British 2 pounder anti-tank round

[Brian Wolfe]

Hello Everyone,

During another collectables hunting trip I found a couple of nice pieces of ordnance. The one I am posting today is the British 40 mm, or two pound anti-tank round. It was the ultimate in tank killing development in its day, which pretty well ended in 1939. The two pounder was developed in or around 1936 and stayed in service until 1942 when it was replaced by the six pounder. It was actually used through out the war but not as the principle anti-tank round. Armoured cars etc. were fitted with the two punders and stayed in service until the end of the war.

The casing of this particular round is marked 1939, which is an improtant date (in my opinion) as that was when the British were pushed back to Dunkirk and were for the most part evacuated back to England. Many two pounders fell into German hands and were used by them under the designation 4.0 cm Pak 192 (e) or 4.0 cm Pak 153 (b). The "e" and "b" referred to England or Belgium.

The round looks like it has a copper tip in the photo but it is solid steel, that's a lighting problem in my photograph.

I hope you like my latest addition to my collection.

Cheers

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here's a view of the solid steel round.

[Brian Wolfe]

This is a view of the end of the round.

As may be seen there is a hole in the end. Would this have produced a tracer effect when fired? I've seen other 40mm rounds that were flat on the bottom and I've also seen films of the two pounder in action and the shot that was fired was a tracer round.

I would be interested in the membership's opinions.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here's a view of the bottom of the casing. As I mentioned it is dated 1939. When I do occasionally purchase a new addition to the ordnance section of my collection I like to have the shell casing dated and if it is a date of any significance all the better.

I hope you like my 2 pounder round.

Cheers

Brian

[Guest IMHF]

Hello Everyone,

During another collectables hunting trip I found a couple of nice pieces of ordnance. The one I am posting today is the British 40 mm, or two pound anti-tank round. It was the ultimate in tank killing development in its day, which pretty well ended in 1939. The two pounder was developed in or around 1936 and stayed in service until 1942 when it was replaced by the six pounder. It was actually used through out the war but not as the principle anti-tank round. Armoured cars etc. were fitted with the two punders and stayed in service until the end of the war.

The casing of this particular round is marked 1939, which is an improtant date (in my opinion) as that was when the British were pushed back to Dunkirk and were for the most part evacuated back to England. Many two pounders fell into German hands and were used by them under the designation 4.0 cm Pak 192 (e) or 4.0 cm Pak 153 (b). The "e" and "b" referred to England or Belgium.

The round looks like it has a copper tip in the photo but it is solid steel, that's a lighting problem in my photograph.

I hope you like my latest addition to my collection.

Cheers

Brian

That is cool, Did you have to remove all the powder or did you buy it like that. I love the British 25 Pounder and the Quad That hauled it around.

Thank you for sharing

Lorenzo

[Brian Wolfe]

That is cool, Did you have to remove all the powder or did you buy it like that. I love the British 25 Pounder and the Quad That hauled it around.

Thank you for sharing

Lorenzo

I purchased the item that way. Don't need to blow myself up tinkering with live rounds.

In the 1960s and early 70s there were live grenades and artillery rounds on the market but that, I hope, is a thing of the past here in Canada.

Cheers

Brian

[Guest IMHF]

Come on now every kid wants a live hand grenade........

At least I did growing up:

Lorenzo

[Lapa]

...The casing of this particular round is marked 1939, which is an improtant date (in my opinion) as that was when the British were pushed back to Dunkirk and were for the most part evacuated back to England. Many two pounders fell into German hands and were used by them under the designation 4.0 cm Pak 192 (e) or 4.0 cm Pak 153 (b). The "e" and "b" referred to England or Belgium...

Brian,

The Battle of Dunkirk took place from 26 May to 4 June 1940. Evacuation began on 27 May and lasted until 4th June.

This battle resulted in:

• German soldiers: 10,252 dead, 42,000 wounded, 8,467 MIA
• Allied soldiers (Dutch, Belgian, French, British): 1,212,000 taken prisoner, 338,226 men evacuated

The Germans took from the allies approximately 1,200 field guns, 1,250 anti-aircraft guns, 11,000 machine guns and over 25,000 vehicles.

Marc

[Brian Wolfe]

Brian,

The Battle of Dunkirk took place from 26 May to 4 June 1940. Evacuation began on 27 May and lasted until 4th June.

This battle resulted in:

• German soldiers: 10,252 dead, 42,000 wounded, 8,467 MIA
• Allied soldiers (Dutch, Belgian, French, British): 1,212,000 taken prisoner, 338,226 men evacuated

The Germans took from the allies approximately 1,200 field guns, 1,250 anti-aircraft guns, 11,000 machine guns and over 25,000 vehicles.

Marc

Hi Marc,

Thanks for the correction, I missed that as did several other members.

I'll be more careful in the future.

Cheers

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

I am adding some photos that I took a couple of days ago at the Canadian Military Heritage Museum in Brantford, Ontario.

Due to the indoor lighting and a small flash the photos are not as good as I would have liked but this is the best I can manage, for now.

The first photo is the specification card that is displayed with the 2 pounder.

I hope you like the photos.

Cheers

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

This is a view front in front of the gun.

There are so many items on display it makes it difficult to take photos of anything large.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here is a photo from the rear. It was very dark and I decided to play with my photoshop program and managed to lighten it a bit.

The legs of the gun are in the towing position. When in action these would be opened up.

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

Here's a closer view of the breach area.

Brian

[Mike]

Hi Brian , That's a wonderful example of a 2Pdr on the Mark 4 Carriage ..I think that was the standard config only for the Canadian Model.

Did you happen to get a shot of the ID plate ?

Even though it was replaced by the 6Pdr , the 2Pdr served through the whole War and did a great job in the Pacific since Japanese Armor wasn't a match for it.

The Littlejohn Adaptor really extended its service "Life".

My 2Pdr is a 1942 Australian Mk9 on a Mk2 Carriage ...it's a great design but then , I'm biased :rolleyes:

[Brian Wolfe]

HI Mike,

I didn't get a shot of the ID plate but I'll do so on my next visit. The museum lighting could be better and I needed more time to properly photograph their displays. Since they are fairly close to where I live I may even take out a membership.

I'd love to have one of these beauties in the bush-lot in my backyard it would look great. I would need a garden shed to sleep in though as I doubt my wife shares my views.

By the way I really like what you've done with your 2 pounder, it looks great.

Cheers

Brian

Edited August 7, 2008 by Brian Wolfe

[Mike]

Glad you liked it Brian , Thanks. There?s a new Booklet on the 2Pdr that was just Published this year (?Service Publications ? in Canada)

They used my 2Pdr on the front cover ? http://www.servicepub.com/

If you get a chance, it would be worth it to find a copy . Doug Knight really did a nice job on the Book.