vonmesser

So I walked into a junk shop the other day and there was this nifty display of a German aeroplane bomb and 2 1 pound anti-aircraft shells, a First Class Iron Cross, a ring with the kaiserkronen on it, 4 belt buckles (3 with Gott Mit Uns) and some other stuff.

"Kool" said I. and bought it.

After getting home and starting to snip the bent coat hanger wires holding the things together I noticed that the bottoms of the shells were intact.

"Krapski" sayeth I, "Methinks these might be live ordnance".

After packing the stuff into plastic peanuts and placing it in the trunk of the car, I drove to Fort Lewis, and discovered that there is no EOD on base.

However, I remembered that there was EOD on McCord Air Force Base, a bit further north.

I walked into the McCord EOD shop and said "Hey, Sarge, I've got something I'd like you to take a look at"
And the sergeant said "######. I don't like any conversation that starts out this way."

To make the long story short
1. It was not a German aeroplane bomb - it was a French 60mm mortar
It had a live fuze
It had live detonating charge
They could not dearm it
They had to detonate it.
2. The 1-pounders had live primers and propellent in them
The heads had been emptied of explosive and fuzes
They were able to de-prime and empty the shells

I do have some real nice x-rays of the ordnance that might have decorated my wall (with pieces of me)