Now we know what it is – but questions remain

Update

KNYSNA NEWS - When a man from Hornlee in Knysna arrived at the Knysna-Plett Herald offices more than a month ago with what seemed like a bomb or missile under his arm, staff members didn’t know what to make of it.

Subsequently an article was written, asking history and military buffs of the Garden Route to help the newspaper identify the item as neither the police nor the local historical society knew what the item was or how it ended up in Hornlee.

When Desmond van Rooyen visited our Spring Street offices on 27 March with the strange piece of metal, it caused a bit of a panic.

'No children's toy'
It was only when he started explaining how he came about the object that everybody's worries subsided. He said he noticed some children playing with the artillery shell earlier that same day, near the old Hornlee swimming pool, and immediately decided he had to get it away from them.

"The area where they were playing is being cleared for houses to be built there, so it must have come out during that process – but I really don't know how it ended up there. When I saw one kid chasing another with it I became sceptical and took it from them – you never know if it is still dangerous," Van Rooyen said at the time.

He then handed the item over to the Knysna police where it was identified as a 90mm warhead casing and handed over to the SAPS explosives unit based in Mossel Bay “for safekeeping and disposal”, according to spokesperson Sergeant Chris Spies.

Someone in the know
Since the publication of the article on 12 April, a man who has only identified himself as Jacques came forward with some interesting information on the 90mm projectile.

“It is just a piece of iron or copper and can’t explode,” was how he started his email. Jacques went on to explain that the object was probably the front part of a 90mm artillery projectile or practice round, adding that the army did not use the canons that could fire such a round.

“This looks more like the ‘bullets’ used by a Ratel-90 'pantser' vehicle, the Panhard or even the Eland-90. In the army we referred to them as ‘shells’. It’s usually made up of three parts; the front part (in the photo), the shell itself and the gunpowder on the inside. These items are quite easy to come by and are sometimes used as door stoppers. During my days in the army they were given out as prizes at army competitions – your name was engraved onto it. Maybe this one was stolen somewhere or forgotten,” he said.

It could be donated to the SA Armour Museum in Bloemfontein or to a military reenactment society,

'Harmless object'
Jacques added that Van Rooyen did the right thing handing the object over to the police, but believes it should not be destroyed. “It’s harmless. It could be donated to the SA Armour Museum in Bloemfontein or to a military reenactment society, or even sold,” he said.

But how does Jacques know all this? “I was in the army for 20 years and used the shells myself.”

Now we know what the object is, but how it got there still a mystery. If there is a reader out there who might have missed the first article and thinks they know something about the 90mm practice round, please contact Stefan Goosen with any information you might have.

The 90mm artillery shell from up close. How did it land up in Hornlee? Photos: Stefan Goosen