[saintlo990]

1 1/2 inch Nordenfelt

There were a series of Nordefelt volly gun cartridges that were acually 38 to 39.5 mm to start with but were gradually reduced to 37.5mm. Swedish manuals actually changed the caliber over a period of years.

The Krupp Co originally used 1 1/2 zoll caliber -actually 1 1/2 inch for several years.

I know this doesn't help, but maybe it will make you as confused about these early calibers as I am.

Robert Mellichamp

 

[Falcon]

The 38.5mm Nordenfelt round had a 195mm case length, I'm not sure about the others.

Whatever it is, It's a nice early round, Pre-1900 large calibre stuff seems very hard to come by.

 

[Rrickoshae]

many thanks Rob & Falcon, we're closing in - a few more threads and we'll be there!! Its strange how these odd rounds crop up. Were has it been all this time? Dave