Unexploded mortar round or an aerial flare - Id help needed

[bdahunter]

I found this at the beach today, just down from the Bermuda Regiment base. I can't decide if it is an unexploded round or an aerial flare.
This beach area saw a lot of target practice during WWI and WWII, so it could be either or even something else. There is a hook shaped piece of metal coming out of the front (could be a detonator or a place to attach a parachute) and it looks to have guidance fins on the back. The fins can be adjusted by screwing them forward or backward on a metal pin. I would say that the fins are aluminium and the case is iron. It is hard to tell because of the amount of encrustation. The whole thing weighs around 4 pounds at a guess and 9 inches long, 2 inches in diameter.
Here's the Pics:

Side view
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Front and Back view
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If it is a mortar around I don't want it sitting in my backyard but I couldn't just leave it at the beach with kids playing in the area.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

BDA

 

[Dean (Whitby Canada)]

Thats a British 2 inch Mortar round..and it looks live..sink it!!!

Dean

 

[bdahunter]

Here's the deal. I swing by the Bermuda Regiment base on my break to get rid of this thing (still not sure if it's a mortar round or an aerial flare).
I drive onto the base (nobody at the guard post), find a couple of guys sitting on a wall and explain to them what I have in the back of my car. "Kewl Man, No Problem, go see dee quartamasta over dere". So over dere I go, get the item out of my car and take it into dee quartamasta's office. Nobody at the counter but I can see a couple of locals chatting in the back office about their weekend, so I try to make eye contact - Good Luck! I set the item up on the counter in it's bed made from a towel so as not to bang it on the hard surface, they keep yakking. Finally after what seems forever with a potential bomb sitting at face level (to interrupt their conversation would be considered rude in Bermuda and I would have to wait twice as long for being rude) one of them says "Good Morning" (very important phrase here, I can talk to them now).
I say "Good Morning, I found something on the beach on the weekend and I think it belongs to you" and motion to the item on the counter. "What is dat?" she asks, so I say "I think it's a bomb" (I'm a little PO'ed at this point). She saunters up to the counter and her friend follows her, he says "That's an old mortar shell, haven't seen one of dose in a while, where did you find it?" I told him I found it at Chaplin Bay on the beach beside some kids making a sand castle; he just smiles and picks it up like it was a paperweight or something. "Yes" he says "that's a mortar shell allright" and THEN HE STARTS PLAYING WITH THE DETONATOR!!
I said "thank you so much for taking that off of my hands" they said "thank you for bringing it in" and dat was dat.
I got the heck out of there as quick as I could before he could figure out how to make it go off, I didn't hear an explosion by the time I was out of earshot so I am assuming it was a dud, either that or he just got bored and put it back down.
I'll have to watch the news tonight and see if there was a terrorist attack on the Bermuda Regiment.
Sometime living on a tropical island isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Cheers,

BDA

PS It turns out that this mortar round is loaded with 2 lbs. of TNT.

 

[TNHunter]

ROFLMAO Bermuda bomb squad at its best.

 

[spotter]

Hello im a new member,that mortar round is a 2 inch smoke round not HE.I dig these up regulary whilst at work ( i work ordnance clearance)They contain a smoke composition which when initiated is emitted through some holes in the body near to where the tail joins the body.You cannot see these in your picture due to the soil etc.The small clip on the head is in case of non firing and is used to hook the round out of the tube.By the way you did the right thing by arranging for the authoritys to deal with it as you was unsure what it was or wether it was safe

 

[bdahunter]

If that's the case i feel relieved that I wasn't in any real danger and either was anyone else. I was considering myself a bit of a fool for taking home what I have been told was a bomb. Either way I am glad to be rid of it, though I must say that I had considered avoiding those beaches in the future so it leaves some options open to me now.

BDA

 

[spotter]

If you go to this site http://visualcollector.com/ david gordon has some nice examples of the different 2 inch mortar ammunition.ive attatched an old photo of one of the first 2in smoke rounds i recovered,also attatched is a photo of a 2 in practice round recently found,and a 2in illumination round(the white one),These were located using a Foerster locator. generally they are in the same condition as the one you found a lot depends on the soil conditions.
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