Mystery .50 cal 1943 Live Round

[Deleted member 140734]

Living and detecting in a rural wooded NE US coastal region I find lots of interesting ballistics from .75 ball to all brass 12 gauge shotgun shells to modern rounds and just about everything in between. Today I found this round and it's intriguing. I know that it is a damaged live round produced in 1943 by the Twin Cities Ordinance Plant operated by the Federal Cartridge Company (1941-45). It was like seeing a ghost for me because during the early 1980's I worked as a professional archaeologist on some very large military bases in the Mojave Desert of Southern Cal. I was briefed more than once by US Army Ordinance Officers as there was plenty of live ammo laying on desert floor. Live rounds dating back to pre-WWII can be tricky as the powder becomes unstable when baking in the desert sun.

This was an isolated find in the forest floor of a hill slope, buried nose down at a 3-4"depth I normally associate with 50+ year old artifacts. It is live but looks as though it jammed. Not an area where I expect to see someone lugging a large automatic rifle into the woods. Who knows for certain, but I wonder if it is a jammed Air Force round ejection cleared at altitude from live practice along the eastern tip of Long Island. During WWII we had a very active coastal defence network.

 

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[T.C.]

I used to posses a live round such as that. It was found on an old gunnery range from WWII. I chucked it in the deepest part of water I could find. We still to this day find 50 cal. shells and bullets. Also, those short (about 7") dummy rounds that were loaded with a shot gun shell primer and dropped on the target. I don't know if they had small explosives in the nose or tail. Maybe you could tell me. Cool find though!

 

[Deleted member 140734]

WWII 50 Caliber Headstamps

 

[Digger RJ]

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Wildcat1750]

That's way big!

 

[1637]

does not look like its been hit by a firing pin,so it was a drop.i keep the bass and the bullets.but leave the live ones,i was 20 miles back in the desert,found a small 8 x 10 foundation. got a hit under a rock,found a paper bag,hoping for cash.but in was about 50 rounds of old 45 cal ammo.i reburied it,but i will go back some day and a less take pictures.
ps,i think i will go on goggle earth see if i can find it.
brad