Japanese Militaria at Castle-Thunder.com

[zambal]

Hi, I have 2 shell casings-- one is about 12 inches in diameter and stands about 21 inches tall, brass and very heavy. I've been using it as a beer cooler. I have even had a stand with wheels made for it! This is definitely Japanese because there are very small characters and crossed cannons etched close to the edge of the rim of the base.

The second is a brass casing that is about 5 inches at the neck (opening where the shell cone is attached), but this is tapered (neck and shoulders I think are the correct terms), so the rest of the casing has a 5+ inch diameter. It stands about 30 inches. I use this as a cane stand. I'm not sure if this is Japanese because all I can identify stamped at the base are Arabic numerals, but there seems to be a number 7 lying on its side (liek the 7 fell forwards). Doubt if it is American because those would have letters and numbers in concentric circles at the base.

I have yet to take pictures, but I came across this website and was so excited that I just had to send this out in the hope someone knows more about these shell casings.

Both were obtained in the Philippines, and the large one, I was told, came from a Japanese cruiser. I can believe that because it is huge-- never seen anything like it so I bought it.

Is there anyone out there who would know about Japanese heavy artillery shells and markings? Any idea of the prices in the US/overseas for these things?

[gwsiii]

Welcome to the forum, sounds like some neat pieces. There are a lot of knowledgeable guys out there, post some pictures of them and the markings and we'll see what we can up with! Trey
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[jcb]

Hello there.

Auctionarms is one of the best websites for selling this kind of thing. If you decide to sell it there's people on this board including myself who would be interested. Here's a picture of some of my larger Japanese shellcases. The two bottleneck cases are Japanese Navy 120mm cases and the one in the middle is an Army Type 45 240mm howitzer case. The 120's are 28 inches high, the 240mm is about 16 inches tall if I remember correctly. I also have a Japanese Army 105mm case that is 29 inches long (not pictured) and several 150mm and 105mm cases. As far as value, its hard to say...

I think all of us would like to see pictures of your shells (especially the markings on the base). Can you double check and remeasure the case length and the width of the mouth again? A 12 inch wide case would be about 300mm. The Japanese did have short range coastal guns in this size. I know there are 270mm, 280mm and 300mm guns that used cases. Post a picture when you can. Where are you from?

Jim
JapaneseOrdnance(at)yahoo.com


PS. I suggest NOT polishing it and don't attempt to hammer out any dings or fix any damage