Artillery Projectiles?

[fyrffytr1]

I purchased my brothers collection a few years ago but let him keep it with the understanding that if something happened to him first I would get it and if I passed before him he would keep it. Sadly, I took possession of what relics he had left and now will need help with some of them.
I will start with three projectiles. The larger of the two round balls is 3.5" in diameter and weighs 5lb 14oz on my postal scales. The smaller ball is 3" and weighs 4lb 3oz. Both balls have a seam in them. In the picture the seam is running vertically on both pieces. The seam is harder to see on the 3.5" ball but it is there.
The shell is about 9"s long, 3" in diameter and weighs 13.6lbs on my bathroom scales. I don't have a scale to accurately measure its weight. I am pretty sure the large ball and the shell are projectiles but the small ball I question.
Any help in IDing them with there correct names is much appreciated.

 

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[TheCannonballGuy]

The larger ball is about .08-inch smaller than the 1861 Ordnance Manual prescribes for a 6-Pounder caliber cannonball.
Cannon bore, shot, and shell diameters for smoothbore guns
Such a small "undersized" difference could be attributable to corrosion, or to "inexact" measurement. Its weight is about 3 ounces less than the Manual prescribes... but in my doing very-precise weighing of many hundreds of Solid-Shot cannonballs, I've found they ofter weigh a few ounces less than the official specification, due to semi-large casting flaw airbubbles trapped inside the molten iron during the cannonball-casting process.

The smaller ball does not match up with any artillery ball in the Ordnance Manual -- and, it looks a bit "lumpy" (out-of-round) in your photo. So, I believe it is not an artillery ball (cannon ball, Grapeshot-ball, Canister-shot ball).

Going by the photos and your measurements, the cylindrical object is a US 75mm/3-inch caliber Solid-Shot, from the World War One era through World War Two. I lean toward it being more likely World War Two era, due to being recessed above its base to easily fit into a metal cartridge, AND the base being slightly tapered, a.k.a. "boat-tailed." The lack of rifling-marks on its copperbrass band sabot means it is unfired. The small shallow hole in its base held a Tracer chemical. Lastly, because I'm sure you'll want to know with certainty, I'm certain it is indeed a Solid-Shot (non-explosive) projectile... because a shell would have a fuze in either its nose or its base. A base-fuze is larger than the diameter of the Tracer hole in yours.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

The 75mm should have some stampings in the brass driving band. There should be a date and a lot number if it's not corroded away

 

[fyrffytr1]

Thanks for the replies. There are stampings on the band and the best I can see they are 251-1?-1942-DC75MM. I am not sure if that is a c after the d but it looks like it. The digit after the second 1 is either 3,6 or 8. The top half of it is obliterated. As far as the round balls I did a crude measurement on both of their diameters so the .08 is most likely operator error. So, I am going to claim the large round ball as the real thing.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Fyrffytr1, thanks for seeing if your 20th Century artillery projectile's copperbrass band-sabot had any identifying markings, and returnig to post them. Whenever I've had to say "I'm leaning toward" in a relic-ID, I'm happy when additional information comes to light which confirms I was leaning in the correct direction. (A US 75mm artillery projectile from the World War 2 era.) I had to "lean" because I don't know as much about post-1900 projectiles as I do about pre-1900 ones.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Fyrffytr1, thanks for seeing if your 20th Century artillery projectile's copperbrass band-sabot had any identifying markings, and returnig to post them. Whenever I've had to say "I'm leaning toward" in a relic-ID, I'm happy when additional information comes to light which confirms I was leaning in the correct direction. (A US 75mm artillery projectile from the World War 2 era.) I had to "lean" because I don't know as much about post-1900 projectiles as I do about pre-1900 ones.

I don't know anything about any of them. I am glad that folks like you, NOLA ken and others are here to help.