Inert Ordnance

I got a lot from a local scrap metal yard but I have also seen a number of auction website with shells for sale.
 
I know of some bold individuals who actually snuck into military live fire training grounds to get scrap metal. Some woman lost a few limbs after moving a live one. So don't pick up stuff from a training center near you.
 
Auction sites, possibly scrap yards, and maybe even a local Army Surplus could have a few things laying around.
 
RE: Inert Ord.

Forget E-Bay, They stopped people from selling on the site about two years ago. What are you looking for? I may have some to sell.:stupid:
 
The danger being that inert ordnance is not always completely inert.

Seen here is a small but dangerous enough pile of Baratol that I removed out of a 1942 Mills grenade that had sat on someone's mantle piece for nearly 60 years. The detonator, time fuse and primer had been removed, but the explosive was intact. Baratol is a TNT based explosive, and is reasonably insensitive when kept in good condition, but there's no telling what happens to it over that period of time.
IMG_2127converted.jpg


It burnt beautifully with a soft hot flame similar to that of sporting powder so I have no doubt that it still could have been quite energetic under the right circumstances. Even a low order detonation would have ruined the day for anyone warming their bum in front of the fire.
 
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Cool!
Maybe I should buy one and then put it under my platoon sergeant´s car. It would scare the living crap out of him! :lol:


In return I would be out of the army in 5 min.:sarc:
 
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Cool!
Maybe I should buy one and then put it under my platoon sergeant´s car. It would scare the living crap out of him! :lol:


In return I would be out of the army in 5 min.:sarc:
Zero humor. About the dumbest thing I can imagine any soldier doing.
You say five minutes, I say how ever long it takes for him to find you.
You'll be MIA.
 
It was meant sarcastically!

My platoon sergeant is just like god; he sees and knows everything.
 
The danger being that inert ordnance is not always completely inert.

Seen here is a small but dangerous enough pile of Baratol that I removed out of a 1942 Mills grenade that had sat on someone's mantle piece for nearly 60 years. The detonator, time fuse and primer had been removed, but the explosive was intact. Baratol is a TNT based explosive, and is reasonably insensitive when kept in good condition, but there's no telling what happens to it over that period of time.
IMG_2127converted.jpg


It burnt beautifully with a soft hot flame similar to that of sporting powder so I have no doubt that it still could have been quite energetic under the right circumstances. Even a low order detonation would have ruined the day for anyone warming their bum in front of the fire.

Something that old, A proper nudge from the mantle unto the floor might have been unpleasant.

Something else I thought I'd throw in on this thread, if your active duty, don't pick up unexploded ordnance off of a range- You'll be done almost as fast as the guy who joked about his Plt Sgt. ;)
 
Something that old, A proper nudge from the mantle unto the floor might have been unpleasant.

Something else I thought I'd throw in on this thread, if your active duty, don't pick up unexploded ordnance off of a range- You'll be done almost as fast as the guy who joked about his Plt Sgt. ;)

Good advice Sarge!
And if you're on a mission -don´t pick anything up! ;)
 
Visit the WW1 battlefields in France and Flanders, there's still tons of the stuff neatly stacked and just laying there, only problem is, its still live.

A young boy was stopped by customs in Dover a few years ago carrying a live grenade, mum and dad had a fit, the customs hall was cleared and bomb disposal called in. When asked where he had got it, he said it was sold by someone in a museum.
 
Visit the WW1 battlefields in France and Flanders, there's still tons of the stuff neatly stacked and just laying there, only problem is, its still live.

A young boy was stopped by customs in Dover a few years ago carrying a live grenade, mum and dad had a fit, the customs hall was cleared and bomb disposal called in. When asked where he had got it, he said it was sold by someone in a museum.

Its no joke, We have a house in Normandy, just a few kms from the beaches there are still some areas you don't want to walk around in because of landmines and other live ordinance.

This happened recently near were we live at Point de Hoc (where the US Army Rangers landed) a few months ago that netted 500 landmines. God knows what else is out there, personally when I am in these areas I never stray off the marked path, they say its swept, but I don't put much stock into it.

http://www.english.rfi.fr/visiting-france/20111006-500-mines-be-cleared-normandy-beach

(BTW, there is a typo in the article Calvados is 60 Kilometers west of Caen, not 60 meters).
 
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Its no joke, We have a house in Normandy, just a few kms from the beaches there are still some areas you don't want to walk around in because of landmines and other live ordinance.

I wasn't joking.

When I was a boy in the 1950's in North London, UXB's were being dug up all over the place. My family lived near the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, one of the Luftwaffe's favourite targets among others. I have no doubt there are quite a few still buried after all these years all over the UK.

I moved into a new house just outside London, I hadn't been there long when a 2000 pounder was found a couple of hundred yards away. The whole area was evacuated and sealed off until it was made safe, we didn't get our knickers in a twist we just got on with it.
 
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