Bofors 40mm Spare barrel box question???

[Rob Fast]

Looking for answers on the guts of the spare barrel box? See attached pics of the hot barrel cradles which seem to fit along side the barrel. Also two round holders???Brushes??? and a wooden dowel with retainging clip??? Any thoughts? Cheers Rob

[Alex van de Wetering]

Rob,

I think searching MLU will maybe answer your question, as I seem to remember we have had some discussion on the spare barrel box before...with some good pictures (?). Can't remember who posted them though...maybe Brad Mills?

Alex

[Melvyn Bean]

Hello,
Does anyone have a picture of the stencilling/wording on the side of the wartime Bofors 40mm spare barrel box please?
Thanks in advance, Mel

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Does anyone know the size of the spare gun barrel box?

Other than the photos pasted here and the ones attached below (also from this forum) I cannot find any info.

[rob love]

I just saw something about the stowage in the barrel chest. It does have the woolen and regular brushes inside. I'll research the subject further.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Is this a Bofors spare barrel box? Note it has been sanded down to serve as a piece of furniture.

"length 3.07 meter, width 26 cm x height 28 cm"

[rob love]

Whatever your crate is for Hanno, it is not the British version. The latches look like the ones on some of the Finnish tool and spares chests that I have for mine.
Dimensions for the Canadian chest I have here is 103"L x14"Wx9.5"H not including any exterior protrusions like the handles and latches. In metric that would work out to roughly 262x35.5x24
I did not find the reference I was using for the brushes, but did find this in the manual. The chest here at work does not have the little round mount with the clip that you have pictured Rob. I'll check my crate at home and see what it has. There was a mk1 and mk2 version of this chest. Add to that it is now 80 years later so modifications could have happened. Check the right end of your chest Rob and there should be makers marks and date.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Rob, that’s a big help.

Alex found the wooden box I posted above on a site and suggested to a mutual friend with a Ford F60S LAAT this may be a Bofors spare barrel box. Now seems it isn’t one as it is considerably longer than the wartime one.

[tankbarrell]

It might still be a Bofors spare barrel box, just for the L/70, rather than the wartime L/60. Is it about 400mm longer?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

That’s what Alex suggested, too. The one for sale is 45 cm longer compared to the dimensions listed by Rob.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Yes, it would have been so nice to add an original box to Egbert's LAAT!

A real shame the seller, or a previous owner, sanded off the original paint and markings.....but chances are that if it was/is a Dutch post-war 40L70 barrel box (which I think is likely), it was just green overall with small white lettering. Sometimes these former army boxes end up in thrift stores here in Holland; I recently found a box for a Leopard shock absorber for sale!



To add to the Bofors box data on the forum:
Here is a box I pictured at the Gunfire museum in Brasschaat, Belgium, last year. I have no idea if this is an original wartime box, or a postwar one dressed up to look like an original. I did take some measurements at the time for modelling purposes, but somehow I can't find them now! If I find them, I will add them here.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Two more....


By the way; I remember seeing detail pictures of a somehwhat rotten, but original wartime, box here on the forum..but I can't remember who posted it...maybe the Hammond crew? Rob Fast? Dave Pope?

[rob love]

There was this one that Rob Fast posted many years ago here: http://mapleleafup.net/forums/showth...1384#post81384

[rob love]

Here are some shots of my crate with the original packing label in the lid. Another shot shows the wool brush in it's holder, the next two are the lifting tools in their brackets.

My muzzle cone wrench does not fit in the bracket. It may be assembled wrong. I think I have another I'll try.


Does anybody know what the "box, Tallow, 1lb" looks like? Or the sponge, ejector? I have some steel ejectors, but don't think I have a sponge type.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Melvyn Bean

Hello,
Does anyone have a picture of the stencilling/wording on the side of the wartime Bofors 40mm spare barrel box please?
Thanks in advance, Mel

FYI: merged this post from a separate thread.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Originally Posted by rob love

There was this one that Rob Fast posted many years ago here: http://mapleleafup.net/forums/showpo...4&postcount=38

Hi Rob; I tried hard to find the pictures of the rotton one here on the forum, but I can't find them......maybe I am just getting old and I am seeing things!

Meanwhile I did find the measurements I took of the Barrel box in Brasschaat, Belgium. It's 2614mmx260mm230mm. So, the length matches the size mentioned earlier; the height is similar, but there is a difference in width. I think there is a difference between boxes for just the barrel and one for barrel and ancillaries (?) Or is it a British vs Canadian difference? Wartime vs postwar?
Now, I am not sure if the one in Brasschaat is wartime; it definately doesn't match the boxes of the Robs.

Your box and Rob's look really nice. and the wider box also matches more with the space reserved in the back of the LAAT under the seat. I also see the "C428" on the paper on the lid, which I presume sis the offical name of the barrel box.

Rob, can I ask if you have any overall pictures available? Sorry...this is a scale modelling question. I am tring to work out where all the booden blocks, handles and hinges go.

Since the blank box turned up for sale here in Holland, more boxes have popped up for sale....all about 3meter length, so they could well all be 40L70 boxes.

[rob love]

I thought it was ar the link I provided, but I don't see it now. As I recall, the box was one that had been left outside in a mud compound here in shilo.

I have a crate here on the museum floor, so can provide shots of that. I need to get a new card for the shop camera, so will pick one up next time I get to town.

The part number on that tag does not seem relevant to the complete chest. I cannot find that number in the north American parts manual. It refers to CAN3334 or alternate AN3334: Box, spare barrel and implements, Cno1mkIi.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hi Rob,

It could also well be my memory that's failing me!

I think the picture Rob Fast posted of the box with barrell looking straight into it, came from the IMA USA website; apparently they had two barrells and boxes for sale at some time and two pictures are still shown on the IMA website, but the side view is only partial and pretty grainy.
https://www.ima-usa.com/products/bof...nt=25653053573

Thanks for your comments on the part number; it was a hunch on my behalf.

I have a crate here on the museum floor, so can provide shots of that. I need to get a new card for the shop camera, so will pick one up next time I get to town.

Any pictures would be very welcome Rob.

[jack neville]

I have a friend who has an entire kitchen built from recycled Bofors barrel boxes.

[rob love]

Jack:you have sent me photos of limber drawers used to build a shed, and now you reveal that bofors barrel boxes are used to make kitchens. Are there building codes down under?

Actually, in the same vein, my wife's last house had the basement floor built out of 1960s 105mm ammo crates.

[jack neville]

I’ll get some photos next time I am there. I’m pretty sure he told me the boxes were made of Kauri Pine which would mean the boxes would have been Australian production.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

I also see the "C428" on the paper on the lid, which I presume is the official name of the barrel box.

I did quick search on the British Ordnance Collectors Network site but could only find C219, which is the designation for the 40 mm ammunition box for 40mm QF Bofors: https://www.bocn.co.uk/threads/c219-...-bofors.12441/

[Alex van de Wetering]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

I did quick search on the British Ordnance Collectors Network site but could only find C219, which is the designation for the 40 mm ammunition box for 40mm QF Bofors: https://www.bocn.co.uk/threads/c219-...-bofors.12441/

Yes, sorry about that....my comments on the "C" number was only a hunch....and wrong!
C216 and C219 are indeed the 40mm ammunition boxes; the first for the ammo in clips of 4; the latter with the ammo stored in cardboard boxes.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Originally Posted by rob love

There was this one that Rob Fast posted many years ago here: http://mapleleafup.net/forums/showth...1384#post81384

Rob Fast or Rob Love.... Could you confirm that the top of the lid is just flat with 2 or three thin metal strips keeping the wood together?

BTW; I asked IMA if that had more pictures on file of the spare barrel boxes they had for sale a while ago, but they only had the two small pictures on their web page.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Is this of any help?

Military box
C$140 · In stock

Details
Condition: Used – like new and 8‘ x 12”

AUCTION EVENT OCTOBER 30th 2023

https://www.facebook.com/10004628380...ibextid=cr9u03

Made with One inch pine
Dovetail corners
Used to hold 60mm guns... could hold flowers instead

2nd world war slotted and Robertson screws mix. Canada likely.

Message for phone number

9129 county rd 30 havelock k0L 1z0

Source: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...1844869049125/

[Alex van de Wetering]

Is this of any help?

Wow! Nice find, Hanno.......those could be very interesting for any of our Canadian members......original Bofors boxes in very nice condition for a reasonable price!

Funny enough the pictures don't answer my question on the top of the lid.....but I found my answer a couple of days ago. Pictures attached are from the Canadian Archives and show that the lid is just smooth.....and probably the reason nobody shows the top in sales adverts.....as the interior and sides are much more interesting!

https://recherche-collection-search....Number=3626633
https://recherche-collection-search....Number=3626632
https://recherche-collection-search....Number=3224683

[rob love]

The auction Hanno listed is already over. I wonder if the crates sold and if so what they sold for. That might be a case where somebody got the whole pile for peanuts. I wish they were closer, although I have my one spare barrel box in good shape. Those were Canadian crates, as evidenced by the Canadian NSNs on the sides of most of them.