VICKERS MK6B's resto

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Hi Lynn.

Not to deflect Colin’s Thread for too long, you are correct up until about 1944/45 .303 Grenade Launching Rounds.

Prior to that date, sorting out these rounds is a complete PITA, particularly if dealing with spent casings. Brass cases were standard Ball Cartridges with no special Head Stamps, or crimping. Some iterations had fully blackened, or partially blackened cases and were described in great detail in written documentation, but rarely, it seems, were the differences ever deemed important enough to make the rounds readily obvious to the end user in the field, or at sea. Most of the earlier cartridges were a slightly heavier load of standard powder with a small insert of guncotton fore and aft with a lacquered plug and no crimping. Ballistite and Cordite loads did not gain prominence until the 2nd War when Rifle Grenades, Anti-Tank Grenades and Smoke Grenade usage really evolved, along with Line Throwing equipment for the Navy. I think the Cordite loads were a tropical thing where they stood up better in high humidity to Ballistite.

David

I just nicked out to our museum display and grabbed a couple of photos of the .303 "EY" Grenade launcher, grenade with base plate and the ballastites for your information.



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Open tin of Ballastites showing black to cases and that they are not crimped like a blank.

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M36 Mills Bomb fitted with the base plate ready to drop into the cup holder.

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An unopened tin of .303 ballastite rounds for the grenade launcher dated 22nd July 1941

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An "EY' SMLE. .303 rifle fitted with the launcher cup, a grenade with base plate and a box of ballastites. The copper banding on the rifle is both to protect the hand holding the rifle and to give the holder a good non slip place to grip it.

Regards Rick.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by lynx42

An "EY' SMLE. .303 rifle fitted with the launcher cup, a grenade with base plate and a box of ballastites. The copper banding on the rifle is both to protect the hand holding the rifle and to give the holder a good non slip place to grip it.

Regards Rick.

Neither of those are the reason for the copper wire banding.

The Cup, Discharger is fitted to the nosecap of the No1 Mk3 Rifle, and is not supported by the barrel. On firing, the recoil of launching the grenade is transmitted through the Cup, to the Nosecap, and then to the timber stock. As Lynn has said, the wire prevents the timber from splitting from this recoil.

The No4 Mk1 Rifle was an improvement on this design, where the grenade launching spigot was fitted to the bayonet lug, which is part of the barrel. There is no need to wire wrap the No4 Rifle for grenade launching, as the stresses of firing are not transmitted through the timber stock, and there is no need to provide hand protection or grip.

It should also be noted that the No1 Mk3 SMLE has a thicker heavier barrel that the No4 Rifle, so if either barrel was liable to burst from excessive pressure, the No4 would go first.

[Tony Smith]

Blank rounds are ".303 Blank, L Mk I", and again I have several of these from '40, '41, and '43 manufacture. All are headstamped L and dated, and are not re-stamped Ball cases.

.303 Blank cases can be either long or short nosed and are ALWAYS crimped to differentiate them in the dark from Grenade rounds, which have no crimping. Oddly, this foolproof feature was not continued with 7.62mm Grenade rounds which are crimped exactly like Blank.

Colin, your Blank doesn't look like a military round. It's either a PPU commercial blank, or a reloaded and crimped "Highland" case?

[Lynn Eades]

To expand on Tony's last comment: Colin's blank is "Boxer" primed while all other examples here, are"Berdan" primed. The Berdan primer is a bigger dia.
FYI. Boxer primers in .303 (post war, commercial?)are generally non corrosive while the Berdan primers of WWII were corrosive.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

Neither of those are the reason for the copper wire banding.

The Cup, Discharger is fitted to the nosecap of the No1 Mk3 Rifle, and is not supported by the barrel. On firing, the recoil of launching the grenade is transmitted through the Cup, to the Nosecap, and then to the timber stock. As Lynn has said, the wire prevents the timber from splitting from this recoil.

Thank you Tony, You learn something every day on MLU. (I'll have to go and dig up the Digger who told me the, obviously incorrect, info. Unfortunately he passed away a few months ago. RIP. Harry. )

It is still nice to have a setup showing the "EY" to which I can now give the corrected information.

Regards Rick.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Just to complete the record, here are smoke dischargers made out of a Canadian Ross rifle and an SMLE (less the barrel unfortunately).

Both have no safety, either removed, or for the SMLE replaced by a tab that says it's NOT a safety. For safety's sake I guess....

And yes, the crimped round is the blank. I was taking about a ballistite round being different.