Item:
ONSV21WS224

Original U.S 90mm Anti-Aircraft Gun M12 Drill Cartridge Round Dated 1943 with Dummy M44A2 Fuze

Item Description

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic inert drill round for the U.S. 90–mm Gun. This was the primary heavy Anti Tank and Aircraft gun used by U.S. forces during WWII and later. It is completely inert, and cannot be converted to any type of explosive device. The shell weighs 35 lbs and measures approximately 38 inches in overall length. It is dated 1943 on the base.

From Training Manual TM 9-1901
CARTRIDGE, DRILL, M12, W/FUZE, DUMMY, M44A2, 90-MM GUNS (fig. 111), may be stamped either M12 or M12B1. Both are functionally alike and completely inert. However, the M12B1, which is being manufactured at present, is made of malleable iron and steel parts whereas the M12 is made of bronze and brass parts. Both are 1-piece castings threaded at the base to receive the base plate and at the nose to hold the M44A2 Dummy Fuze. The base plate is held in position by a set screw; the fuze, by a set screw and shoe arrangement. Both parts are replaceable. FUZE, dummy, M44A2, used with this cartridge, may be made of bronze, brass, aluminum, copper alloy or sintered iron. In form, the casting resembles the M43 Fuze but is without the time ring. The complete assembly weighs 39.15 pounds, and is 37.44 inches long. This drill cartridge is not used in the 90-mm M2 Gun which has a power-operated rammer.


 The 90–mm Gun M1/M2/M3 is an American heavy anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun, playing a role similar to the German 8.8cm Flak 18. It had a 3.5 in (90 mm) diameter bore, and a 15 ft (4.6 m) barrel, giving it a 50 caliber length. It was capable of firing a 3.5 in × 23.6 in (90 mm × 600 mm) shell 62,474 ft (19,042 m) horizontally, or a maximum altitude of 43,500 ft (13,300 m), the M1 can pierce 9 inches (228.6mm) of armor at 1,000 yards with APFSDS ammunition.

The 90–mm gun was the US's primary heavy anti-aircraft gun from just prior to the opening of World War II into 1946, complemented by small numbers of the much larger 120 mm M1 gun. Both began to be phased out in the early 1950s as their role was taken over by surface-to-air missiles like the MIM-3 Nike Ajax.

As a tank gun, it was the main weapon of the M36 tank destroyer and M26 Pershing tank, as well as a number of post-war tanks. It was also briefly deployed 1943-1946, as a coast defense weapon with the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Each gun cost roughly $50,000 to make in 1940 and utilized up to 30 separate contractors to manufacture.

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