Please note: Every item in my collection is completely inert. I do not recommend collecting live ammunition, especially ammunition that has been dug up from old battlefields. If you find old ammunition, don't touch it, don't take it home with you and don't try to open it or tamper with it. It is also advisable to be very careful with the projectile (the "bullet") of 20mm and bigger calibres. Whereas small calibre (loose) bullets are usually harmless pieces of metal, 20mm and bigger calibre projectiles may contain explosives themselves, since some types were designed to detonate upon impact. Even if you buy an "inert" projectile (or hand grenade, etc.) on a flea market or on the internet, that does not automatically mean that it's harmless. In some cases, such pieces have turned out to be live and dangerous. Unless an expert declares them inert and thus safe, I would stay clear of 20mm and bigger calibre projectiles.
German WW1 and pre-WW1 37mm Hotchkiss cannon cartridge casings ^ Click on the thumbnails below to see bigger pictures of the headstamps.
1) M PATRONENFABRIK KARLSRUHE XI 98 47 = Karlsruhe, November 1898. lot number 47 (M = Navy) 2) M C/97.98 IV 1900 KARLSRUHE 10 = Karlsruhe, April 1900, lot number 10 3) M C/97.98 VII 1902 KARLSRUHE 44 = Karlsruhe, July 1902, lot number 44. Detonator Plug is marked KP = made by Krupp 4) M C/97.98 VIII 1903 KARLSRUHE 83 = Karlsruhe August 1903, lot number 83 5) K 27 SEPT. 1918 Sp255 119A = K27 = Karlsruhe, Sp225 = quality control in Spandau
German WW1 7,7 cm Feldkanone cartridge casings. The last picture showing a projectile is not mine and the projectile is not in my collection. Click on the pictures to enlarge. ^
1) St / Rh. M. F. (Rheinische Munitionsfabrik) 257 / SEPT. 1917 / DÜSSELDORF / 67% Cu. (= 67% copper) / Sp 61 (= quality control in Spandau) 2) St / G 201 / AUG. 1917 / 67% Cu. / HL (= Haniel Luege Düsseldorf) 25 3) St 294 / PATRONENFABRIK KARLSRUHE / APR. 1917 / Sp 255 4) St / HL (=Haniel Luege Düsseldorf) 51 / MARZ 1917 / HL 6 5) St 148 / PATRONENFABRIK KARLSRUHE / MAI 1915 / [crown] Ke --> The crown was the inspection mark prior to the introduction of the Sp inspection stamp. 6) St / Rh. M. F. DÜSSELDORF 257 / FEBR. 1915 / DÜSSELDORF / Sp 61 [no picture] 7) St 220 / PATRONENFABRIK KARLSRUHE / OKT. 1915 / [crown] Ke 1 [no picture]
The "St" on every headstamp is short for "stark" (= strong). It means that the casing is thicker and stronger than earlier versions, because the explosives used had become more powerful. Early casings may be surprisingly thin and fragile.
German WW1 cartridge casing for the Krupp 21 cm Mörser ("mortar", although in fact it was a howitzer) M[19]10 and M[19]16. With helmet for size comparison. Marked on the bottom: 103 Polte Magdeburg Febr. 1917 Sp 406 The M16 Mörser was the same as the M10, but lighter and with a longer barrel for extra range.
French WW1 cartridge casing for the 75 mm field gun. These are quite common and were often turned into vases. Click on the pics to enlarge ^
75 De C. 75 mm (Artillerie) De C(ampagne) = field artillery D.1722L.16. D Maker Mark "D", Lot number "1722", year [19]16, metal furnisher "D"
English casing for the 18 pounder gun, 1918. With Mk1 helmet for size comparison. 8,4 cm calibre and 29,5 cm high. The "xx/18" stamp means "xxth month of the year 1918". Interestingly, the month has not been added to the stamp. The last picture showing a projectile is not mine and the projectile is not in my possession.
English casing marked 1914 and "KN", meaning "Kings [or King's] Norton", Birmingham. 7,61 cm [?] calibre and 27,7 cm high, presumably for the 13-pounder gun. With victory medal for size comparison. A separate drawing of the maker mark is also shown. Source of the drawing: https://www.wardscollectibles.com/22-box-id/world/England.pdf
SECOND WORLD WAR AND POST-1945
0.50 inch ammo for the Browning M2 machine gun. ^ The headstamps are shown below. The three cartridges (i.e. casings with a bullet) are inert. As you can see on the pictures 9 & 10 below, the fuse of the first two has been fired. The third one is a harmless dummy cartridge. The casing shown in picture 6, although empty, has a fuse that has not been fired. That means that a previous owner has removed the bullet (and the explosives) from a live cartridge by hand, in order to make it inert. For obvious reasons, I strongly advise against doing this yourself. The same is true for the German 20mm casings below.
1-3) DAG 73 = Dynamit Nobel A-G, Troisdorf (Germany) 1973 4) EMZ 74 .50 A = Eurometaal Zaandam (Netherlands) 1974 (although according to Wikipedia, the EMZ stamp was only used from 1983 to 1999, so "EMZ 74" is somewhat of a mystery. Perhaps it's not the year? 5) FN 54 12.7 = Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de guerre in Herstal (Belgium) 1954
6) D M 4 = Des Moines Ordnance Plant - Ankeny, Iowa (USA) 1944 7) F A 43 = Frankford Arsenal - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) 1943 8) K S 42 = Kelly Springfield, Allegany Ordnance Plant - Cumberland, Maryland (USA) 1942 9-10) L C 53 = Lake City Army Ammunition Plant - Independence, Missouri (USA) 1953 11) F A 4 = Frankford Arsenal (USA) 1944 DUMMY ROUND 12) S L 43 = St. Louis Ordnance Plant (USA) 1943 [no picture]
German WW2 20x138B (= 20mm) cartridge casings for anti-tank and anti-aircraft gun. Click to enlarge. ^ 1-2) P120 37 10e = Dynamit AG, Empelde, 1937 (10e = lot number), quality control stamp with eagle 3) 39 15h P315 = Märkisches Walzwerk GmbH,Strausberg, 1939 (15h = lot number), quality control stamp with Heereswaffenamt logo
British and Canadian WW2 Hispano 20mm cartridge casings. It was ammunition like this, fired from an aircraft, that wounded Colonel von Stauffenberg in Tunisia in April 1943.
1) -> [arrow] 1941 20MM = Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, Cheshire (UK) 1941. After 1942, the arrow was replaced by the initials RG. 2) ST 1942 20MM = Royal Ordnance Factory, Steaton (UK) 1942 3) K2 1944 20MM = Kynoch, Standish (UK) 1944 4) DAC 45 20MM = Dominion Arsenal, Québec (Canada) 1945
5) R H 1942 20MM = Raleigh Cycle Co., Carlton, Nottingham (UK) 6) A 221 D 52 = no info yet, I'm looking it up
WW2 and post-WW2 40mm Bofors Gun cartridge casings, Britain. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge. Every single post-war casing like this appears to have been made in 1955 (although I've recently seen two examples that were marked "54").
1) LOT 1034 / 40 MM / RLB / 1943 / C.F. 2) 40 MM / MK2. / MOD 1 / MR LOT 15 3 55 // on the fuse: 4 55 OF LOT 31 / LU MK26 MOD 1 3) 40 MM / MK2. / MOD 1 / MR LOT 17 3 55 // on the fuse: 4 55 OF LOT 35 / LU MK22 MOD 1
German post-1945 cartridge casing for the 40 mm Bofors Gun. This casing is 36,5 cm high. Others, like the British ones pictured above, were 31,1 cm high. It was later turned into a shrine. It did not come with a Mary statue; the one in the picture was added by me. Obviously, the fuse has been replaced by a screw, which is not original to the cartridge.
Marked "40 x 365 DM 2" and "LOS DN-2-39" DM means deutsches Modell (German model) and is only used on post-war casings. So this is not a WW2 casing, and the 2-39 does NOT mean February 1939. DN (maker mark) means Diehl, Nürnberg OR Dynamit Nobel, I haven't figured this one out yet.
This is a British 1940 25 pounder shell cut to size and made into an ashtray. On front an engraving shows the cap badge of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. At the back "Tel El Aisa" is written. It's probably "Tel el Eisa" misspelled, one of the battlefields during the battle of El Alamein. The engraving may be period done, but of course it's difficult to be sure. Better pictures will follow in future.
20mm Vulcan casings, USA. There are no markings on the bottom. ^
105 mm casing for a tank round, with US M1 helmet for size comparison. Made in the Netherlands (by EMZ), presumably for the German army, in the 1980's or 1990's. Marked "105 x 617 DM 60" and "LOS [German for lot number (?)] EMZ-1-1".
DM means Deutsches Modell (German Model) and is only used on post-war casings.