DEACTIVATED INERT. Unfired American 57mm M18 Recoilless Rifle HE (High Explosive) Inert Drill Round. - O 1845 DEACTIVATED INERT. Unfired American 57mm M18 Recoilless Rifle HE (High Explosive) Inert Drill Round. - O 1845 Other Ammunition

DEACTIVATED INERT. This is a unfired American Hollow Charge High Explosive Anti-Tank Round for the 57mm M18 Recoilless Rifle. This gun was developed from a captured German 10.5cm Leichgeschutz 40 recoilless gun that had a blowout breech plug and the Americans improved upon it by giving the bottleneck steel cartridge many holes in the sidewalls to release the propellant to the rear and also a pre engraved driving band to reduce the initial pressure spike on firing. The gun was introduced in 1944 and was initially fitted on a ground tripod. The gun was used to good effect mainly the pacific theatre where it gave the infantry a weapon that could fire both high explosive and smoke rounds. The gun proved very useful to the infantry in the battle of Okinawa and later on in the Korean War. This gun was used as a ground gun or mounted on a Willis Jeep. This round has a brown lacquered perforated steel cartridge case and is headstamped 57MM M30A 183 LT 1 18. The projectile body retains all of its original green paint with a 1 1/8 inch wide grey band round its circumference. The projectile is also stencilled in white 57R INER CRTG M306A1 LOT LOP-E-68. The projectile has a pre engraved copper driving band is fitted and is stencilled below it in white LOT LOP-E-68 3-74. The price includes UK delivery and no licence is required to possess this inert round in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. O 1845