60mm Mortar Conversion from M9A1 Grenade?

[ordnance]

I acquired this round about 25 years ago and have never found any information on it. I appears to be a shaped charge 60mm mortar shell made with the warhead of an M9A1 rifle grenade. Although it currently has an M11A3 practice head on it, it originally came with an all sheet metal warhead with a roll-crimped center seam, exactly like the M9A1 warhead except the copper cone was absent.

It had a steel rod to add weight to the head just like the M7A1 2.36" bazooka rockets did. Note the copper cup that would expand and act as a propellant seal. The extruded aluminum fins always had a Belgian or French look to me but I think the whole thing is American.

And I just did a final check of it before posting and noted the fins are actually 55mm in diameter, so a bit large for a 2" and small for a 60mm. No markings at all, unfortunately.

Has anyone seen anything like it before. Thanks.

Rick

 

[juver]

looks useless , or it's for training or something

 

[bacarnal]

Rick, Don't know if it could be, but during the 50's or 60's the US Army was trying to develop both a 60mm and 81mm recoilless system. They used a lot of different configurations and your tail fins kinda look like ones I've seen pictured for one part of that project. I've got a round (shown below) that seems to be part of that project also that I'm trying to restore to original configuration, which would use standard fins with added flash tube screwed in to where the ignition cartridge would go. Notice that the "nose" has been machined and the gas checks are backwards for a standard M49 60mm mortar, so this isn't a made up piece. I have had X-Rays taken of it and it is empty, for those who were wondering. Cheers, Bruce.