Artillery Shell Found in Farm Field

You never know what you might find in a farm field, as a Barton County resident discovered.

On July 11th, Barton County 9-1-1 was notified an individual had found what appeared to be a live artillery shell.

Several months ago, while conducting haying operations, a citizen discovered the round in a field near the airport west of Great Bend.

It was picked up and put in a pickup truck and basically forgotten about.

Last week, the citizen contacted a relative who is familiar with explosives.

The relative advised him to get it out of the truck and call 911.

Examination of the item revealed no fuse was present in the nose, although the shell was filled with an unknown substance.

On July 12 the item was taken to Wichita for x-ray examination.

Local historians believe the round is from a 75 mm recoilless rifle, possibly used at the Army Air Base west of Great Bend.