20 MM Hispano-Suiza Trench Art Lighter

A very fine example of WWII trench art, crafted from an inert 20mm cannon shell. At the start of World War II, British fighters were equipped with Browning machine guns firing.303 ammunition, but it quickly became apparent that these rounds were too light to ensure serious damage to Luftwaffe aircraft. The introduction of armour further reduced the effectiveness of the rounds and something with more hitting power was urgently requirement. The British turned to the Spanish designed Hispano Suiza HS.404 autocannon that could fire a 20mm round and ball, and high explosive and armour piercing rounds were also available. The Hispano-Suiza subsequently equipped virtually every British fighter aircraft during WWII and after some early teething troubles it proved to be an extremely effective weapon and was used in the Spitfire, Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, Mosquito, Whirlwind, Beaufighter and others

Our example is threaded and attached to a handcrafted polished oak base. On removal we discovered, and as illustrated here, that it dates from 1942 and is also marked 20 MM and carries a manufacturers mark 'BBC'. There has been some debate as to whether this refers to the British 'Barking Brassware Company' or the American 'Bridgeport Brass Company' from Connecticut. The pundits largely agree it was the latter who produced this example and the company supplied millions of these rounds for both the USA and the UK under the "lend lease" agreement.

The lighter within the body of this example is acessed by sliding off the deactivated head, that reveals the flint strike and wick lighting arrangement. We have not tried to replace the flint, wick or fuel but see no reason why it would not still work as intended. We will however leave any decision on that to the new owner, so is offered for sale here as a very fine display item and as a memorial to the unknown fitter who crafted this piece 80 odd years ago. Measures fully assembled 8.25" (21 cm)