Description
37/38mm Federal Laboratories No. 219 Short-Range CN Tear-Gas Cartridge — Empty Sample
Item Overview
This Federal Laboratories No. 219 Short Range CN tear-gas cartridge is marked “EMPTY SAMPLE.” It belongs to the 1½-inch Federal riot-gun family and is known in period references as the short-range Spedeheat. Its commercial labeling and clearly identified sample status make it a distinctive collectible from the history of American police equipment.
Identification and Features
Federal used model numbers, agent names, and color codes to identify its chemical cartridges. This example retains the short-range designation on its label and base, along with the maker’s period Pennsylvania address.
- Model marking: “No. 219 Federal Short Range”
- Original agent designation: “Tear Gas (CN)”
- Manufacturer marking: “Federal Laboratories, Inc., Saltsburg, Penna.”
- Sample marking: “EMPTY SAMPLE”
- Base marking: “S R,” consistent with the short-range designation
- Color identification: Red finish matching Federal’s documented CN color code
Function
The original service cartridge delivered CN tear gas for police riot control. CN means chloroacetophenone, an older tear-gas agent. The Spedeheat was a burning-type projectile: its original composition dispersed the irritant through vents in the body. The example offered here preserves the cartridge’s outward form and identification as an empty sample.
Documented End-Item Application
No. 219 is documented for the 1½-inch Federal riot-gas gun family, described in period references as 37/38mm. A technical identification table lists the short-range Spedeheat CN model with a maximum range of 75 yards. It places this model in the unstabilized burning-projectile class, meaning the design lacked fins to steady it in flight.
Product History
The No. 219 model was documented by January 1976. It appears as “219 SPEDEHEAT” in the U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory report Modeling for Less-Lethal Chemical Devices, prepared at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The study was supported by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration and examined commercial chemical devices. This dated record places the model within the Cold War era’s specialized law-enforcement equipment market.
Parent-Equipment History
Federal Laboratories was active in 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 later supplied dedicated riot-gas launchers; the San Mateo County History Museum holds a Federal Model 201-Z dated to the 1960s. These surviving examples trace the maker’s work from early police gas devices to specialized launcher equipment.
Weapon-System Background
The riot-gun system paired a large-bore launcher with chemical-agent or smoke ammunition. Period manuals describe projectiles with burning or bursting action, as well as designs with and without stabilizing fins. These categories distinguished how different projectiles carried and dispersed their payloads. Short-range Spedeheat ammunition was one part of this wider commercial equipment family.
History of Use
The service model belonged to the tear-gas equipment intended for police riot control. Federal riot guns also served prison staff, as museum records document. The “EMPTY SAMPLE” marking gives this cartridge a separate historical interest: it preserves the commercial presentation of the ammunition as a display or reference example.
Condition
Marked “EMPTY SAMPLE” and offered as an empty, inert collectible with the red finish and identifying markings described above. Please check the pictures for the general condition of the item.
Ideal For
The detailed label and short-range base marking make this cartridge useful for a clearly identified historical display. It pairs well with period Federal catalogs, police equipment, and riot-gun accessories.
- Federal Laboratories and Spedeheat cartridge collections
- 37/38mm riot-gun history displays
- Police and correctional history exhibits
- Empty sample and inert ordnance collections
Approx length 8.5", Approx width 1.5", Approx height 1.5", Approx weight 0.3lbs.
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