Original Items: Only One Available. This is an unusual inert 75mm artillery display assembly combining an original WWII M72 Armor-Piercing shot with tracer, dated 1943, with a later 1953-dated T6E3B1 cartridge case from the 75mm M35 / T83E1 “Skysweeper” antiaircraft gun ammunition family. Both are original U.S. military ordnance components, but they were manufactured for different 75mm weapon systems and do not constitute an originally issued complete cartridge.

This example is completely inert and contains no explosive propellant charge. Like all inert ordnance of this type, it is not available for export.

The shell still retains much of the finish, and is in very good condition. The projectile is stamped 75G / SHOT A.P. M72 / WITH TRACER. The projectile driving band also has faint stamped markings, including the year of manufacture, 1943. The projectile is seated in an original later brass shell casing, marked 75MM. T6E3B1 on the bottom over the lot number LOT NOR-1-86 1953, for 1953 manufacture. Together with the shell it measures approximately 29 inches in overall length, but it does not fit perfectly as it is not the correct casing for this projectile.

The M72 was a solid armor-piercing projectile fitted with a tracer element and was one of the principal early armor-piercing rounds available for American 75mm tank guns during World War II. Wartime U.S. Army documentation lists the SHOT, fixed, A.P., M72, w/TRACER among the authorized ammunition for 75mm tank guns, and contemporary tank-gunnery manuals include specific sight settings for the M72.

The projectile itself was a solid hardened-steel armor-piercing shot rather than an explosive-filled shell. Technical data gives the M72 projectile a nominal weight of approximately 13.94 pounds and describes it as solid hardened steel with a tracer assembly in the base.

The M72 is especially associated with the American 75mm M2 and M3 tank guns, the latter becoming the standard 75mm armament of most early and mid-production M4 Sherman tanks. The same basic 75mm ammunition family was also used in several related U.S. gun installations, including earlier M3 Medium Tank armament and adapted 75mm field guns.

The T6E3 designation was the developmental designation for the 75mm M35 cartridge case, while T6E3B1, later standardized as M35B1, identifies the steel-case variation. U.S. Army ammunition-equipment documentation specifically lists the 75MM M35 (T6E3) Cartridge Case, while later complete-round tables identify the alternative M35B1 (T6E3B1) steel cartridge case.

This case belonged to the ammunition system developed for the high-velocity 75mm M35 / T83E1 antiaircraft gun, better known as the Skysweeper. Surviving T6E3B1 cases are documented in the much longer 75x539mmR configuration used by that weapon.

The later T6E3B1 case, by contrast, reflects a very different period of American ordnance development. During the early Cold War the Army developed the radar-directed 75mm Skysweeper antiaircraft system, which required a much larger high-performance cartridge than the wartime Sherman gun. The 1953 lot date on this case places it squarely within that post-WWII generation of 75mm ammunition.

This is therefore best described as an unusual mixed-period inert display assembly, combining a 1943 WWII M72 armor-piercing tracer projectile associated with the 75mm Sherman tank gun family and a 1953 Korean War-era T6E3B1 steel cartridge case associated with the 75mm Skysweeper antiaircraft system. The mismatch is itself an informative feature, and the differing dates and markings provide an excellent side-by-side illustration of two very different generations of American 75mm ordnance development.

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).