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5in MK. IV MOD2 25 CAL. 1943 ashtray...from what?


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I know nothing of these things. I did a quick search on line and didn't find much. The head stamp from top to bottom. Above the primer reads N.G.F. and below that is 1943. In line with the primer reads LOT NO 2991. The primer reads 4M on the left arm. 534 on the top arm. The right arm has a box H, LT with a 427 on the bottom line. The bottom arm has MK13 on the top line and the bottom line has a box H 48. Below the primer reads 5in MK.IV MOD.2 25 CAL. Below that reads F.L.R. and J.R.R. Any ideas?

post-169522-0-73363600-1585783225_thumb.jpg

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5"/25 Caliber Gun 450px-5_inch_25_caliber_gun_USS_Bowfin.j Type Anti-aircraft gun
Naval gun Place of origin United States Service history Used by US Navy, Argentine Navy Wars World War II, Falklands War Production history Variants Mk 10, 11, 13, 17 Specifications Mass 2 metric tons Length 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m) Barrel length 10 ft 5 in (3,175 mm) bore (25 calibers)
8 ft 2 in (2.4 m) rifling Shell 52 to 54.5 lb (23.6 to 24.7 kg)[1]Caliber 5 in (127 mm) Elevation -10° to +85° Muzzle velocity 2,100 ft/s (640 m/s) average Effective firing range 14,500 yards (13,300 m) at 40°
27,400 feet (8,400 m) at 85°

The 5"/25 caliber gun (spoken "five-inch-twenty-five-caliber") entered service as the standard heavy anti-aircraft (AA) gun for United States Washington Naval Treaty cruisers commissioned in the 1920s and 1930s. The goal of the 5"/25 design was to produce a heavy AA gun that was light enough to be rapidly trained manually.[2] The gun was also mounted on pre-World War II battleships and aircraft carriers until replaced by the standard dual-purpose 5"/38 caliber gun, which was derived from the 5"/25 and was similar except for the barrel length. Guns removed from battleships were probably converted for submarine use by late 1943, while a purpose-built variant for submarines was available in mid-1944, and was widely used by them.[3] United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 5 inches (127 mm) in diameter, and the barrel was 25 calibers long (that is, for a 5" bore and a barrel length of 25 calibers, 5" x 25 = 125", or about 3.2 meters).[4]

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So it's possible this may have been from a sub's deck gun given the time frame and information provided. It is also probable they visited Austrailia and most likely this was made by a crew member in the mechanics shop. I will never know for sure, but I can't rule this out.

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  • 1 month later...

I took a hard look at the coins. They date 1915, 1917 and 1926. I bring this up for a reason. I came across a WW2 5 inch Mark 5 Navy shell posted by the son of the Vet. The coins on his ashtray were British and dated 1913. He stated his dad was born in 1913. I am not saying the coins on mine have the same meaning, but they could. I thought it was odd the coins were old even at that time. If you have a trench art ashtray with coin holders take a look at the dates to see if they might have some meaning beyond just being the holder for cigars or cigarettes.

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Opinions on W-A lean towards this being from a sub and the work being done on a sub tender. Most likely the spent shell was saved from target practice.

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