Help ID'ing artillery projectile

[Samz]

I bought this artillery ? at a yard sale. It weighs 15 pounds, it is 12 inches tall, 3 1/2" diameter at the bottom , threaded inside. It's made of solid cast iron, I think.

I've attached pics.

Questions:
What is it?
Is it safe and not live?
Many thanks

***Used calliper for precise measurement requested. See pics for height just shy of 12" & diameter at widest point. No markings found, pic shows compared to soda can.

Ammo, Ammunition, Bullet,

 

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[Samz]

Many thanks! All this info has clarifies it for me. If i learn anything new, I'll post it here.

 

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[Reanm8er]

I don't suppose this could have been part of some kind of a monument or something?

 

[Retired Sarge]

The "tapered tail" doesn't rule out being an artillery shell, there are shells with this "boat tail" design at least as far back as WW1 and modern US 105mm and 155mm use that design. BUT.... I've just been searching through HUNDREDS of shell photos online and I can't find a single match to yours, there are many that are close, but nothing in a solid shot, threaded base, boat tail with no driving band.

CannonballGuy said he's not sure it's a shell, and I'm kind of wondering myself, but I can't think of anything else it could be other than some oddball prototype as he suggested, or some strange kind of mortar round, aerial practice bomb?

I would suggest joining an artillery collectors forum online and see if the people there can make any sense of it, if you get an answer I'd be really interested to know what it is as well because it's got me stumped

Only issue I see with it possibly being a bomb, is the absence of connecting/shackle points. I can't tell for sure by the pictures, but I'm not seeing any way to secure it.

 

[Reanm8er]

There's probably some kind of configuration for demolition use like a headache ball but for a concentrated impact.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Only issue I see with it possibly being a bomb, is the absence of connecting/shackle points. I can't tell for sure by the pictures, but I'm not seeing any way to secure it.

I was thinking that too, I know that some German bombers in WW2 had vertical bomb racks, but I don't know how the bombs were hung in them, and then there were the early WW1 bombs that were just chucked out by hand, this seems heavy for that though