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The first military .30 inch military ammunition manufactured in Britain was not actually for British service. It was the result of contracts intended to be placed by the Ministry of Munitions on behalf of the United States in 1918 on the assumption that the war would continue into 1919. In the event, these contracts were never signed but some pilot production took place.
WWI Contract Ball
Pilot production of cases took place at both Kynoch and Greenwood & Batley Ltd. The cases were Berdan primed with Greenwood & Batley using two sizes of primer, one their own size and the other the smaller Kynoch size. The headstamp of the smaller size was "GB 18" and that of the larger "GB 1918". The Kynoch headstamp was "K 18".
It appears that only Kynoh manufactured loaded rounds.
Left: Kynoch case only. Right Kynoch loaded round.
Left: Kynoch loaded round. Right Case only
Left: Primed case with large primer. Right case only with small Kynoch size primer.
In 1918 Royal Laboratory started loading .30 inch ball, tracer, incendiary and armour piercing rounds in American supplied cases.
Each type was identified by a neck seal corresponding to the appropriate British colour code, purple for ball, green for AP etc.
Right: RL loaded ball.
WW2 Purchases
Following the losses at Dunkirk, Britain ordered huge quantities of munitions from the United States via the British Purchasing Commission. Due to U.S. neutrality the weapons were bought from the United States Steel Corporation, a wholly owned organisation of the American Government designed to bypass the Neutrality Act.
A total of 395 millions of .30 inch ball rounds were ordered between July 1940 and January 1941, mainly from Remington and the U.S. Government. Generally, British nomenclature was awarded to match the American Model number. Thus Ball M1 became the Mark Iz, Ball M2 became the Mark IIz etc.
Ball Mark Iz
"Cartridge S.A. Ball .30 inch Mark Iz" was not shown as being approved in Lists of Changes but was shown as obsolete in July 1948. It was the American M1 Ball cartridge.
The case was the standard U.S. case with Boxer primer and carried standard U.S. military headstamps.
The bullet was boat tailed with a lead alloy core and gilding metal envelope which was tinned for identification. It weighed 173 grains.
Propellant was about 50 grains of nitrocellulose and muzzle velocity was 2,640 fps.
Ball Mark IIz
"Cartridge S.A. Ball .30 inch Mark IIz" was not shown as being approved in Lists of Changes but was shown as obsolete in July
1948. It was the American M2 Ball cartridge.
The case was the standard U.S. Boxer primed case. The majority was supplied under British contracts by Remington Arms Company and had special British headstamps which included the code "300Z" and were dated 1940 and 1941. When the Lend Lease Act was enacted in May 1941 supplies of regular American Ball M2 started being delivered with normal U.S. military headstamps
The bullet was flat based with a lead alloy core and gilding metal envelope. Bullet weight was 150 grains with a single cannelure.
Propellant was nitrocellulose and when loaded to British contract specifications the muzzle velocity was 2,640 fps, but U.S. military rounds were loaded to 2,740 fps.
Much of the Ball Mark IIz was made as "RED LABEL SYNCHRONIZED GUNS RAF".
Some Remington production was second quality and marked for ground practice only.
Ball Mark IIIz
"Cartridge S.A. Ball .30 inch Mark IIIz" was approved for Naval Service to design NOD 5985 in February 1945 and shown in Lists of Changes Paragraph B.8390 dated September 1943. The bullet was design NOD 6326.
The case had a Berdan primer and the headstamp included the code "IIIZ", unusual in being the only British service .30 inch cartridge to include the Mark number.
The bullet was flat based and weighed 150 grains
Propellant was about 50 grains of nitrocellulose.
From the lack of surviving specimens and production records it is unlikely that this cartridge was ever made, supplies of readily available U.S. ammunition being sufficient.
Ball Mark 4z
"Cartridge S.A. Ball .30 inch Mark 4z" was approved to design S1/12393/GF/1325 in February 1956 and shown in Lists of Changes Paragraph C.8074 dated April 1957 and declared obsolete in October 1993. The Drawing Reference was QV22GF.
The case was to standard dimensions and Berdan primed. The cap held .5 garins of VH2 and had a purple annulus. The headstamp included the calibre but not the mark number.
The bullet was flat based with a lead/antimony core and gilding metal clad steel envelope.It had a single cannelure and weighed 150 grains.
Propellant was 52 grains of nitrocellulose and observed velocity at 90 feet was 2,750 fps.
Ball Mark 5z
"Cartridge S.A. Ball .30 inch Mark 5z" was purchased on contract from Fabrique Nationale in Liege, Belgium and approved prior to mid-1970 and declared obsolete in October 1993.
The case was Berdan primed as for the Ball Mark 4z. The headstamp included the manufacturer's code of "FN".
The bullet was as for the Mark 4z and weighed 150 grains.
Propellant was 52 grains of nitrocellulose and ballistics the same as the Mark 4z.
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