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tc464 -> RE: Name This...(266 Special Edation) (12/17/2004 9:09:04 PM)
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I don't have access to my books at the moment, so I'm going off experience here. I'll be checking on it at home though, this one is a good challenge.
I don't think this is a projectile, for a couple reasons...
Not streamlined enough. The shape of the nose in the picture indicates a large bomb to me.
Rough surface. Projectiles were machined on the outside. Granted, this one may be dirty, but not that dirty.
Rotating band. First, I don't recall any projectiles with rotating bands located that far up on the body. Also, rotating bands on projectiles that size would be far more noticeable (2"-4" in width)
Nose fuze. All nose fuzes on projectiles are streamlined, making the projo look like it has a nice pointy tip. Again, if this is a dud, that nice pointy fuze would be mangled, but the small gap between the body and the widest part of the fuze is also suspicious. You wouldn't see that on a projectile fuze.
Now, as far as bombs go, this one fits better. It has a rough, or semi smooth body, a common shape to the nose, and the fuze reminds me of a typical nose impact fuze (possibly the M103 ?). Lugs may or may not be present, either due to impact, or because some bombs had strapped on lugs. If it's a dud, the fins may not be present. I rarely found a large size bomb with intact fins, and if I did, it was almost always the first thing I removed, in order to gain access to the tail fuze pocket.
I also thought it might be a breech loaded mortar round, like the ones used by Coastal Artillery, but I don't recall one being that big (I think 12" was the largest diameter). I actually measured my hand and used at as a way to try and measure the pic, and it came out to about 16"-18".
I think its a bomb, 1,000 to 3,000 lb range, general purpose, fragmentation or demolition. Like I said, I'll be hitting the books later.
Just my .02
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