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ChrisC · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 26, 2006 Posts: 147

We just had two shells arrive at our museum, they are 120 mm rounds, marked “Charge, Propellant T21E1, for 120mm gun T123, for HE & WP shell” the round case is dated 1954.
It looks like this round is from an M103. My questions, did anything else use this gun / round? Was this a separate shell / propellant charge, or did this thing originally have a projectile on it? Is this a rare or uncommon round? I have never seen one before. Last, where was the M103 made? I need a link to Michigan to justify putting this in our museum display.

Pzkpfw-e · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jul 21, 2010 Posts: 1202

Wiki en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...heavy_tank reckons "M103's cannon was a rifled gun firing a fixed round, ejecting a lengthy brass shell casing (34.69 inches in length for the armor-piercing rounds)"
From afvdb.50megs.com/usa/m103heavy.html
"The first pilot T43 was armed with the 120mm gun T122, which was replaced with the 120mm gun T123 that became the M58 gun found in production tanks"
"two loaders were required to feed the separate projectile and propellant to the potent 120mm gun"
M103 Manufacturer - Chrysler Corp.
M103 A2 - Red River Army Depot

Doug_Kibbey · Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:19 pm Post subject: Re: T21E1 propellant charge

Propellant charge, T21E1 (for tank, M103) for use with HE and WP shot second from left, propellant charge T38E1 for use with AP and TP shot second from right. Both labeled for gun, T123.

ChrisC · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 26, 2006 Posts: 147

H figured it was a two part round, looking at the brass case, I could not imagine handling that case inside a tank...

I saw that Chrysler made the M103, but were they made at the Warren tank plant?

Doug_Kibbey · Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:37 am Post subject: Re: T21E1 propellant charge

- ChrisC

H figured it was a two part round, looking at the brass case, I could not imagine handling that case inside a tank...

I saw that Chrysler made the M103, but were they made at the Warren tank plant?

Trevor's page indicates that the design and pilot tank originated at Warren, and that production models were completed at Newark with upgrades being performed at Texarkana, so there's a definite link, if not quite "production".

www.preservedtanks.com...oryId=1870

ChrisC · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 26, 2006 Posts: 147

They are impressive looking shells, so I may put them on display. There are a few MI links.
The continental engines were made here too.

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