Posted 8 years ago
lizzyb
(2 items)
Dont know anything abt these but would like to find out, They where found in a old homesteaded home from 1950's I purchased and have just been displaying with other antique looking items. I would love someone to help me with info ect...
Hmm. those are dandies. Not sure about the first one -- hard to tell with the maker's plate gone...are there any markings on it, anything stamped on the tank itself? It may not be military issue, but it's still a very nice extinguisher.
The other is the standard 15-pound CO2 extinguish that was most commonly in use on bard ships ("15-pound" is referring to how much CO2 it holds). I'm guessing it was made by Kidde? If this one is WWII, it is from the latter part of the war when the squeeze-lever handle was introduced. The earlier versions had a hand-wheel on the valve that you turned to discharge the CO2, but that had a number of disadvantages, including the fact that if you closed the valve before you'd emptied the tank, the remaining contents tended to leak out of it. As far as dating your extinguisher, look on the shoulder of the tank -- you should see numbers and letters stamped in it, including a date (or dates) for when it was accepted or inspected, such as "7-43." So if your tank stampings have an inspection date of 40 to 45, hey, you got yourself a bona-fide WWII one. They did keep using these for years afterwards (and updated a lot of them with the newer squeeze handle, so you may see an earlier dated tank with a later style valve like is on yours. You may also see a "USN" or a nice like anchor/US acceptance stamp on the shoulder of the tank which confirms Navy usage. If the extinguisher was made byWalter Kidde & Comapny, you'll also find a "WK&CO" stamped in this same location on the tank. These are very cool artifacts of the time period: many didn't survive as a lot got re-used for civilian service or scrapped when replaced with newer models. But during the war, USN put a LOT of emphasis on shipboard firefighting and damage control, and these portable CO2 extinguishers were a vital tool in that effort, especially as they could be taken in confined or difficult spaces, would work with A, B, and C class fires, and would still do the job even when your fire main system had been knocked out. The goal was to keep the ship fighting, and when she couldn't fight any more, to keep her under power and in place in the battle formation so the enemy wouldn't concentrate fire on the less damaged ships, and when that wasn't possible, to keep her floating. It's a great piece of our history.
I will look for further details asap, they sure are Heavy Id like to find there worth and someone interested in buying If Interested make offer ? Can the be shipped ? Also have Old Military Gas Cans