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Once more into the Whatziss breach...

By The Armorer on August 11, 2010 | | Comments (31)
Mebbe this will help.

CCI08082010_00002_day_three.jpg

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31 Comments

By Blake Kirk on August 11, 2010 8:04 AM
Field bakery cunningly disguised as an artillery battery?
 
By Grimmy on August 11, 2010 8:51 AM
Cannon balls painted in We Surrender! color.
 
By Grimmy on August 11, 2010 8:55 AM
Oh no. I think I've figured it out.

Each of those round objects started out as small irregularly shaped rocks. They've been painted so often, they've taken on a globe shape and... um... what's the quadrupled type word for something that's grown 10 times in size?

This is real history folks. A history best appreciated by enlisted persons, not officers.
This is the first batch of rocks used in the Paint Rocks time kill detail. Looks like we caught em at the end of the "paint em white" phase, just before the order to "paint em yellow" is given.
 
By Boquisucio on August 11, 2010 9:12 AM
Sight - Some can't help themselves to bear their balls in public.
 
By bad cat robot on August 11, 2010 9:17 AM
That's looking like some kind of mondo gun turret base in the back.  Could they be ball bearings???  And bucket boy and friends washing all possible sand or gunk off before installing and greasing?

That or pterodactyl eggs grown by Totenkopf and Unit 13.
 
By Old Fat Sailor on August 11, 2010 9:47 AM
train bearings for a costal defence piece? Sill LL Finns tho....
 
By Annabelle on August 11, 2010 9:57 AM
As Jihad Gene would say... "WHAT DA FRACK?"
 
By BloodSpite on August 11, 2010 11:18 AM
It looks like the round objects are sitting on some good old fashioned cotton duck. I cant see them sitting bearings to be heavily greased on cotton duck, as the after effects would seep in to it like no ones business. Pretty much ruining an effective piece of usable fabric, which insofar as my knowledge goes, has always been in notoriously short supply. In other words I cant see them essentially wasting a large piece of cotton duck for this.

That said what gets me is the background, it does look like a rail in the background, and the base of the object to their left has railroad type wheels but I've seen those on artillery type hardware before, although in different configuration (Like so) What gets me is it looks like there is dirt and debris caught between the wheels....that seems odd.

I'm sticking with cannonballs, or a 19th century version of artillery shells in a more artillery based piece than a cannon per se.
 
By Cannonshop on August 11, 2010 11:27 AM
The site is a field kitchen, those are either bread-dough, or ostrich eggs.
 
By Sea Dog on August 11, 2010 11:32 AM
Kinda looks like gas (mustard) shells to me, though the uniforms look more WWII tahn WWI.
 
By Grimmy on August 11, 2010 11:40 AM
I change my vote to those being antimatter fuel pellets for the trains that are nearby in the pic.
 
By Blake Kirk on August 11, 2010 1:17 PM
Actually, I'm going to agree with bad cat robot here:  bearings they are, to fit into the big ring mount in the background.
 
By htom on August 11, 2010 1:34 PM
"Grapefruit shot" would have been my first guess, but I suspect they're bearings, cleaned, dried, and put out for inspection before the final assembly of the mount.
 
By prestonious on August 11, 2010 1:44 PM
The Armorer is likely giving a big hint with his title but it is still not enough to assist this soul. Not with these eyes.
 
By Cannonshop on August 11, 2010 2:16 PM
Seriously now, if you look into the deep background of the pic, there are those same balls laid out around the ring-so they're probably ball-bearings like htom, BCR and Blake Kirk are saying.  Given the uniforms (Wehrmacht, looks like sometime late thirties or early forties), I'd say this scene is from the construction of Hitler's atlantic Wall defenses.
 
By fdcol63 on August 11, 2010 2:38 PM
The big round thing on the left looks like a spool, possibly for heavy duty cable like we see on the right.
 
By BillT on August 11, 2010 3:09 PM
Fifty-pound superballs -- for creating a self-sustaining barrage...
 
By MCart on August 11, 2010 4:45 PM
Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure we broke it.

(38 centimeter gun turret base)
 
By Justthisguy on August 11, 2010 6:04 PM
Obturator pads.
 
By NevadaDailySteve on August 11, 2010 6:39 PM
I try to stay out of these things because I only show my ignorance when I spout off. However, I will confidently come out and steal part of my answer from others.

Ball bearings for the base of a WWI Paris gun.

Let the snarkage of my answer begin.
 
By John (Not The Armorer) on August 11, 2010 6:44 PM
"Dora" related?
 
By Justthisguy on August 11, 2010 6:49 PM
There are 112 of them.
 
By Justthisguy on August 11, 2010 6:56 PM
And, yes, they are obviously being anointed with _something_. They are the wrong color to be ball bearings, which would be shiny, even under the grease. I still think they are obturator pads getting their final anointing before being flattened and having the hole poked through the middle.
 
By MrMan on August 11, 2010 8:30 PM
 Pre-radar days, German Flak theory was to shoot up masses of IR paint-filled paint-ball type munitions into Allied bomber formations. IR paint splatters bomber. German fighter with IR capability (early night vision) could then detect, approach, and shoot down said IR illuminated bomber.  Unfortunately, for the Germans, IR technology was not advanced enough, nor equipment small enough, to fit into their night fighter aircraft. Brighter lads then advanced the theory that if the paint-ball could hit the bomber, then the simpler solution would be to fire other types of munitions (more deadly) which could also hit the bomber; thus eliminating need for the IR paint-balls pictured above.
 
By Terrapod on August 11, 2010 9:16 PM
The giant spools seems to say made in Marburg or close to it. These look like german uniforms but the doggone thing they are building in the backgound is a giant iron ring device with lotsa rivets so it is probably pre 30's and just because the giant ring is stuck in the ground and looks like the base of a battleship turret, these are bearings being greased or prepped for installation.
Before the rotary superstructure is installed.  Where? Heck if I know. From the guy standing next to the ring, it is about 3' above ground and I would guess near 18' in diameter.  I have seen Krupps emplacements in Argentina that have rotary plaforms of this diameter with breech loading cannon, electric controls and rail lines to move powder and shells from the bunkers to the gun. Of course you now want me to say where....
 
By eric on August 11, 2010 9:36 PM
racering berrings for a coastal defence gun
 
By Kirk on August 11, 2010 10:23 PM

Austrian troops during WW1.  Looks like engineers building a firing position for a heavy howitzer...M14 420mm or the 380mm?  Probably Italian front...

 
By DoktorBill on August 11, 2010 11:31 PM

I'm seconding SeaDog, chemical warfare ordnance of some sort.

 
By MCart on August 12, 2010 12:06 AM
Too small for a paris gun, and they weren't mounted on turrets anwyay. They mounted one on a church.

Sticking with a 38cm naval gun installed on a costal defense turret.
 
By Arditi on August 12, 2010 2:18 AM
  Most definitely Austro-Hungarions of WWI vintage.  My guess would gas related projectiles as well.
 
By Rich on August 12, 2010 6:28 AM
They might be highly reflective steel bearings. Balls in lower right appear to reflect canvas from bottom, then darker forrest, then bright overcast sky. Notice bright scene but no sharp shadows.