A while back during christmas, my family gifted me an assorted mix of various types of shells they found online, and just seeing them up close and holding them gives me more of an appreciation for the power behind them the game can’t do justice. Some of these took a bit more work do figure out what it was and I only know a bit about them, but I’ll put all the information I know about them.
12.7mm x 81mm SR Breda-SAFAT
While this 12.7mm round was used in the Italian armed forces, Japan actually adopted the same exact round and, in addition to importing some Italian ammunition, was locally produced in Japan as well, and was used primarily in the Ho-103 HMG, which was a copy of the 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine gun (hence why it uses the Italian round). There wasn’t much inscribed on the bottom, but the シ (Shi) denotes that this round was inspected and approved by the Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal. Vehicles in game that use this round include the Ki-100, Ki-61 I and II, and the Ki-84 Ko. All the Italian planes also use the same round, but under it’s original Italian designation, which includes the Re 2001 CN, Breda 88, Re 2000 serie 1, C.202 EC, and the Fiat G.55.
12.7mm x 99mm NATO (.50-06)
The famous .50 cal round in service since the early 1930s and used in just about every conflict since, made in incredible numbers. The particular example I have is marked with TW 42. This indicates that the round was made at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant in Minnesota, 1942. The round famously used by the M2 browning, this is used in most US tanks and pretty much every US plane (bar the Corsair) in the game.
20mm x 102mm M52A1
A practice round from the 20mm the M61 Vulcan minigun, seeing service from Vietnam in F-105s, to present day in F-22s, it has been used by most modern US fighters’ main guns and various other uses, such as air defence applications like the M163 VADS and Phalanx CIWS, and also used in various other countries.
30mm x 173mm PGU 16/B
A dummy version of 30mm round famously used in the A-10 Warthog, which fires 370~ gram projectiles similar to these at roughly 3,900 rounds per minute at 3,300 feet per second. This gun is known for it’s signature “brrrt” sound, and is used as CAS against both infantry and armored targets. Below is a picture of an unmounted gun next to a Volkswagen Beetle for a comparison of size.
37mm x 223R M3
This shell was used in the early US light tanks like the Stuart line, in the 37mm AT cannon, M5 tank cannon, and M6 tank cannon. This particular round, the M13 shell, is an intert drill round use for training crews on the gun, and was produced in 1942 by the Schwitzer-Cummins Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tanks that use this shell in game include the M2a4, M3, M5a1, LVT a1, M3 Grant, and M3 Lee.
37mm x 165R Type 94
The 37mm Type 94 shell was used by most of the Japanese 37mm cannons and AT guns, being used in the Type 94 AT gun, Type 94 cannon ,and Type 100 cannon. In game we see it used in the Ke-Ni and Ha-go light tanks. The main part of the shell was made May 1942 ( 5 昭十八) in Nagoya (indicated by the kanji ‘名’, an abbreviation for 名古屋, Nagoya; it also features the Nagoya arsenal mark, which is two smaller circles inside a larger one). The primer was made June 1942 (6 昭十八) in Osaka (indicated by the, granted, worn kanji 阪, and abbreviation of 大阪, Osaka; it also features an again warn arsenal mark, two crossed cannons.)
40mm x 311mmR Bofors
This 40mm shell was used in the Bofors L/60 gun, which was a Swedish anti-air gun that was commonly exported and liscenced to many countries during WW2, most widely used by the Allies, even with some axis use by Germany and Hungary, but the USA was one of the largest users. One of the popular applications for the gun was in double and quadruple mounts to serve as defences for most naval vessels serviced that could mount them, which had replaced older quad mount 1.1" 27mm cannons and .50 cals, which were deemed inadequate against modern aircraft. This particular shell was made in February 1944 and was a part of lot number 0512, but I don’t know much more than that.
