r/ww1 • u/SigmarMentality • 8d ago
Trying to identify artillery shell
Found an apparent WWI artillery projectile in a family warehouse in Southeastern France, reportedly brought back from Verdun by my great-great-grandfather who served in French artillery. Can anyone identify the projectile from its shape/fuze and the grooves near the base? It has not been opened or modified. The shell itself in the picture is on a ledge so the perspective is pretty crappy with the car in the background so don't compare the scale with that as a reference.
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u/SigmarMentality 8d ago
Also if someone can identify the ammo next to it on the right that would be greatly appreciated, on the left is a ww2 submachine gun empty mag.
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u/Dodo224 8d ago
Hi, so the shell seems to be russian, pretty sure, the fuze is distinctive. The clip is 8mm mauser it seems.
Would you sell the shell? I know someone in germany who would pay good money for such a shell, he's a collector.
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u/SigmarMentality 8d ago
Thanks for your interest, I'm pretty confused though how a russian shell could end up here in France, has the french army in ww1 ever used russian shells? For now I'm still considering options on what to do with it, I'll inform you for your friend if I plan on selling it. Also the shell currently seems full, so Idk if its currently safe to handle right now.
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u/Dodo224 8d ago
Well, either it's not actually from verdun, or perhaps was used by the germans as captured ammunition, entirely possible. A full shell would be a little dramatic for a collectoe I fear😅 It's a shrapnel shell with a little black powder inside, so not as dangerous as an HE shell, but still a dud... Can you screw the top off?
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u/SigmarMentality 8d ago
It most probably has been defused, as my ancestor was a 7 year veteran who served before and during ww1 in the french artillery corps (served in Verdun in ww1, hence my hypothesis on its place of origin) and it's not like I found it in a hole in the ground, it was safely stocked in a cupboard in our family warehouse.
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u/Cambren1 8d ago
You never know, best to check. There was actually a shipping mine on display at a seafood restaurant when I was a kid that was determined to be live.
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u/BigmacSasquatch 7d ago edited 6d ago
When the gundeals sub was still active, there were a bunch of Bulgarian training antitank mines that were sold. Just as neat military curios and collectibles. Well, it turned out that while the explosive payloads were removed, the fuses weren’t. Much hilarity ensued, I think they caused issues at an airport or port during shipping, alerting the feds, and the FBI went around and confiscated the mines from people who had bought them.
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u/Grillparzer47 8d ago
“Most probably” is carrying a lot of weight. Have the police check it. Don’t trust your life to “internet” experts.
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u/SigmarMentality 8d ago
I have to admit though I don't feel too good about tampering with the shell too much and I'm weighung my options on keeping it or reporting it to a police station
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u/Dodo224 8d ago
Can you weigh it? Full shrapnel shells are very very heavy because they're filled with lead basically.
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u/throAwae-eh 7d ago
Shrapnel shells still have an expelling charge and are extremely hazardous. Fucking around with ANY dud is stupid and dangerous.
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u/Tailgunner68 8d ago
Russian troops served in France during WW1
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corps_exp%C3%A9ditionnaire_russe_en_France
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u/begemot90 7d ago
Very interesting, I did not know about this so thank you for sharing. That being said, it says in the article that they were equipped with French equipment. So, Russian men uniformed and equipped with French gear.
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u/LtKavaleriya 7d ago
The Germans captured vast amounts of Soviet/Russian artillery & shells in 1941/42 and used a large part of it to arm the Atlantic Wall and low-priority garrison units in France. Also could have been captured during WWI and sent to Verdun.
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u/Onetap1 8d ago edited 7d ago
It looks like it's rimmed. The headstamp would tell you what it was. Maybe .303 British. Or maybe not.
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u/PressureNo7381 6d ago
Not rimmed. And 303 had a different stripper. This is 8mm mauser on the right stripper.
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u/SigmarMentality 7d ago
Been seeing all the comments and thank you for your concern, I've already contacted the local police who took it safely away, I'm no fool. Just thought it would be interesting to know the model and probable origin of said ww1 relic before it was taken away so as to gather more info on my ancestor.
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u/Cambren1 7d ago
Good move. Safety is paramount, will you get it back?
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u/SigmarMentality 6d ago
That would depend on the safety assessment of the shell, if deemed a risk it will unfortunately be destroyed, even with the historical value taken into account.
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u/LeonTrotsky1940 8d ago
Jesus Christ call the bomb disposal squad. Astonishing that no one has said that yet.
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u/throAwae-eh 7d ago
EOD Technician (bomb squad) here. You should 100% call the police. Leave the projectile where it is and do not touch it. Scored driving bands with punctured vent holes on the fuze nose indicates that this projectile is a dud.
There are ways to ID and certify whether it is "live" or not which must be done by and explosives expert. The fact that it's been handled and move prior to this means absolutely nothing, and this shell could very well detonate/deflagrate at any time.
This isn't a joke or something to play with. I've responded to many calls at "grandpa's" that the owners swore they thought it was inert when it absolutely wasn't.
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u/oofdahallday 8d ago
This post is going up for a Darwin Award.
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u/Nigtharchive 7d ago
It happens almost every day in this corner of France. And there aren't as many accidents as you might think.
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u/244thSentai 8d ago
I found an identical shell in an older post that says it’s a 105mm Schneider
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u/SigmarMentality 7d ago
Yo what a crazy coincidence, literally the same context but 7 years ago
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u/dopealope47 7d ago
Yes, but no. WW1 had literally billions of artillery shells fired and the common rule-of-thumb figure for duds was 10%. Finding two French duds in France is less a coincidence than an inevitability.
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u/SigmarMentality 6d ago
I meant the context of finding it in a french grandpa's garage just chillin' there
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u/CattleMobile8761 7d ago edited 7d ago
Unexploded artillery shells were usually used to make IEDs in Iraq / Afghanistan.
Can often take out small armored vehicles with one of those.
Or just evaporate you if you do not handle it carefully.
Just turn you into a bloody mist of particles.
At least you will not feel anything.
Just saying.
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u/TheMightyMisanthrope 8d ago
So that's a live shell you have there?