Brandywine River Cannon Projectile Find?

[Wfdjr]

Hello All

My daughter and her friends were walking/wading in the Brandywine river in DE a few weeks back, and one of her friends found the pictured projectile in the river near the West bank. He found it a few miles south of where the main Battle of the Brandywine took place. It weighs about 45 pounds. I took some pictures of it for him and told him that I would try to i.d. it for him and find an approximate worth, if any. I would appreciate any help that you could give him. Also, is it dangerous?

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Welcome to the forum from New York!

I don't think that is from the battle of Brandywine. Looks more like a sounding weight. I am just an old fat guy in my underwear though, so don't take my word for it!

 

[ARC]

Welcome to the forum from New York!

I don't think that is from the battle of Brandywine. Looks more like a sounding weight. I am just an old fat guy in my underwear though, so don't take my word for it!

IMO... for what is worth...

Not a sounding weight of any kind.
Definite projectile.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Here is my input, as you requested.

It is definitely an artillery projectile from sometime in the 20th Century. It appears to be an Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped (APBC) 120mm projectile. But for certainty we need to see what its flat base looks like after the thick rust-encrustation there is removed. If it is a Solid-Shot (non-explosive) projectile, it will have only a 1/2"-to-5/8" hole in it's base, about 1/2" deep. An explosive shell would have a fuzeplug, either at the shell's pointed front end or showing in its base as a wide flat brass disc.

Whether Solid-Shot or explosive shell, it would have had a copperbrass band encircling its body a short distance above its flat base. That band appears to be missing, which indicates the projectile has been fired and lost the band upon impact with the ground.

I doubt that this projectile was fired into the location where your friend found it. It think the much more likely scenario is that somebody who was scared of it dumped it into the river to get rid of it.

Very few "excavated" artillery projectiles from the 20th Century have any monetary value. Except for excavated ones which have excellent proven connection to a particular battlefield, most collectors of modern-era projectiles prefer nice smooth pretty non-exacavated ones, like you'll see at the very-educational projectile collectors website, here:
An Introduction To Collecting Artillery Shells And Shell Casings - International Ammunition Association


To see photos of what I think your friend's projectile is (Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped Solid-Shot), scroll about halfway down the webpage at the link above.

If your friend doesn't want to (gently) remove the rust-encrustation from this projectile's base to see if it has a "base-fuze" and thus is not a harmless Solid-Shot projectile, I suggest he take it back to the river, put it at an easily find-able spot, and call the police to remove it.

 

[civil_war22]

Here is my input, as you requested.

It is definitely an artillery projectile from sometime in the 20th Century. It appears to be an Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped (APBC) 120mm projectile. But for certainty we need to see what its flat base looks like after the thich rust-encrustation there is removed. If it is a Solid-Shot (non-explosive) projectile, it will have only a 1/2"-to-5/8" hole in it's base, about 1/2" deep. An explosive shell would have a fuzeplug, either at the shell's pointed front end or showing in its base as a wide flat brass disc.

Whether Solid-Shot or explosive shell, it would have had a copperbrass band encircling its body a short distance above its flat base. That band appears to be missing, which indicates the projectile has been fired and lost the band upon impact with the ground.

I doubt that this projectile was fired into the location where your friend found it. It think the much more likely scenario is that somebody who was scared of it dumped it into the river to get rid of it.

Very few "excavated" artillery projectiles from the 20th Century have any monetary value. Except for excavated ones which have excellent proven connection to a particular battlefield, most collectors of modern-era projectiles prefer nice smooth pretty non-exacavated ones, like you'll see at the very-educational projectile collectors website, here:
An Introduction To Collecting Artillery Shells And Shell Casings - International Ammunition Association


To see photos of what I think your friend's projectile is (Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped Solid-Shot), scroll about halfway down the webpage at the link above.

If your friend doesn't want to (gently) remove the rust-encrustation from this projectile's base to see if it has a "base-fuze" and thus is not a harmless Solid-Shot projectile, I suggest he take it back to the river, put it at an easily find-able spot, and call the police to remove it.

I was trying to get my books out when you ID it. Definitely missing the sabot.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

It's definitely an artillery shell.... From the pics it looks to be a solid shot, so it's only dangerous if you drop it on your toe. My first impression is that it's WW1-ish era, but I'm not positive.

 

[Wfdjr]

Here is my input, as you requested.

It is definitely an artillery projectile from sometime in the 20th Century. It appears to be an Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped (APBC) 120mm projectile. But for certainty we need to see what its flat base looks like after the thich rust-encrustation there is removed. If it is a Solid-Shot (non-explosive) projectile, it will have only a 1/2"-to-5/8" hole in it's base, about 1/2" deep. An explosive shell would have a fuzeplug, either at the shell's pointed front end or showing in its base as a wide flat brass disc.

Whether Solid-Shot or explosive shell, it would have had a copperbrass band encircling its body a short distance above its flat base. That band appears to be missing, which indicates the projectile has been fired and lost the band upon impact with the ground.

I doubt that this projectile was fired into the location where your friend found it. It think the much more likely scenario is that somebody who was scared of it dumped it into the river to get rid of it.

Very few "excavated" artillery projectiles from the 20th Century have any monetary value. Except for excavated ones which have excellent proven connection to a particular battlefield, most collectors of modern-era projectiles prefer nice smooth pretty non-exacavated ones, like you'll see at the very-educational projectile collectors website, here:
An Introduction To Collecting Artillery Shells And Shell Casings - International Ammunition Association


To see photos of what I think your friend's projectile is (Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped Solid-Shot), scroll about halfway down the webpage at the link above.

If your friend doesn't want to (gently) remove the rust-encrustation from this projectile's base to see if it has a "base-fuze" and thus is not a harmless Solid-Shot projectile, I suggest he take it back to the river, put it at an easily find-able spot, and call the police to remove it.

Thanks a lot for the ID and info, I really appreciate it.

 

[Wfdjr]

Thanks all, appreciate your help.

 

[Terry Soloman]

If you really think that is an artillery warhead, then get it out of your house and call the bomb squad. I was an artilleryman in the Army, and there is NO reason for a "solid" projectile. However, I'm still in my underwear AND drinking beer.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

If you really think that is an artillery warhead, then get it out of your house and call the bomb squad. I was an artilleryman in the Army, and there is NO reason for a "solid" projectile. However, I'm still in my underwear AND drinking beer.

The ones of those with chemical innards are especially tasty

But you keep going on about wearing underwear . Prolly everyone here has you pegged for a nudist typoist. So we need photographic evidence

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

The ones of those with chemical innards are especially tasty

But you keep going on about wearing underwear . Prolly everyone here has you pegged for a nudist typoist. So we need photographic evidence

NO NO PLEASE NO PROOF NEEDED

 

[Wfdjr]

I called a state trooper friend and he told me not to transport and to call it in, which I did. An officer came out and they are sending the bomb squad truck to pick it up. Thanks again all!

 

[civil_war22]

I called a state trooper friend and he told me not to transport and to call it in, which I did. An officer came out and they are sending the bomb squad truck to pick it up. Thanks again all!

; ( there goes that relic

 

[NOLA_Ken]

If you really think that is an artillery warhead, then get it out of your house and call the bomb squad. I was an artilleryman in the Army, and there is NO reason for a "solid" projectile. However, I'm still in my underwear AND drinking beer.

There are plenty of solid shot artillery projectiles. they rely on kinetic energy rather than explosives. 37mm AT rounds for example, and modern Sabot Penetrators, also most practice rounds are solid shot, I had a 155mm solid shell as a door stop for a long time....

 

[Terry Soloman]

; ( there goes that relic

First, nobody in their right mind is going to take a chance waking up dead. Second, it is not a "relic."

 

[Terry Soloman]

There are plenty of solid shot artillery projectiles. they rely on kinetic energy rather than explosives. 37mm AT rounds for example, and modern Sabot Penetrators, also most practice rounds are solid shot, I had a 155mm solid shell as a door stop for a long time....

Not going to argue since the round is obviously not a, "modern Sabot Penetrator." Common sense rules in these situations.

 

[Wfdjr]

Here is the rest of the story: EOD officer came out took pics and examined it, determined possibly too dangerous for their transport vehicles. Sent info to Air Force and they determined they should come out to examine. Air Force came, house and neighbors were evacuated, street sealed off. They x rayed it, were not able to id whether it was live or not, felt safe to transport and took to remote location via police escort to detonate it. The kid now knows not to touch such things, but to call it in.