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Scovill Artillery fuse


nreed_94
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Does anybody have information on the M1907 Scovill Artillery fuse? I found one and wanted to know if they are in fact WWI vintage. Attached are some photos (not mine) of a scovill fuse. Thanks for the help!

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TM9-1901,1944, pg 226. Pic will not load. I will add the US went to HE shrapnel shells late WW1 as they were much more effective than ball shrapnel. The Scoville was a timed fuze made in huge quantities and obviously surplus was carried in inventory till exhausted. Another tidbit, these fuzes were brought home as souveneers by thousands by Doughboys as they littered battlefields, when the shrapnel shell discharged, the fine threads on the fuze were designed to blow off and they dropped to the ground,( along with the fired projectile casing) easily recovered intact. Yours a battlefield pick up, uncommon are unfired examples with the driving band unused ( no barrel rifling marks impressed on the driving band) , and the pusher plate, as my examples show. My last pic shows the brass fuze cover, which sources state was soldered on to weather seal the fuze.Examples posted came from a WW2 Artilleryman's estate collection.

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nreed, I noticed your picture, I was 82nd , 1/17th Cav in the 70's, Airborne All the Way, so we say....and you?

Thanks for all the information guys! I actually skipped on the fuse and instead got a complete 18 pounder. Its from a British QF-18, dated 1915 (pics attached)

 

Im currently in 1-319 AFAR, part of 3BCT

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Heres the round I ended up getting. Nice condition and complete. Its been fired, based on the grooves in the obturating band. Anybody have any more information on it?

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Looks very similar to the above photos of the round you posted. I’m assuming US units fell in on British guns and equipment, and would have used the same rounds. If made in 1915, this round would have been out in time for the Somme

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917601: I have one of these put-together .75mm shells with fuze. Still retains remnants of the red color on the casing. Any trick to unscrewing the fuze, such as reverse threaded? Kim

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917601: I have one of these put-together .75mm shells with fuze. Still retains remnants of the red color on the casing. Any trick to unscrewing the fuze, such as reverse threaded? Kim

Fuze is normal rt hand threaded. Certain amount of risk in damaging the fuze is always expected, why unscrew it? Shake it, if it still has the plunger ( pusher plate), you will feel it. If it has original paint ( rare) best to leave it. However, if curiosity has taken over, I would apply oil ( Kroil or PB blaster) on the warm mating seam ( careful not to get it on the paint) , then hot cold, outside overnight if very cold ( freezing best), then warm it up inside ( hair dryer).That may be enough to expand/ contract the fit ( the brass fuze and steel case expand and contract at different rates) and allow the fine oil into the threaded portion. Then, get two drill bits same diameter as the notches , stick them in the slots and carefully put in a vice to bear down on the bits only. Cloth pipe wrench on body and apply unscrewing pressure. Repeat for days, weeks? If no luck, leave it alone. No one likes a nicked/ bent/ deformed fuze or shell. I had a 16" inert fuze w/ adapter I successfully seperate this way, it took three days. I put the fuze assy in the freezer then heated up outer adapter with a hair dryer. To my surprise it seperated and broke free with little effort. Good luck.
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