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Drill
There are four approved .50 inch Browning drill rounds, but in addition to these are American drill rounds supplied either on contract or under Lend Lease in WW2 and also a number of unofficial drill rounds made up from service components.
WW2 Drill
The first of the WW2 drill rounds was that made by Remington. Britain ordered large quantities of .50 inch Browning ammunition from Remington in 1940, including these drill rounds. (left)
The Remington drill round does not appear to have received formal approval as no reference has been found.
The brass case was tinned overall and had an empty cap Boxer chamber. The headstamp was "R A 1940 50 CAL Z"
The bullet was a ball bullet with gilding metal envelope and was supported on a wood distance piece.
Also supplied under lend Lease were standard American military M1 drill rounds. (right). These were made with both brass and steel cases, the latter being cadmium plated for corrosion resistance. The round pictured has a headstamp of "F A 44".
Another drill round that does not appear to have received official approval but was made in some quantity in the latter part of WW2 is that produced by ROF Spennymoor.
It consisted of a plain brass case with two holes drilled through the case and no cap, but with anvil and fire holes. A ball bullet was fitted and the headstamp was "SR 44 .50".
Drill Mark I
The first drill round formally approved was the Mark I.
"Cartridge S.A. Drill .50 inch Browning Mark I" was approved in about 1950.
The case was a standard British made .50 Browning with a Berdan primer. it was either tinned or chromed overall and had no cap, anvil or fire holes. The case had three vertical flutes painted red, as was the cap chamber.
The bullet had a gilding metal envelopes and rested on a wood distance piece. The headstamp was typically "K62 .50 Mk1"
Drill L1A1
"Cartridge S.A. .50 inch Machine Gun L1A1" was approved in about 1965 and was similar to the previous Mark I but was of stronger construction.
The case was as the previous mark, but two different finishes were used. The first type had a bright chromed case with the neck left in the brass state. This was found to be necessary to prevent neck cracking after plating. It had three case flutes painted red, as was the cap chamber.
The second type had a matt finish without the red paint in the flutes or cap chamber.
The bullet had a gilding metal envelope and was firmly secured in the case by a deep cannelure at the case mouth.
Drill L2A1
"Round .50 inch Machine Gun Drill L2A1" was approved about 1999 and differed from previous types.
The case and bullet are made in one piece of turned brass and plated, The whole is then bored out from the base to reduce weight. From the top of the hollowed out portion a small hole goes through to the tip of the bullet.
The case has three circumferential grooves and there is no headstamp
Dummy
Inspection Mark I
"Cartridge S.A. Inspection .50 inch Browning Mark 1" was approved in November 1949, the title being later changed to "Round Inspection .50 inch Browning Mark 1".
The case was a standard .50 inch Browning case with a Berdan cap chamber without cap but retaining the anvil and fire holes. The case was chromed, later examples having the neck left plain brass. It had three holes drilled through, 120 degrees apart on one level. The case was unheadstamped.
The bullet had a GMCS envelope and rested on a wood distance piece.
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