U.S. Navy Replacement Sample Powder Tank MK.1 For Sale

I have a vintage and fantastic piece of WWII history with this Sample Replacement Powder Tank MK.1 canister.The Mark I designation indicates it was made for the Navy. In a tradition dating from the earliest days of smokeless powder for the big guns, the Navy felt it was necessary to have samples of the powder exposed to the same heat, humidity, and motion as the powder loaded in the cartridges. These would be checked periodically to make sure the powder was not deteriorating in potentially dangerous ways. Therefore they had powder sample tanks in many of the magazines on ships, especially larger ships like cruisers or battleships that still used bag type charges instead of brass cases.

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