RE: Identify this

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> War In The Pacific - Struggle Against Japan 1941 - 1945 >> RE: Identify this

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RE: Identify this - 2/13/2005 7:23:20 PM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Hint: This is Pacific theater...and it is a projectile

OK - why would a projectile be sitting here on the forest floor?

Well, maybe it fell out of the sky - a la bomber, artillery shell. But I would think then it would have either been largely buried, or skidded along the surface, either laying a large skid mark or heaping up leaves/dirt/etc. in front. Don't see that. Don't think they dug it up and THEN tried to defuse it.

It looks like it is just sitting there.

It could be that it was parachuted down (return to possible parachute cord theory). Possibly this is a large flare - parachute type? I don't know if star flares fired from a ships guns had a parachute attached.

It size assessment by tonyingesson is correct - then either this is a battleship-sized shell (18" Yamato shell, maybe one of her special AA shells?)

Or maybe this is some sort of bomb (or torpedo, though that seems like a waste) rigged as a booby trap and left for someone (or some tank) to stumble over. This still looks like a bomb disposal squad type op to me. Maybe it is a Yamato special used as a boobytrap.

My guess(es) after all this is: Aircraft Parachute Flare that didn't go off vs. Yamato-type special AA shell used as a booby trap.

< Message edited by rtrapasso -- 2/13/2005 2:25:55 PM >

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Post #: 31

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:38:58 AM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

What is this dangerous looking thing?

So - any more hints?

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Post #: 32

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 7:27:54 AM

Cap Mandrake

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Japanese indirect fire weapon projectile WWII

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Post #: 33

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 4:05:19 PM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Japanese indirect fire weapon projectile WWII

Well - it doesn't look quite as big to me as to others. I am guessing this is around 10-12" across although perspective can make things deceiving. Possibly a large howitzer round. I am unaware of any relatively large rockets the Japanese had (although since they had the Okha, they probably had some sort of rocket artillery. I know they had some kind of unguided AA rockets on their ships).

Anyone know about IJA/IJN rockets?

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Post #: 34

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:00:46 PM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Japanese indirect fire weapon projectile WWII

Well - it doesn't look quite as big to me as to others. I am guessing this is around 10-12" across although perspective can make things deceiving. Possibly a large howitzer round. I am unaware of any relatively large rockets the Japanese had (although since they had the Okha, they probably had some sort of rocket artillery. I know they had some kind of unguided AA rockets on their ships).

Anyone know about IJA/IJN rockets?

OK - not seeing any help, i tried the web. It seems on Iwo Jima, the Japanese used a 20-cm Rocket, as well as a 44.7-cm Rocket. The 20-cm type seems too small. I'll guess it is a 44.7 cm rocket round, since that is about the size another person guessed.

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Post #: 35

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:09:38 PM

KHawk

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Just a wild guess. Is it a Fugo (Japanese Balloon Bombs of WWII).

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Post #: 36

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:36:36 PM

timtom

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It's a dud mortar shell, 380mm or so, on Okinawa, methinks.

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Post #: 37

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:36:44 PM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Japanese indirect fire weapon projectile WWII

Argh.
Well i think in this category we've guessed:
Column A:
Artillery round (included i think would be mortar round, howitzer round, gun round),
Flare round
Fugo bomb
Rocket round

In case you are throwing us a curve, we also guessed at:
Column B:
torpedo
aircraft bomb
Naval rifled gun (Yamato)
Poison gas round
Germ warfare round
Animal trap
Supply cannister
Booby trap
Spock's coffin
Bangalore torpedo (or improvised version thereof)
Flamethrower tank
R2D2

So, is it any of these? Or should we continue to scratch our collective heads. If it IS one of these, which column is it from?

< Message edited by rtrapasso -- 2/14/2005 1:45:27 PM >

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Post #: 38

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 6:46:07 PM

rtrapasso

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quote:

ORIGINAL: timtom

It's a dud mortar shell, 380mm or so, on Okinawa, methinks.

Hmm - largest mortar i could find for Japanese is a 32 cm spigot mortar.

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Post #: 39

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 7:05:15 PM

timtom

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well, close enough

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Post #: 40

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 8:44:12 PM

Cap Mandrake

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quote:

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

quote:

ORIGINAL: timtom

It's a dud mortar shell, 380mm or so, on Okinawa, methinks.

Hmm - largest mortar i could find for Japanese is a 32 cm spigot mortar.

Bingo. Japanese 320 mm Spigot mortar round. Okinawa.

The Japanese 320mm Spigot Mortar

Department of Defense Photo
One of the unique Japanese weapons that Marines encountered on Iwo Jima was the 320mm spigot mortar. These enormous defensive weapons were emplaced and operated by the Japanese Army's 20th Independent Mortar Battalion.

The mortar tube, which had a small cavity at the muzzle, rested on a steel baseplate which, in turn, was supported by a wooden platform. Unlike a conventional mortar, the five-foot long projectile was placed over the tube instead of being dropped down the barrel. The mortar shell had a diameter of nearly 13 inches, while the mortar tube was little more than 10 inches wide. The weapon could hurl a 675-pound shell a maximum of 1,440 yards. The range was adjusted by varying the powder charge, while changes in deflection were accomplished by brute force: shoving and pushing the base platform.

Although the tubes only held out for five or six rounds, enough shells were lobbed onto Marine positions to make a lasting impression on those who suffered through that campaign. According to a platoon leader who served with the 28th Marines, the spigot mortar (referred to as "the screaming Jesus" in his unit) was always afforded a healthy respect and, along with the eight-inch Japanese naval rocket, remains one of his most vivid memories of Iwo Jima. General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., who commanded the 2d battalion, 9th Marines, at Iwo Jima and went on to become the 25th Commandant of the Marine Corps, recalled that the tumbling projectile's inaccuracy made it that much more terrifying. "You could see it coming," he said, "but you never knew where the hell it was going to come down."

Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas

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Post #: 41

RE: Identify this - 2/14/2005 8:51:28 PM

rtrapasso

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So, does the 20th Independent Mortar Batallion show up in the IJN OOB in WITP, and if so, does it have 320 mm. spigot mortars? (Not near my game machine so i can't check right now)...