Item:
ONSV23CWC149

Original U.S. WWI 75mm Artillery Presentation Round With Nickel Plated Projectile By The American Can Company - Inert

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a wonderful piece of American ordnance history! This is a factory “sample” of a 75mm High Explosive Shell made by the American Can Company. This round was never intended to be used as an explosive device and does not appear to ever have a primer installed on the bottom. This was a straight from the factory to the showroom floor type of item, in the hopes of winning a government contract.

The round was never filled with any explosive and is completely inert. It is in total compliance per the current BATF rules governing inert ordnance.

Not Available For Export

The US Army adopted the French 75 mm field gun during World War I and used it extensively in battle. The US designation of the basic weapon was 75 mm Gun M1897. There were 480 American 75 mm field gun batteries (over 1,900 guns) on the battlefields of France in November 1918. Manufacture of the French 75 by American industry began in the spring of 1918 and quickly built up to an accelerated pace. Carriages were built by Willys-Overland, the hydro-pneumatic recuperators by Singer Manufacturing Company and Rock Island Arsenal, the cannon itself by Symington-Anderson and Wisconsin Gun Company. American industry built 1,050 French 75s during World War I, but only 143 had been shipped to France by 11 November 1918; most American batteries used French-built 75s in action.

The shell casing stands at approximately 15 ¼” tall and is in wonderful, semi polished condition. The brass casing has a lovely brass shield label on the front that reads as:

75 MM. HIGH
EXPLOSIVE SHELL
MADE BY
AMERICAN CAN
COMPANY
PRESENTED WITH
ITS COMPLIMENTS

The nickel plated projectile stands at 11 ½” tall and retains its finish quite well. The model 1907 fuse is still able to be removed and rotated. The fuze has no detonating element, as it is designed to ignite the base charge of black powder in the shrapnel. If the time element of the fuze fails to function, or the setting is too long, the percussion element will cause the shrapnel to function upon impact.

A lovely example that comes more than ready for further research and display.

  • This product is not available for international shipping.
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