I found two of these things in a box of militaria stuff I inherited from my father. I believe these to be sub-caliber training inserts for the French 75mm field gun.
The body is made of black plastic or Bakelite, the top is brass and the bottom is steel. There is a steel rifled barrel running the length of the shell. That barrel is chambered at the base to accommodate a 8x50mmR Lebel rifle round. The insert itself is 16.5cm long. I have been unable to find a reference to it in literature. My guess is that this was used as a training device to train gunners, firing a cheaper 8mm rifle round rather than a real shell. Military people will be familiar with sub-caliber training devices. I didn’t know it was such an old concept.
Not being an artillery guy myself, I would love to find someone more versed in the subject to either confirm what I am saying above or correct me. Because I don’t need two of them I will next be posting one of them on the militaria EE, so if someone could help me with a price, it would be appreciated. Meanwhile, everyone enjoy the photos.
The body is made of black plastic or Bakelite, the top is brass and the bottom is steel. There is a steel rifled barrel running the length of the shell. That barrel is chambered at the base to accommodate a 8x50mmR Lebel rifle round. The insert itself is 16.5cm long. I have been unable to find a reference to it in literature. My guess is that this was used as a training device to train gunners, firing a cheaper 8mm rifle round rather than a real shell. Military people will be familiar with sub-caliber training devices. I didn’t know it was such an old concept.
Not being an artillery guy myself, I would love to find someone more versed in the subject to either confirm what I am saying above or correct me. Because I don’t need two of them I will next be posting one of them on the militaria EE, so if someone could help me with a price, it would be appreciated. Meanwhile, everyone enjoy the photos.
