WORLD WAR IIINSET:COUR
TESY^ OF^ JAME
S^ PERDUE22
FROM THE FOOTLOCKER
DANGEROUS
GROUND
I came across this object while hiking
near Pyramid Peak in Unalaska,
Alaska. Due to safety concerns, I left it
in the mountains. It’s roughly 10 inches
long; can you tell me what it is? —Erika
Hundrup, Federal Way, WashingtonUnalaska’s Pyramid Peak is in the Aleutians,
near Amaknak Island, location of a place likely
familiar to readers of this magazine: Dutch
Harbor. On June 3 and 4, 1942, Japanese forces
attacked the military facilities at Dutch
Harbor. One of the units defending the harbor
was the 206th Coast Artillery Regiment, an
Arkansas National Guard unit. The regiment,Curators at
The National
World War II
Museum
solve readers’
artifact
mysteriesHave a World War II artifact you can’t identify?
Write to [email protected] with the following:
— Your connection to the object and what you know about it.
— The object’s dimensions, in inches.
— Several high-resolution digital photos taken close up and
from varying angles.
— Pictures should be in color, and at least 300 dpi.
Unfortunately, we can’t respond to every query, nor can
we appraise value.inducted into federal service on January 6,
1941, deployed to Dutch Harbor that August.
An antiaircraft regiment, it was equipped with
three-inch M3 antiaircraft guns.
The item pictured appears to be a fired
three-inch shell; rif ling marks indicate it has
passed through a barrel. Judging by the num-
bered kitchen timer-like device on one end
(top, right), it looks as if the shell had a time
fuze, intended to delay explosion for a calcu-
lated duration so it could reach the target air-
craft’s altitude before detonating. The shell
also would have had an impact detonator fuze,
so it would explode if it hit something.
For whatever reason, this shell did not
explode. Unexploded shells are very danger-
ous; they can be set off by being moved, struck,
or just touched, and can become more unsta-
ble over time. If you find a shell, the only safe
thing to do is assume it’s live, leave it alone,
and contact local authorities so they can
dispose of it safely.
In 1942, the 206th helped bring down a
Japanese Zero, gaining an important war
trophy. Restored to f lyable condition, it
became useful in teaching American pilots
and tacticians how to counter the Japanese
fighter. —Tom Czekanski, senior curator and
restoration managerCorporal Emon C. Perdue (far right at left)
and men of the 206th Coast Artillery Regiment
hold tools of their trade (today, above) by a
bunker near Alaska’s Dutch Harbor.