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SPARTEN was an acronym for "Special Practice Ammunition for Realistic Training, Enfield" and was a project developed between the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield and ROF Radway Green to produce training ammunition in several calibres, including 9mm. The name was later changed to ROTA which stood for "Royal Ordnance Training Ammunition".
The project continued after privatisation and was intended to provide accurate short range training using un-adapted service weapons. The ammunition was required to give no richochet or splash back on striking hard surfaces.
The main development took place in the 1982-85 period and bullets were loaded into cases with normal British ball headstamps.
Bullet weights varied between about 67 to 71 grains and were made from a range of plastic and resin materials. The colour was usually grey or blue and some bullets had nose cavities. As training ammunition, the bullets were designed not to penetrate a 1.6mm plate at 22 feet.
The charge weight was usually about 6 grains of flake NPP.10. Velocity was quoted as 1,345 fps at a pressure of 14.9 tsi.
ROTA ammunition was not approved for service although small quantities have been issued for trial along with similar products from OTEC in the UK and MEN in Germany.
One version of training ammunition has been approved as the L13A1 frangible ball but it is uncertain which this is.
Above; Two examples of 9mm SPARTEN rounds
Below; Various experimental 9mm SPARTEN projectiles.
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