1919 model Browning machine mgb trainer

This is a true story...

When I was a kid my mom bought or found (not sure where it came from) a mortar shell that she thought would make a nice addition to her decor. Anyways, she painted it with little Geshia girls and flowers. It was used mainly as a door stop. I remember very well playing with it when I was just a toddler. I remember sitting on the ground and knocking it over and rolling it around the house. Well, one day a neighbor who was also a Sheriff came over and was looking at it. He said to my mom, "have you ever had this checked out? This looks like it could be a live." She said no and so he agreed to have it taken to be x-rayed or something. Guess what? Yep. It was real. Yep. It was live. They disarmed it and he asked my mom what she wanted to do with it. She said oh you can keep it. LOL! I had basically been playing with a live bomb. This thing was huge. It was about a foot tall and maybe four inches around.

 

Ya...so everything IS bigger in Texas !!!!

WOW !!!!

& a good thing it is that you didn't become a doorstop !!!!

 

They fly very slow and in a tight circle so there's no escape.....and they're Marines....so...
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We hated A-10s at NAS Fallon, NV. It is a training/target range for (generally) inert bombs, rockets and aircraft cannon.
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In the center of a bomb/rocket target area (the 'bull's eye' or 'bull' as we called it) is a vehicle. 1 to 6 or so of them would blow the bejesus out of it. They would circle like buzzards, nothing like other aircraft that have to set up and make a run. We would have to go out into the desert dragging another vehicle with an APC or some such and change it out.
This wasn't bad most of the time but in the winter...the desert sucks any heat in you right on out and in the summer the mosquitoes are down deep in the rocket holes and they sense you and then look out.
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We also did this at night but didn't change out targets until daylight so that we didn't get bombed for we couldn't be seen.
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Remember the old 'smudge pots' that used to be markers for road work? That is how we marked each point of the compass and then one on top of the target.
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One NAVY Captain came in in a jet and fired his rocket at the target at night.
We had to shut down the rest of his and all other aircraft runs because no one could see the bull any more.
When we went out we thought it was just blown out but we couldn't find it so lit another.
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The next day I went looking for it and found it far from the bull. His rocket had creased a huge curve right into it, like an upside down U or saddle!
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I cleaned it up, made a brass plate for it with the info, made a nice wood plaque, mounted it all up and mailed it to him.
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He sent me a very happy letter and squadron patches for all the crew. Mine is still on the back of my Navy jacket.
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I bet your Mom was mortarfied!!!!

 

Or Shell Shocked !..........( that was too easy...)