SOLD

 VERY RARE German 57mm brass case which has been fired and has damage around top edge from being fired the case is dated May 1916.These guns were only fitted in to the front of A74V tank of which only 20 were ever built.The case still retain's its shiny brass colour the case has all its original markings the first time i have ever had a shell from this famous tank .This case came from a private collection on the Somme ware it would have been used in the battles on the famous battlefield.This is a very nice condition relic from the famous Somme battlefield which comes with a laminated 5x7 information sheet with photo. 

THIS ITEM IS FREE UK SHIPPING. FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS IT IS A REDUCED RATE PLEASE ASK BEFORE PURCHASE.

The A7V was a tank introduced by the Germans in 1918. One hundred chassis were ordered in early 1917, 10 to be finished as fighting vehicles with armoured bodies; the number to be armoured was later increased to 20. They were used in action from March to October 1918, and were the only tanks produced by Germany in World War I to be used in combat. Some A7Vs were originally built with two forward-facing machine guns instead of a 57 mm gun, but most were converted to carry a 57 mm before entering service.

The first tank against tank combat in history took place on 24 April 1918 when three A7Vs (including chassis number 561, known as "Nixe") took part in an attack with infantry which incidentally met three Mark IVs (two female machine gun-armed tanks and one male with two 6-pounder guns) near Villers-Bretonneux. During the battle, tanks on both sides were damaged.