The following WWII report on Italian fragmentation shells appeared in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 26, June 3, 1943. [DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from the U.S. War Department publication Tactical and Technical Trends. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]

ITALIAN 75/27 HE FRAGMENTATION SHELL The unusual feature of this ammunition is a "fragmentation piece," or segmented metal cylinder filled with TNT. The detonation of the shell is intended to break up the cylinder into small squares, thereby augmenting the antipersonnel effect. The shell body is of carbon steel, probably of low tensile strength, and is punched and drawn with a solid base, and the cavity is machined. There is a single copper rotating band. The nose, fuze adapter, and fragmentation piece are machined castings in gray cast-iron. The shell may be identified by its specially processed gray surface with a 15-mm (.58-inch) light blue band, 20 mm (.79 inch) forward of the rotating band. An examination of the shell produces the following descriptive data: Weight of shell body    6.98 lb        Length of shell body    7.97 in Weight of nose fuze adaptor 1.87 lb Length of nose fuze adaptor 2.16 in Weight of fragmentation piece 3.85 lb Length of fragmentation piece 6.46 in Total weight (unfilled, unfuzed) 12.7 lb Length of shell, unfuzed 9.25 in Length of shell in rear of Rotating band   1.48 in

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