Erm, is this what I think it is?

[Narthoniel]

Hello,

I dug a bomb, or so I believe. Looking for information and opinions on this little relic I dug today. Its long, has fins, and weighs a few pounds.

Legnth: 8.25 inches
Width: 2.125 inches

Thnaks for any information,
Anthony

 

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[truckinbutch]

This does sound like it never discharged....its old but treat it as though its new.
Using a hose (not a pressure washer) flush both ends clean. Stand it up right and squirt WD40 in the nose so that a lot of it can soak past the "firing pin mechanism"....A LOT. If WD40 gets soaked into the actual primer it will render it inoperative. Then next day do like I and others have suggested and soak the whole thing in a bucket of soapy water. After this..."I" would then use a pair of needle nose pliers and extract the guts of the long 10g shell out the rear. I believe the red plastic indicator you see is a "live round" indicator showing it hasn't been discharged....it pops out when it goes off. It would have popped out with great velocity causing injury if it hit you. I wish I was closer to help you.
WD40 in the front...soak it in the bucket good.
Be safe
TiredIron

Thank you for the WD40 tip ,but forget soapy water on the start . Immerse the whole thing in WD40 for 2 or 3 weeks and everything should be inert enough to wash out .

 

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[Monty]

I was assigned to a bombing range in the service and saw thousands and handled hundreds of these. The smoke charge comes out of the back finned area and the front had an impact "fuse" or rather an object that struck the primer on impact. It wasn't very loud and I wouldn't think of it as very dangerous. It was designed to have the same flight characteristis of a 250 or 500 lb bomb depending on the dummy bomb used. We use to collect the ones that didn't go off on impact and drop them from the tower to make a smoke screen just for fun. They don't explode, just shoot out a large billow of white smoke. The smoke was so we could triangulate and score how close to the target the bomb hit. They were scored and the pilots had to make a certain percentage to qualify. The firing mechanism was held in by a cotter pin in the nose of the bomb where the indentation is. I don't see the pin in the picture so it probably is not armed. Monty

 

[Narthoniel]

Thank you for your insight Monty. You helped clarify my understanding of it and I appreciate it. Soon we will see what lies within the tube.
Anthony

 

[Ramitt]

This was found a few feet from a house built in 1885 in the middle of a farm. Hard to imagine it getting there. I do not have any scales accurate for this weight range, but using the scale that works for my fat ass it is approxamitly 2-3 pounds.
Anthony

I would imagine it either fell off or was released by a triiger happy pilot in training during the war. Considering the massive numbers of young men learning to be pilots, I am sure many traiing rounds ended up in odd areas.

 

[Narthoniel]

Well, i figured out what the odd object poking out near the end was. Nothing more than a piece of wood about 5 inches long. Glad to have that resolved
Anthony

 

[LadyDigger]

Cool Find there Anthony! Your "hunting buddy" told me about this, was wondering if you would post a photo!

Maybe the location that you found it in, was a target practice area. It's only been the last 35 + years that this place has expanded and grown. When I got here in '78...there were SO MANY farm areas and old farm houses, just along the VB Blvd alone!!! Pungo/Strawbridge area are about the only areas left in this city that look about the same when I first got stationed here.

Heck, I remember when VB Blvd was only 2 lanes each direction and there were service roads! Wish I had a detector back then. The OLD VB Blvd, only parts of it are still around and I remember an ol' timer giving me abit of history lessons of this area, of what it was like.

So, it's possible, that land you found it on, could have very well been a target practice area. Farmland was good for that!

Congrats on your find and be careful!
Annmarie (Ron and Ann)