Eastender
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These are previous finds I made over the past couple of years while metal detecting on Eastern Long Island where I live. Since I didn't get out in the field today in order to rest up, I will share some of my collection highlights. We metal detectorists see plenty of ballistics, but these caught me by surprise.
The four pictured .50 cal rounds date to 1942 & 43 and were manufactured at the St. Louis Armory. Hence the head stamp SL 42 and SL 43. They were fired or ejected at altitude from aircraft patrolling the eastern end of Long Island, NY. Early in the conflict, enemy u boats were successful at sinking commercial shipping around the entry lanes to NYC. Long Island was also home to the critically important Grumman and Republic manufacturing facilities which produced numerous combat aircraft. A series of coastal fortifications and airstrips were set up as a coastal defense network. (There is a famous Nazi propaganda periscope photo of the NYC night skyline during winter 1942!)
The first round I found was the bent tip live round. It was stuck in a wooded hillside like a dart four inches deep. It was obviously a jam cleared at altitude. Surmising from its location, these woods would have been the final approaches to the live gunnery range located at the northern tip of nearby Gardner's Island. This privately-owned island (still is, second largest private island in the US dating back to a King James Patent) was home to a small Spanish American War Fort built in 1898, then abandoned in 1920. During WWII, pilots used it for live fire exercises. The second live round clearly shows its black painted tip, signifying an armor-piercing round which would have been ideal for submarine conning towers.
My town was part of a unique chapter in WWII history when a group of Nazi saboteurs were offloaded onto our beaches on the night of June 13th, 1942. Local lookouts helped to thwart their plot. Every year our town hosts an reenactment of the event. These bullets are direct links to this history. If you don't know about this Nazi plot on our home soil, I have a attached a short and informative read.
www.history.com
The four pictured .50 cal rounds date to 1942 & 43 and were manufactured at the St. Louis Armory. Hence the head stamp SL 42 and SL 43. They were fired or ejected at altitude from aircraft patrolling the eastern end of Long Island, NY. Early in the conflict, enemy u boats were successful at sinking commercial shipping around the entry lanes to NYC. Long Island was also home to the critically important Grumman and Republic manufacturing facilities which produced numerous combat aircraft. A series of coastal fortifications and airstrips were set up as a coastal defense network. (There is a famous Nazi propaganda periscope photo of the NYC night skyline during winter 1942!)
The first round I found was the bent tip live round. It was stuck in a wooded hillside like a dart four inches deep. It was obviously a jam cleared at altitude. Surmising from its location, these woods would have been the final approaches to the live gunnery range located at the northern tip of nearby Gardner's Island. This privately-owned island (still is, second largest private island in the US dating back to a King James Patent) was home to a small Spanish American War Fort built in 1898, then abandoned in 1920. During WWII, pilots used it for live fire exercises. The second live round clearly shows its black painted tip, signifying an armor-piercing round which would have been ideal for submarine conning towers.
My town was part of a unique chapter in WWII history when a group of Nazi saboteurs were offloaded onto our beaches on the night of June 13th, 1942. Local lookouts helped to thwart their plot. Every year our town hosts an reenactment of the event. These bullets are direct links to this history. If you don't know about this Nazi plot on our home soil, I have a attached a short and informative read.
When the Nazis Invaded the Hamptons | HISTORY
Even before the US entered World War II, German military intelligence had developed a plan to secretly infiltrate the East Coast and sabotage American war efforts.
