Description
37/38mm Federal Laboratories No. 206 Spedeheat Long-Range CN Tear-Gas Projectile
Product Overview
This Federal Laboratories No. 206 Spedeheat projectile is an inert collectible from the history of American police equipment. Made for the 37/38mm, or 1½-inch, riot-gun system, it retains markings that identify its original long-range CN loading. Its maker’s name, range designation, and red color markings give collectors several useful points of identification.
Identification and Features
The label wording agrees with the No. 206 entry in period projectile references. The red bands and lettering also match Federal’s CN color code.
- Catalog model: Federal Laboratories No. 206 Spedeheat, long-range CN type
- Caliber family: 37/38mm, also described as 1½-inch
- Range marking: “150 YARD—FEDERAL SPEDEHEAT”
- Product designation: “LONG RANGE PROJECTILE”
- Original agent marking: “CHEMICAL AGENT (CN)”
- Manufacturer: Federal Laboratories, Inc., Saltsburg, Pennsylvania
Function
The original Spedeheat delivered a tear-gas cloud at a distance. CN stands for chloroacetophenone, an older tear-gas agent. In its original service form, the projectile used a burning composition to disperse the irritant through vents in its body. This vented design was central to its role as a chemical-agent carrier.
Product History
Federal Laboratories was producing police gas equipment by the 1920s. The Senator John Heinz History Center preserves a Federal gas-billy dated 1925 and marked Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company’s early products drew on battlefield gas technology for civilian police work. Later police references list Spedeheat projectiles in several range and agent versions, each with its own catalog number. No. 206 identified the long-range CN model. The Saltsburg maker identification on this example connects it to the company’s later Pennsylvania operations.
Documented Applications
Period identification tables place No. 206 among the common 1½-inch projectiles for 37/38mm riot gas guns. They classify it as an unstabilized burning projectile, meaning it lacked fins to steady it in flight, and list a maximum range of 150 yards. These records support the catalog identification and explain the range wording printed on the body.
Equipment History
The parent equipment was the purpose-built riot gas gun, a specialized part of police inventories. Federal’s launcher history is represented by a Model 201-Z in the San Mateo County History Museum collection, dated to the 1960s. That surviving example documents the company’s launcher equipment before the apparent late-1970s date on this projectile.
Weapon-System Background
The 1½-inch riot-gun system paired a dedicated launcher with chemical-agent or smoke ammunition. Period references describe both burning and bursting projectiles, along with stabilized and unstabilized designs. This range of ammunition made the launcher part of a broader equipment system, with product names, catalog numbers, and color codes identifying the different types.
History of Use
Federal riot guns served police and prison staff, while public-safety training manuals covered the identification of their chemical projectiles. No. 206 appears in this period recognition literature, documenting its place in twentieth-century law-enforcement equipment. The supplied markings identify the product type but do not establish use by a particular department or at a specific event.
Condition
This is an inert collector’s example with the markings described above. The faded date appears to read “DEC 1978,” which would place it in the late Cold War era; that reading remains uncertain. Please review the listing photographs for the item’s general condition.
Ideal For
The maker’s identification and original product wording make this a useful addition to displays about police equipment and specialized ammunition. It suits collections that explain how manufacturers identified their products through labels, catalog numbers, and color markings.
- Federal Laboratories and Spedeheat collections
- 37/38mm riot-gun history displays
- Police and correctional history exhibits
- Inert ordnance reference collections
Approx length 8", Approx width 1.5", Approx height 1.5", Approx weight 0.3lbs.
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