British Military ??

[NickA17]

Any help identifying would be appreciated. I dug this item the other day and from what I can get off of it is the stamp “B.B.” “IV” and the British broad arrow stamp. Not sure if anyone can assist me with this what it was used for. Thanks in advance.

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Interesting find - sorry, I can't help with the ID.

 

[Calabash Digger]

Interesting for sure! Someone on here will know.

 

[Red-Coat]

Welcome to Tnet.

I have no idea what that is but, yes, the broad arrow (pheon) mark denotes it as British Crown property/Government issue and is mostly seen on military equipment (but not exclusively so).

In addition to the 'B.B. IV' mark there appears to a maker mark that looks like it might be 'W CO' in monogram style, but I don't know who that might be.

On the side, there also seems to be a letter 'Z'. Crown property items from WWII often have a date letter and 'Z' was used in 1945, although the letter is usually below or in the same field as the broad arrow.

 

[NickA17]

Welcome to Tnet.

I have no idea what that is but, yes, the broad arrow (pheon) mark denotes it as British Crown property/Government issue and is mostly seen on military equipment (but not exclusively so).

In addition to the 'B.B. IV' mark there appears to a maker mark that looks like it might be 'W CO' in monogram style, but I don't know who that might be.

On the side, there also seems to be a letter 'Z'. Crown property items from WWII often have a date letter and 'Z' was used in 1945, although the letter is usually below or in the same field as the broad arrow.

Awesome. Thanks for information! The permission is an old church and mausoleum. I know that one of the buried occupants was a high ranking officer in George Washington’s Army. I know that this relic is not that old but now I’m just curious about the British history and how it ended up here.

 

[NickA17]

Any help identifying would be appreciated. I dug this item the other day and from what I can get off of it is the stamp “B.B.” “IV” and the British broad arrow stamp. Not sure if anyone can assist me with this what it was used for. Thanks in advance. View attachment 2106584View attachment 2106585

Here are some more photos

 

[Digger RJ]

Any help identifying would be appreciated. I dug this item the other day and from what I can get off of it is the stamp “B.B.” “IV” and the British broad arrow stamp. Not sure if anyone can assist me with this what it was used for. Thanks in advance. View attachment 2106584View attachment 2106585

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Red-Coat]

Old thread, and the OP is no longer around, but I now know what this is and provide this update for posterity.

It’s a British T Friction Tube, Mark IV. This was a single-use brass igniter designed for breech-loading artillery guns with bagged charges, functioning via a pulled lanyard. The tubular part containing an explosive compound fitted into the breech vent, and a yank on the lanyard attached to a metal loop pulled a friction wire through it for ignition to detonate the main charge.. The loop is missing on the found item because it has been fired.

The Mark I friction tube was designed around 1897 for artillery pieces such as 5 inch and 5.4 inch howitzers among others, and Britain entered WWI with a number of old 15-pounders that still used these igniters, updated to the Mark IV in 1914, and largely phased out by 1916.

 

[Digger54]

Old thread, and the OP is no longer around, but I now know what this is and provide this update for posterity.

It’s a British T Friction Tube, Mark IV. This was a single-use brass igniter designed for breech-loading artillery guns with bagged charges, functioning via a pulled lanyard. The tubular part containing an explosive compound fitted into the breech vent, and a yank on the lanyard attached to a metal loop pulled a friction wire through it for ignition to detonate the main charge.. The loop is missing on the found item because it has been fired.

The Mark I friction tube was designed around 1897 for artillery pieces such as 5 inch and 5.4 inch howitzers among others, and Britain entered WWI with a number of old 15-pounders that still used these igniters, updated to the Mark IV in 1914, and largely phased out by 1916.

View attachment 2261323

As always, nice job Red-Coat!