INERT DEACTIVATED. 1941 Dated Hispano-Suiza (20x110) HS 404 Aircraft Cannon Armour Piercing Round. - O 1799 INERT DEACTIVATED. 1941 Dated Hispano-Suiza (20x110) HS 404 Aircraft Cannon Armour Piercing Round. - O 1799 Other Ammunition

INERT DEACTIVATED. The 20mm Hispano-Suiza (20x110) HS 404 aircraft cannon which first entered service experimentally in the Battle of Britain in 1940 arming several Supermarine Spitfires and also in the Bristol Beaufighter which carried 4 of the guns internally. The gun however with its original 60 round drum feed although very effective in combat was mechanically unreliable. The gun was later modified to a belt feed which was reliable and served in many aircraft throughout WW2 including the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, Westland Whirlwind, Bristol Beaufighter, Hawker Typhoon and Tempest as standard equipment or an upgrade of the Browning .303 machine gun as an effective hard hitting gun. The round was later used in the De Havilland Vampire and Gloster Meteor fighter aircraft after World War 2. This is a Hispano HS 404 armour piercing round manufactured in 1941. Aircraft rounds at this time used the full date code, eg 1940 as opposed to other services using the last two numbers, eg. 40. The brass cartridge case is headstamped BBC (Bridgeport Brass Co., Bridgeport) 20MM 1941 (manufacture date). The steel projectile retains most of its original black painted finish has a copper driving band with a bakelite ballistic cap profiled to the high explosive round so it enabled the different projectiles to keep the same trajectory, all projectiles being the same weight. The bakelite ballistic caps being quite fragile rarely survive intact. This ballistic cap has no damage to it and retains most of its original two white near the tip indicating full armour piercing performance, i.e. it would penetrate 20mm of steel plate. The price includes U.K. delivery and no licence is required to possess inert rounds in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. O 1799