help identifying bullet casing, WWII era?

[Steve T]

Hi former9 and welcome to the forum. You need to post these in a new thread please, not ask a question in someone else's thread!!

They look like a couple of 303s, a .45 and a .380. Probably WW2 era ish but it is not possible to date them to anything other than a broad era.

[former9]

Fair enough i tried that but cannot see a link to start a new thread! by the way they are all different sizes.. If Anyone can move to a new thread would be appreciated..

[TonyE]

Don't worry too much about posting in an old thread.

You have two .303 inch bullets, one fron a .45ACP (Colt 1911 pistol or more likely a Thompson Sub machine gun) and one from a 9mm Parabellum (probably from a Sten gun). The .303 bulet on the left has the high cannelure (groove) which dated it post 1944.

Former9 - the .380 bullet is quite different. It has a longer parallel portion and is less pointed.

Regards
TonyE

[former9]

That's Brilliant Tony thank you for that. Just curious as per the WW2 American training in that area if they were likely to be from that era. My daughter found 2 a little while ago and then 2 yesterday. And she has kind of got attached to them so we wondered what they were. As per your comment on the High Cannelure .303 being post 1944 am I safe to assume that the other is 1930's/40's ?

Thanks for your help.

[TonyE]

They will be form the 1940s. If the Home Guard trained on that range those are some of the rounds I would expect to find. The 45 ACP would date from about late 1940 and the 9mm from about a year later.

Regards
TonyE

[Rifleman]

Dear TonyE and friends,

I last wrote this Forum one year ago, starting this thread, to ask for help in identifying a bullet casing from a Greek site fortified during the Second World War. (I openly confess now as then that I know very little about firearms or military history). In the ensuing discussion, several informed writers helped to identify the bullet securely as a 6.5 x 52 mm Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge; see above for discussion and pictures. This summer I was able to go back and examine the headstamp. Below is a picture of it, which I believe reads through the encrustation: S M I | 986 (is that a letter I or a Roman numeral I or an Arabic 1?).
So my questions at this point are:
1) Is my reading of the text in the headstamp correct?
2) What does that marking mean?
3) Does it help us to confirm the identification of the maker?
4) Does it reveal the place and date of manufacture?

many thanks for sharing your expertise once again,

rifleman

[TonyE]

The headstamp actually reads "SMI 936" and confirms it is a Carcano case.

That means it was made by Societa Metallurgica Italiana, Campo Tizzoro, Italy in 1936 (the Italians dropped the first "1" of the date)

Regards
TonyE

[Rifleman]

Perfect, thanks so much TonyE. rifleman

[TonyE]

My pleasure

Regards
TonyE