.30 inch

Britain adopted the U.S. .30 inch round in 1940, almost by default. The United Kingdom purchased $45 millions of military equipment from the United States including small arms, artillery, tanks and aircraft. The aircraft and vehicles were armed with .30 inch Browning machine guns and included in the purchase were 500,000 Model 1917 Enfield rifles and Browning and Marlin machine guns together with ammunition for them.

Further large orders were placed with Remington for ball, tracer, armour-piercing and drill rounds together with smaller quantities of incendiary. When the Lease lend Act was introduced in mid 1941 deliveries continued from the U.S. Government.

The subsequent history of the .30 inch in British service is a mixture of indecision and muddles thinking.

In April 1943 the British General Staff decided that the future infantry cartridge should be the .30 inch, but by August 1943 a new sub-committee of the Committee of Infantry Weapon Development decided that the American .30 inch was undesirable and recommended adoption of the 7.92x57mm cartridge. Based on this work on a new rifle commenced which led to the 7.92mm SLEM rifle.

Despite this and the fact that the Ideal Calibre Panel set up in 1945 had not yet reported, in August 1946 the army decided once more that the U.S. .30 inch round should be adopted. In a fit of either niaivity or wishful thinking they made reference to the Small Arms Calibre Panel and stated that whatever recommendation the Panel made the United States would also implement. Fortunately this misguided decision was soon rescinded.

Despite the 1947 decision to pursue the recommendations of the SACP, the Director of Artillery stated that the .30 inch would continue in service with the Royal Armoured Corps since virtually all American and British armoured vehicles in British service were armed with the .30 inch Browning machine gun. Development was to continue for ball, tracer and API but not for other types.

New British ammunition came into service in the 1950s and remained in service until the late 1960s. After British production had ceased both ball and tracer were purchased fro FN in Belgium.