MK-46 bullet

[Jesse214]

Hey guys,

I was hoping someone out there could shed some light on this item. It's a bullet, believed to be from a Navy destroyer possibly. It's 5" in diameter and just over 20" long. Must weigh well over 40lbs. The small white ruler in picture is 7". Picture shows bullet both screwed apart and together. There is writing on the lower brass ring, including inscription that says, "MK-46 MOD-1". Also "J.S.E.".

Picture link: http://www.ivcity.com/jesse/bullet.jpg

Jesse

 

[malayphil]

Those are old 1960's CANNON SHELLS for boats VIETNAM WAR ERA RELICS.

I'm no expert just verify it first.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

Its no bullet, its a shell!

The 5 inch Mk 46 was a "Special Common" (SC) shell for the Mk 12 5 inch, 38 Calibre gun that was widely used on US Navy destroyers and as a secondary gun on battleships and cruisers. SC rounds have a hard ballistic head to penetrate armour and a high explosive filler to burst inside the enemy ship.

Depending on how you came into possession of this shell it could still possibly have an explosive filler. So not the sort of thing to be used as an expident anvil...

 

[Jesse214]

Thanks for the replies so far! The top half of this (the part that screws off), is hollow inside up to the tip. The bottom half of the shell (the real heavy part), with the domed top, I'm not as sure about. Where would the explosive element have gone? Top half?

 

[Abraham Gubler]

bottom half..., the top is an armour penetrating cap.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

If you want to know if it has explosives in it then weight it and find out. Empty this shell (both parts) should weigh 53.14 pounds. Loaded it should weigh 55.18 pounds.

 

[Jesse214]

Thanks for all the info! A quick look up into the bottom of both halves reveals just empty space. On the bottom half, I can see up to the top of the dome, and the top half, I can see up to the tip. Pretty sure no explosive, thank goodness!! So is it legal to own something like this? Assuming it's inert, of course.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

It would appear to have been made safe by cutting off the baseplate and removing all the explosives. Its just scrap metal now...

 

[Josef]

The MK-46 102.36" is a torpedoe deployed in 1966 Alliant Techsystems.

It was most probably in service in U.S. navy as a standard lightweight ASW torpedo.

 

[Marc 1]

The MK-46 102.36" is a torpedoe deployed in 1966 Alliant Techsystems.

It was most probably in service in U.S. navy as a standard lightweight ASW torpedo.

Are you looking at the same picture? I could swear that the pictured object is at least 10 times to short, lacks propellors and fins and is substantially underweight at 50 and a bit pounds...

 

[Tony Williams]

Thanks for all the info! A quick look up into the bottom of both halves reveals just empty space. On the bottom half, I can see up to the top of the dome, and the top half, I can see up to the tip. Pretty sure no explosive, thank goodness!! So is it legal to own something like this? Assuming it's inert, of course.

The top half is a ballistic cap or windshield. It is there only to provide a more aerodynamic shape to the shell, so it retains more of its velocity at long range. It is destroyed on impact with the target.

The dome on top of the bottom half is the armour-piercing part. Behind this is the HE compartment, and at the bottom there would have been a base fuze designed to explode the HE a fraction of a second after impact, so the shell has time to penetrate into the target before exploding - they do a lot more damage that way!

Tony Williams
Military gun and ammunition website: http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk