Original Item: This is a great U.S. Navy 3-inch/50-caliber wooden dummy artillery cartridge measuring 33 inches tall and 25 lbs in weight. The round has a polished Hard Wood shell body with a steel fuze and brass base, 4" diameter, Comes with Steel warhead and detachable variable time fuse with ranging dial.

Unloaded or dummy grenades, artillery shell casings, and similar devices, which are cut or drilled in an BATF-approved manner so that they cannot be used as ammunition components for destructive devices, are not considered NFA weapons. This example is in total compliance and is NOT AVAILABLE FOR EXPORT.

The fuze is stamped 3286971. The bottom of the brass base is stamped DUMMY CARTRIDGE MK. / .50 CAL.. The “50 caliber” designation in this context does not refer to .50-inch ammunition. In U.S. Navy gun terminology, a 3-inch/50-caliber gun had a bore diameter of three inches and a barrel approximately fifty bore diameters in length.

Wooden dummy cartridges of this type were made to approximate the dimensions, balance, and handling characteristics of service ammunition without the hazards of a live projectile and propelling charge. This allowed gun crews to practice moving ammunition, loading the weapon, and carrying out repetitive drill procedures with a full-size training piece.

The combination of the 33-inch hardwood body, 25-pound weight, steel base, detachable dummy fuze, surviving 3286971 marking, and naval 50-caliber designation makes this an impressive example of WWII U.S. Navy ordnance training equipment. Its substantial construction reflects the effort to reproduce the physical handling characteristics of naval ammunition closely enough for realistic crew instruction while remaining completely inert.