UPDATE! See an Original Firing this! 1870s Hotchkiss Automatic 37MM Cannon Round

[steelheadwill]

Went out digging the mud again today,
got a tombac & an old cast pewter right off.
should have stuck to this spot, but decided to head up the beach while the water was down.
didn't get anything better, a button made from an IH cent, thought it was just an IH, till I saw the shankmark.
lots of other good sounding targets, including, of course, a hemweight.
as the sun was sinking & the water turning to slush, I dug this misfired round,
figured it was a fairly modern mortar projectile, my search IDs it as an 1870s
handcranked automatic cannon round. Great animation here, gears, drums, dogs, cams, designs still in use today, but in their infancy back then.

there is something rattling around inside the case.
Anyone got ideas on what the broken curved piece might be?
Sword carrier maybe
Best digs to all!

 

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[Ohio Jerry]

Re: Buttons.. And 1870s Automatic Cannon Round

Nice batch of relics Herbie! Your doing a great job of digging some old relics and coins. Thanks for sharing them on the forum for us!
Jerry

 

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[MaineRelic]

Re: Buttons.. And 1870s Automatic Cannon Round

Love the munitions Herby ! I would love to have that to display ! MaineRelic

 

[steelheadwill]

Re: NEW Internal Detail ! 1870s Hotchkiss Automatic Cannon Round

Hi All,
I removed this round from the house as I wasn't sure if the HE was still viable.
when I retrieved it yesterday, it had cracking and seepage from the shrapnel head.
The piece had shrunk and split, allowing me to remove it from the casing,
Inside is the empty HE space, behind that the impact trigger mechanism.
(note I mentioned hearing something rattling inside in the OP)
Upon impact, the trigger would slide up into the HE, & the pin would ignite the primer.
Just thought an update was in order.
Best digs to All

 

[steelheadwill]

Pawn Stars Finds & buys (30 or 40K!) a working model & Fire this HE Round Great show!!
What an awesome weapon
Will be replaying on History Channel Beginning of sept.
Watch it now here !! Firing sequence starts at about 18 minutes in, enjoy!!
HH all

http://www.videobb.com/watch_video.php?v=ultedRYGIgFe

 

[gmanlight]

I was watching Pawn Stars last week and a arms dealer had a Hotchkiss
5 round Gatling type gun. Cool stuff. Thanks Herbie

 

[HEAVYMETALNUT]

i dug a anti-aircraft round with phosphurous inside a few years back i think it was a 20 mm round.twice as big as a 50 cal. had a steel casing.called the local PD,ten mins later 3 firetrucks ,half the police force had an entire square block around my apt blocked off
they took it but waht a scene! if i can drum up the old post i will attach it to yours if ya dont mind

 

[kevkirki]

how cool would that be....great post!!!!

 

[steelheadwill]

I was watching Pawn Stars last week and a arms dealer had a Hotchkiss
5 round Gatling type gun. Cool stuff. Thanks Herbie

Gman, I saw it too, that's what spurred me to find the episode & add it to this posting.
My jaw was hanging when he pulled out the same HE shrapnel round I had dug, then to see the original weapon in operation was great!!\
HMN, throw that post in here, I did a search and cant find it
During a house rehab I did, Found a bunch of 20MM & a couple 40 MM shells,
They went quick on the auction site..
Thanks for the replies! HH All