Artillery shells? WWII? Civil War?

[ChopperDoctor]

Me and some buddies are in Va and we got permission to detect in a pretty good area around Ft Eustis. We need some help identifying these. Are they civil war artillery? WWII era artillery? This base was a major location in both the civil war and WW2 as far as troops and logistics go. Could these be live and dangerous? Any help would be appreciated. We left them out there until further ID.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

I think somewhere between the two. 1880 to 1890 Hotchkiss 47mm ("3-Pounder") . . . perhaps? Maybe a 42mm Hotchkiss? The notorious "Wounded Knee" gun.


We need measurements.

"Could these be live and dangerous?"

Assume so until you know different.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Again, only enough energy for one post.

Thank you, everybody who said nice things in reply to my "Personal Announcement" post about my health issues.

Your Fort Eustis finds appear to be 20th Century 37 millimeter caliber US M59 Armor Piecing Ballistic Capped solid-shot projectiles. Yours have no fuze in the nose or base, so they are definitely solid-bodied -- not hollow explosive projectiles. The ballistic cap (sort of a nose-cone) is missing, and they appear to have been stripped of their copperbrass ring-sabot (a.k.a., "driving band"). Absolutely not from the civil war era. See the photo and diagram below. The photo shows the same bluntly tapered nose as yours, and I included the diagram because it shows the missing (hollow) "Ballistic Cap" nose-cone, even though that projectile's actual front end is more pointy than yours.

 

[sprailroad]

Again, only enough energy for one post.

Thank you, everybody who said nice things in reply to my "Personal Announcement" post about my health issues.

Your Fort Eustis finds appear to be 20th Century 37 millimeter caliber US M59 Armor Piecing Ballistic Capped solid-shot projectiles. Yours have no fuze in the nose or base, so they are definitely solid-bodied -- not hollow explosive projectiles. The ballistic cap (sort of a nose-cone) is missing, and they appear to have been stripped of their copperbrass ring-sabot (a.k.a., "driving band"). Absolutely not from the civil war era. See the photo and diagram below. The photo shows the same bluntly tapered nose as yours, and I included the diagram because it shows the missing (hollow) "Ballistic Cap" nose-cone, even though the projectile's actual front end is more pointy than yours.

Man, have I missed your input CBGuy, nice to see your post. And of course, question answered, and in detail. Which is good for a guy like me who would not have know the difference in that picture between a 37mm solid shot projectile and a monster fishing sinker.

 

[Rookster]

Very nice find.Congrats

 

[ChopperDoctor]

Again, only enough energy for one post.

Thank you, everybody who said nice things in reply to my "Personal Announcement" post about my health issues.

Your Fort Eustis finds appear to be 20th Century 37 millimeter caliber US M59 Armor Piecing Ballistic Capped solid-shot projectiles. Yours have no fuze in the nose or base, so they are definitely solid-bodied -- not hollow explosive projectiles. The ballistic cap (sort of a nose-cone) is missing, and they appear to have been stripped of their copperbrass ring-sabot (a.k.a., "driving band"). Absolutely not from the civil war era. See the photo and diagram below. The photo shows the same bluntly tapered nose as yours, and I included the diagram because it shows the missing (hollow) "Ballistic Cap" nose-cone, even though the projectile's actual front end is more pointy than yours.

Thank you so much for your knowledge! It is greatly appreciated!

Also, thank you to everyone else who had some input.

There are a TON of these at the site.