20mm Projectile

[GeoTrekr]

As per my post in another thread, I found, decades ago, a projectile that looks almost exactly like the one here:

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/ordnance-ammo/ww2-us-20mm-hispano-m21a1-cutaway-fuze-483096/

Mine has the same YA marking, but no red paint in the letters, possibly worn off. The fuse on mine looks to be a 1 piece inert steel reproduction turned on a lathe and threaded to fit. The fuse on mine doesn't appear to be able to come apart, and the shape of the nose on mine is a bit more blunt than the above example.

Because Googling 20mm Hispano or M21A1 doesn't show a bunch of similar pictures, I'd just like to confirm with you experts out there that it is a correct ID. Now that I sort of know what this thing is, it'd be nice to know a bit more about it.

 

[CV32]

As per my post in another thread, I found, decades ago, a projectile that looks almost exactly like the one here:

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/ordnance-ammo/ww2-us-20mm-hispano-m21a1-cutaway-fuze-483096/

Mine has the same YA marking, but no red paint in the letters, possibly worn off. The fuse on mine looks to be a 1 piece inert steel reproduction turned on a lathe and threaded to fit. The fuse on mine doesn't appear to be able to come apart, and the shape of the nose on mine is a bit more blunt than the above example. Because Googling 20mm Hispano or M21A1 doesn't show a bunch of similar pictures, I'd just like to confirm with you experts out there that it is a correct ID. Now that I sort of know what this thing is, it'd be nice to know a bit more about it.

M21A1 is a designation for the standard 20x110mm cartridge case. The one in the linked pic is probably the Mk I high explosive incendiary (HEI) round, the "Y.A." possibly being a reference to the type of composition filling for the incendiary (S.R. 534?).

 

[GeoTrekr]

M21A1 is a designation for the standard 20x110mm cartridge case. The one in the linked pic is probably the Mk I high explosive incendiary (HEI) round, the "Y.A." possibly being a reference to the type of composition filling for the incendiary (S.R. 534?).

Perfect, that definitely results in a lot more Google image matches, including diagrams, comparisons and designations. Any way to date this thing, or is that about as stupid/futile as asking how old a given .30 cal bullet (projectile) is?

 

[Kevin M.]

I don't have anything to add, but I am interested as well. Tagged!

 

[CV32]

Perfect, that definitely results in a lot more Google image matches, including diagrams, comparisons and designations. Any way to date this thing, or is that about as stupid/futile as asking how old a given .30 cal bullet (projectile) is?

Hard to say, but possibly early WWII production, circa 1942. (I am assuming you don't have the cartridge case w/headstamp, which would have more info.)

 

[GeoTrekr]

Hard to say, but possibly early WWII production, circa 1942. (I am assuming you don't have the cartridge case w/headstamp, which would have more info.)

No, unfortunately not. When I found it, it was pretty grungy, and it was only after cleaning it up some that the copper ring revealed itself. I did a bit of searching around online yesterday after you gave me all the info in your previous post, but I couldn't find anything to bracket the age. So far I also have no answers for the Y.A. stamp.

I saw the Google pictures of buckets of them, so I know it's not incredibly valuable or anything. Just trying to appreciate it for what it is by learning more about it. It was Kevin M's reloading post that turned on the light bulb - for years I had no clue what it was, and even thought it was just someone's lathe project, like a match container lol (too short, I tried). So I'm already pretty happy with "WW2 era 20mm Mk I HE-I projectile".