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A wide variety of 9mm drill and dummy rounds were adopted for British service, although only a minority of these were actually given official approval. The remainder were ad hoc rounds, either specially made or converted from ball rounds.
Despite the fact that the first official drill round was not approved until 1943, examples had been in use and issued since at least 1941.
Winchester Drill
In 1940 Britain ordered large quantities of 9mm from Winchester and included were orders for drill rounds. Two types were supplied, both with brass cases that were bronzed with a headstamp of "WRA 9MM".
One type had a blind cap chamber with a case cannelure to secure the bullet whilst the second type had an inert nickel primer fitted, drill with a small hole. There was a wood spacer to support the bullet and four small holes drilled in pairs in the case. Normal ball bullets were used.
Left: WRA drill rounds. Right: Packet label
Canadian Drill
Defence Industries in Canada supplied large numbers of 9mm drill rounds to Britain during the war in a variety of patterns.
Examples have been noted with:
Cap chamber drilled out to show wood distance piece
Cap chamber without fire holes and four small holes drilled in case
Cap chamber without fire holes and heavy case cannelure to locate bullet.
Plain case with blind cap chamber
Two large holes in case to show red wood distance piece
All have the headstamp format "DI 42 9MM", but date may be "43" or "44"
Different types of drill round manufactured by Defence Industries.
Drill D Mark I
"Cartridge S.A.Drill 9mm D Mark I" was approved to design DD/L/14046.DI in July 1943 and shown in Lists of Changes Paragraph B.9308 dated May 1944.
The brass case was that of the Ball Mark Iz with a ball headstamp. The empty cap chamber had both anvil and fire holes. The specification called for four small holes to be drilled in pairs in the case and there was a red wood distance piece to support the bullet.
The bullet was a normal ball bullet weighing 115 grains.
Although an official Inspection round was approved later in 1943 initially the D Mark I was also approved to fill this role, as indicated by the July 1943 dated label on the right.
Despite the fact that the Drill D Mark I was not approved until mid 1943, drill rounds that approximated the Mark I had been in service for some time. Variations that occur are:
Plain white wood distance piece
Blackened cases
Cases without holes
Fire holes present but anvil flattened.
Any combination of the above.
Lines Brothers Drill
Lines Brothers Ltd. of Wimbledon were the manufacturer of Tri-ang Toys and had a great deal of experience in die-casting. During WWII they produced a series of drill rounds in various calibres including 9mm, .45 inch ACP and .30 inch.. There appears to be no formal approval or nomenclature for these rounds.
The case and bullet were cast in a zinc based pot metal in one piece. There was a small indentation in the side of the "case" and in the base for a firing pin.
Drill D Mark 2
"Cartridge S.A. Drill 9mm D Mark 2" was approved to design DD/L/14046.D2 in March 1949 and was shown in Lists of Changes Paragraph C.4702 dated October 1951.
The case was either of white metal or chromed brass with three red painted flutes. There was normally an empty cap chamber painted red with anvil and fire holes but sometimes the latter were omitted. It had a normal ball bullet which rested on a wood distance piece.
The headstamp included the characters "D2" but some rounds had a Ball Mark 2z headstamp.
Later, following trials in 1978 a more economic version was introduced which had a cheaper matt chrome finish and the flutes were unpainted, as was the cap chamber. The headstamp still normally included "D2" but examples headstamped Ball Mark 2z will be encountered.
In 1986 a contract for Drill D Mark 2 rounds was let to Hirtenberger in Austria, presumably because they were cheaper than the Royal Ordnance owned Radway Green. These were bright chromed with a blind cap chamber; the flutes and cap chamber being left unpainted. The headstamp included "D2" and "HP" for Hirtenberger.
Dummy
No 9x19mm dummy cartridge was approved for British service until 1943, over two years after the first 9mm weapons became available. Until then, 9mm drill rounds were authorised to be used, as indicated by the package label shown in the Drill section above.
The first demand for 9mm dummy cartridges came from CISA in 1941 and in September of that year an order was placed on Royal Laboratory for 2,000 rounds.
Royal Laboratory Dummy
These appear to be the first drill/dummy rounds made for British service and were presumably made for use with the various prototype 9mm weapons being tested. Two variations occur.
The first has a plain brass case whilst the second is also brass cased but is copper washed. The copper washing is unusual on a drill round but was presumably added as an identifier. It has no connection with proof ammunition. Both have an empty cap chamber with both anvil and fire holes and are headstamped simply "R/|\L 41" with no calibre shown. A service ball bullet rested on a wood distance piece.
Left: Copper washed case. Right: Plain brass case, both headstamped "R/|\L 41 9MM".
These were found to be unsatisfactory as the rims deformed too easily in use. Two further designs were produced by March 1942, DD/L/12673 and DD/L/12673A, both manufactured from brass rod. Again these were found to be too weak for service use.
Other designs were drawn up and the most promising was DD/L/12673F which was made of manganese bronze with a steel base. This was approved for service and the first examples were made at ROF Hirwaun in 1944.
Dummy U Mark I
"Cartridge S.A. Dummy 9mm U Mark I" was approved for service in November 1944 but was not shown in Lists of Changes.
The body of the round was made from either manganese bronze or brass whilst the head (including the extractor groove) and lower body was steel screwed into the body. To bring the weight of the round to that of the service ball round a hole was drilled through the steel base and into the brass body.
The headstamp included the characters "UI" and the weight of the complete round was 186+-10 grains. The specification called for the cartridge to be cadmium plated overall but this was not always done.
In the 1950s a more economical version of the U Mark I was made from one piece steel, again bored out to the correct ball weight. Two unique headstamps appear on these rounds:
"ROFB" - Royal Ordnance Factory Birtley
"RNAD-C" - Royal Naval Armament Depot, Caerwent
Left; Two piece bronze/steel U Mark I. Right: Turned steel U Mark I.
Above; U Mark I label. It is assumed the original Mark number was printed in error.
Inspection L1A1
A further type of inspection cartridge was introduced later and carried the British NATO "L" nomenclature.
"Round S.A. Inspection 9mm L1A1" was approved in May 1966. In December 1966 the title was changed to "Round 9mm Inspection L1A1".
The round was a one-piece dummy made from high tensile brass, bored from the base to give the weight of a ball round. The headstamp included "l1A1".
Other non standard dummies may also be found.
One type has a one piece turned brass body like the L1A1 but is headstamped as a Ball Mark 2z round. Another type is again of turned brass with a circumferential groove around the middle of the body. There is no headstamp. It is believed that these may be a Canadian or Australian version of the L1A1.
Left: Dummy headstamped "RG 56 9mm 2Z". Right Unheadstamped example.
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