Found on the South Downs: 25lb Smoke Shell and Tracked MV part? Can anyone confirm?

[cordenj]

 

Found these on a very recent walk on the South Downs. In an area used for tank exercises during WWII.

 

1. The shell was lying on a recently cultivated field headland within a few metres of a footpath. I believe it is a discharged smoke shell. Fuse has definitely activated and it is inert. I've seen a lot of shrapnel in the same area, but this is the first complete shell.

 

2. The steel roller/guide wheel assembly was one of 6 units lying in the open at the head of a secluded valley, now forested. Within the forest is what appears to be an overgrown bulldozed track that gave access from the valley floor to the top of the downs. Looked very similar to the tank road near Firle Beacon, but has clearly not been been used for many many years.

I think it is a track guide of some type; but can anyone tell me if it is from a MV on from a large Caterpillar e.g. D6?

You can see the size from the photos, and it weighs approx 50kg (certainly weighed down the backpack on the walk out!).

 

Thanks in advance,

John

[Adrian Barrell]

I would agree with the shell, looks like a 25 pr base eject smoke.

 

The roller is from a crawler though, not an AFV. The only tank that has similar rollers is a Churchill and it's definately not from that. I would suggest Cat D7.

[rnixartillery]

Yes,This is a 25 pdr smoke round.

 

Rob.....................rnixartillery.

[cordenj]

Thanks Guys,

 

I'm used to finding similar pieces of shell in France....but not so many in West Sussex in 2011!

 

Guessed they were Cat parts, but thought I'd ask.

 

Thanks again for the confirmation

 

John

[trustmeimamechanic]

We used to find so many of the 25 pounder shells when ploughing that the EOD guys taught us how to tell them apart to avoid call outs .

On one farm there was and probably still is a stack of about 150 up against a workshop wall .

Some I found were almost like new .

I have also ploughed up live 25lb shells and the odd mine ! .

If the area is around where we used to work then can confirm Adrians id of the crawler part as correct, as they used to run some Cats in the 60's - 70's.

Have to ask - did you lug both parts back home ? on lots of the footpath gates you will find random lumps of metal slung on chains to assist with closing the gate - not all of these are Ag in origin .

In the garden at the moment are sherman track , PSP , some Halifax parts , some other random centre-guide MV track , 25 ponder shells, 2inch mortars , and I dread to think what else mostly unearthed with a 250hp tractor or while walking nearby

Edited April 23, 2011 by trustmeimamechanic