Shells Manufactured in Verdun

This type of shell weighs about 8 kilograms (18.5 pounds) and was used for the 18-pounder field gun, a typical weapon used by the British and Canadian armies during the First World War. The shells could be filled with high explosives, shrapnel, poison gas, incendiary material or smoke.

The detonator, which is the pointed tip of the shell, was manufactured in Verdun. The shell in the photograph, 57 cm in length with an outside diameter of 13 cm, is made of brass. 

Between 1914 and 1918, British guns shot approximately 100 million shells. That’s an average of 43 shots per minute!