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| HANDBOOK OF ENEMY AMMUNITION |
| PAMPHLET No. 7 |
| ITALIAN FUZES, GAINES, SHELL, CARTRIDGES, PRIMERS AND DETAILS OF SHELL MARKINGS |
| ITALIAN 65/17 CARTRDIGE, Q.F., H.E. WITH FUZE |
| (Fig. 15) |
| The fixed Q.F. round is fired from the 65 mm 17 calibre infantry gun. |
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The complete round weighs 11 lb. and has an overall length of 15.4 inches. The shell is pale blue in colour, with a red head and a green band immediately in front of the driving band. The T.N.T. bursting charge is indicated by the stencilling "TRITOLO". |
| The round consists of the following components:– |
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H.E. shell filled T.N.T. with T.N.T. exploder. |
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Graze fuze with gaine. |
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Brass cartridge case. |
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Propellant charge. |
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Percussion primer, model 35. |
| Shell |
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The shell is of forged steel, and without the fuze-hole adapter is 8 inches in length. In-cluding the adapter, the length is 9.2 inches. The weight filled and fu-zed is 9.25 lb. The cavity for the bursting charge is of the parallel walled type, and the shell is fitted with a pressed-in base plate. The driving band is wholly of copper. |
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The weight of the empty shell is 7 lb. 3 oz., and with the adapter fitted is 8 lb. 4 oz. |
| Bursting Charge |
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The bursting charge is of the block type with an exploder cavity, and consists of cast T.N.T. in a carton of paper interleaved with aluminium foil. The carton is closed at the base by two cardboard discs and an aluminium cap, and at the head by a ring of the same material. A cardboard adjusting disc is inserted in the shell cavity beneath the car-ton. The weight of the bursting charge is 7 oz. 2 dr. |
| Exploder |
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The exploder consists of three pressed pellets of T.N.T. in a transparent paper washer. The exploder is marked "Alto" near the upper end and "Basso" near the lower end. The density of the top pellet is 1.45 and of the other two 1.5. The weight of the exploder is 10.6 dr. |
| Fuze and Gaine |
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The Inneschi graze fuze and the 1.8 gram cyclonite gaine used in this shell are described in this pamphlet. |
| Case |
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The brass cartridge case is 6.7 inches long and is not necked. The shell is a close fit the mouth of the case and is not secured by coning or identing. |
| Propellant Charge |
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The charge consists of 5 oz. 10 dr. of double base propellant flake contained in a bag. A floded strip of tinfoil is placed on top of the charge to act as a decoppering agent, and the charge is held in position over the primer by a cardboard cup surmounted by a card-board distance piece, above which is a second cardboard cup and dired vegetable pack-ing. |
| Primer |
| The percussion primer, model 35, which is used is described in this pamphlet. |
| Fig. 15 |
| Italian 65/17 Q.F., Infantery Gun, H.E. Shell |
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