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Artillery and Ammunition 2 months 3 weeks ago #97980

  • Neville_C
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75mm/12½-pr Maxim-Nordenfelt QF Ammunition















Side of shell with VSM factory marks, giving it a manufacture date of after Oct 1897 (the month of the Maxim-Nordenfelt / Vickers merger).
Photographs courtesy of Dougie McMaster






Fuze manufactured by Krupp for Maxim-Nordenfelt, marked "FRIED. KRUPP ESSEN GERMANY" (courtesy of MC Heunis)






Dinner gong, made from M-N cartridge case, probably picked up after the Battle of Klipriviersberg [Doornkop], but simply engraved "BOER SHELL CASE / JOHANNESBURG / 1900". This was almost certainly fired by Majoor von Dalwig's Maxim-Nordenfelt (No. 4116). See last post for photograph of von Dalwig with this gun.






Two cartridges, one with Maxim-Nordenfelt headstamp, the other unmarked. Both apparently fired by von Dalwig's No. 4116 gun (the first at Mafeking, the second at Klipriviersberg). The plain case is probably from one of the Boer consignments, where the manufacturers (Vickers, Sons & Maxim), didn't want to be seen to be overtly arming a potential future adversary. Boer VSM-supplied Pom-pom shells are similarly unmarked.




Another headstamp in the form of an "N". MC Heunis wonders whether this cartridge (on the right) could be from an earlier batch, perhaps from the Jameson Raid.





Photograph of shells from the Ladysmith area. Maxim-Nordenfelt common shell lying on its side, with pre-Oct 1897 "MN" factory mark just visible on projectile.






Von Dalwig's Maxim-Nordenfelt Gun No. 4116 in the field (second from left). Courtesy of MC Heunis.
Note: the artillerist standing on the waggon carries one of the 50 saw-back bayonets that were delivered to the Transvaal in Feb 1899. Only two photographs of men with this bayonet are known to exist, this being the only one that includes the distinctive white buff leather belt and frog. See: The Undelivered 500 Bayonets.





75mm (12½-pr) Maxim-Nordenfelt QF (No. 4408) on display at "FIREPOWER", Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich. Described as "one of two captured from the Transvaal army at the Battle of Elandslaagte, South Africa on 21 October 1899. It was subsequently used by the British against the Boers during the Siege of Ladysmith".


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Artillery and Ammunition 2 weeks 5 days ago #98956

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I recently purchased a MkIII15 Pounder British shell, dated 1898, during a visit to the Western Cape. It is in relic condition and has been torn open on one side, most likely due to impact with the ground. To my pleasure, I discovered that it still contained five lead shrapnel balls, of which two were marked with a white painted on "MF". It is sadly missing its driving band, likely having separated from the shell on contact with the earth, but is marked with faded white painted on numbers, which I believe are museum accession numbers, or the date on which a person found the item. What I found strange was the fact that I saw many other such shells in two different shops in the Cape, which leads me to wonder whether there were any live artillery fire exercises in the Cape? Could these shells have been found on such exercise sites? It would be nice to know whether my shell could be from a battle field or skirmish site, instead of bein an exercise relic. If my theory of exercises is incorrect, it brings up the question on how so many fired shells in relic condition ended up on the coast. The British fired many shells and they were eagerly collected by people after skirmishes and battles, and even years later people were still finding many such items, so it is possible that people brought their war souvenirs back to the Cape.
Sadly I am struggling to add photo's. I will see if I can add some later.

Thank you:

J.I.W

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Artillery and Ammunition 2 weeks 5 days ago #98958

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Hi
I think you are spot on when you say: "The British fired many shells and they were eagerly collected by people after skirmishes and battles, and even years later people were still finding many such items, so it is possible that people brought their war souvenirs back to the Cape."
The field guns were ranged in on the battlefield so there was little need for practice behind the lines. The ranging procedure was as follows: The gunners opened fire with shells set to percussion to find the range, timing the flight of the shell with stopwatches, then they switched to timed shells, to burst in the air 5 to 8 m above the target
The initials MF suggest your shell was from Magersfontein. As a youth, 55 yrs ago, my pals and I picked up several 15 pdr shells and nose cones around the Magersfontein trenches.
The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past.

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Artillery and Ammunition 2 weeks 4 days ago #98971

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Thank you! I wish I grew up in the time in which such nice artifacts were still easy to find in the veld. All my expeditions have not yielded too much. Even the idea that my shell could be from Magersfontein makes me ecstatic, as it would be amazing to have a piece from such a major battle.

J.I.W

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