Found 2 shell casings inside the hull
 

Gave her a final pressure wash off today and out from under the fuel tank support bracket came two .303 casings. I was quite excited about it until I see they were blanks, or appear to be. The ends have the folds on them, and they are marked 1941 DA VII. The one casing has a raised primer, obviously from an action with headspace issues. Makes a good topic for discussion. Phil

Phil,
I think that they are the ballistite cartridges for the .303 rifle grenade launcher. They are silver coloured 1/2 way down the cartridge like the one on the right.
I have a tin full displayed with my .303 smle grenade launcher.
Interesting find.
Rick.

Phillip
 

What country are you in, and would you like to post some pictures/details of your carrier?

I'm in Canada, and found them in a MK1 I have. I wasn't able to see any paint on them, just can't seem to get a close-up with the old Olympus I have. Phil
http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...ad.php?t=14493

Case identification
 

The headstamp on the cases would indicate that they are in fact from MK Vll Ball Round. Anything other than Ball used a letter code to indicate what it was. If you look at your grenade launching blanks Rick, they should have the letter L in the headstamp.
The DA part of the headstamp indicates who they were made by. In this case it is Dominion I think which was Canadian.
If they were definitely rosette crimped, they must have been reprocessed cases but in that case should also have been re-identified.
The staining half way up the case I think is just that, a stain, if it was on both then it would mean something.
David

Thanks Phillip
 

I could have googled Bellville, but theres probably more than one around the world. Any way it helps to know where you posting from.Thanks for the heads up.
I take it, that your carrier is a MkI* (Canadian)then, as apposed to a MkI which is British built. (I've wondered if there are any British carriers in Canada.) Not many british ones seem to have survived anywhere.

David,
You might be right, but my ballistites don't have L on them anywhere.
I'm attaching a few photos for ID purposes. You will see why I thought Phil's was a ballistite from the colouring of the cartridge.
Regards Rick.

Rick
 

As you point out, the ballistite catridges are not rossette crimped. it is only the blanks that are crimped.

Case study
 

I wasn't quite right with the letter code Rick. H is the code for Grenade Launcher Blanks. I have a breakdown of the codes somewhere but am having to rely on unreliable memory. The letter Z in the identification code indicates nitrocellulose propellant. The MF identifies the Melbourne Footscray factory. If it was Maribyrnong it would be MG.
David

David, I said when you became an MLU member that you would bring a wealth of information to our forum. Well I wasn't wrong. Thanks for that info. I certainly am learning from you.
Regards Rick.