pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Share #1 Posted June 19, 2019 Finally was able to complete another grail round, when I was able to pick up the case today after trying to find one for 20 years.... This (now) is a complete round for the US Navy 4" 50 caliber gun. The gun first went into service around 1898, and was used as the main armament on all of the "flush deck destroyers", the 4 Pipers of the Wickes/Clemson classes, and previous classes. It was also used on many fleet subs as a deck gun...There were typically 4 mounts on each destroyer, one fore and aft, and two mounted on elevated platforms either side abaft the bridge structure... The No. 3, 4 inch mount on the USS Ward fired the first US shots of the war, when she opened fire and sank a Japanese midget submarine entering Pearl Harbor a few hours before the attack... They remained in service all through WWII although they weren't considered 1st line weapons, and after the war was over, any ships that still had them were quickly mothballed and stricken, as they were all ancient destroyers. Deck guns were removed from subs after the war, and submarine tactics changed drastically by the end of the war. Finding the rounds or the parts is extremely difficult. I found the projectile 9 or 10 years ago, and have been chasing a case ever since. I've seen a couple show up on Gunbroker, but they always ended up going for $400 and up, way more than I wanted to pay. I have seen 3 in the wild since I have been looking, 2 on GB, and one at the SOS that was all trench arted… After having a conversation with the shop owner, telling him I've been looking for it for a long time, and had the projectile for it, he said he'd sell it to me to see it go to a good home and be completed. I was ecstatic, and spent about another hour with him filling him in on what other ordnance he had decorating the shop, he was very appreciative of learning about all the other stuff he had really no clue on. He collected a lot of neat stuff over the years, mainly from customers and friends giving them to him. He said he had this case for about 30 years. In any case, it is now complete. The projectile is what is called in Navy nomenclature a "common" shell. It was kind of a cross between an AP and HE and was used as the primary general purpose round for the gun...It was filled with a combination of black powder and TNT, it was base fuzed. There was a "High Capacity" projectile which was a typical nose fuzed HE...and a "Special Common" which was more a full AP, capped and ballistic capped, but still had a bursting charge and base fuzed. And of course Target Practice, and Illumination. This is the Mk 7 variation of the projectile, fitted with a Base Ignition Fuze (BIF) Mk 10-4 with a tracer element. It was used in the Mk 9 and 10 guns. The case is Mk 2, Mod. 4, dated 1945, so very late. Sucker is LONG! Roughly 4 feet long, must have been very unwieldly to pull from the ready lockers and load into the gun. And don't forget these were open mounts...not in turrets, so the gun crew were fully exposed to the elements and wet decks... My research and search shows that these are pretty hard to find rounds complete, so I was very happy to finally complete it! First, the guns, and ships, and a drawing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #2 Posted June 19, 2019 Now Projectile... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #3 Posted June 19, 2019 Base with markings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted June 19, 2019 Headstamp on case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted June 19, 2019 Complete round... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted June 19, 2019 Last one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted June 19, 2019 Share #7 Posted June 19, 2019 Wow, that is an awesome find. Really nice looking. Did you restore the projectile? Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #8 Posted June 19, 2019 Wow, that is an awesome find. Really nice looking. Did you restore the projectile? Chris Thanks, it is cool as a complete round... I did, it was sans paint when I bought it...if there is no original paint left, I will restore them..,., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
917601 Posted June 19, 2019 Share #9 Posted June 19, 2019 Very impressive. Nice restoration. An auction house dealer says most ordnance comes into the market for sale about once every 30 years. That tidbit has influenced a lot of my buying decisions. Should you see an item of interest, best to make the deal on the spot, often I decided to go back and it was gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerdragon54 Posted June 19, 2019 Share #10 Posted June 19, 2019 Wow now that’s sexy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted June 19, 2019 Share #11 Posted June 19, 2019 Congrats! Beautiful restoration job on the projectile. A grail find for sure. "patience grasshopper" Works!! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzjgr Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share #12 Posted June 19, 2019 Congrats! Beautiful restoration job on the projectile. A grail find for sure. "patience grasshopper" Works!! Al Thanks Al! That's why I do not hesitate to buy orphaned projectiles or cases, I know down the line, I will likely find the other half...it may take years, even decades, but you never know when you'll get lucky. ETA...See you in September at Market Hall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USARV72 Posted June 19, 2019 Share #13 Posted June 19, 2019 Nice!! A “ chicken lip” round.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirsca Posted June 20, 2019 Share #14 Posted June 20, 2019 Thanks Al! That's why I do not hesitate to buy orphaned projectiles or cases, I know down the line, I will likely find the other half...it may take years, even decades, but you never know when you'll get lucky. ETA...See you in September at Market Hall? Sorry, we are rolling over to the Thanksgiving show. Had two shows back-to-back in May, Cleburne, then Market Hall. Going to take a break and search for new stuff. Say Hi to Mikey for us. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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