Id say experimental .50 cal, poss for Browning mg fitted to aircraft
Id say experimental .50 cal, poss for Browning mg fitted to aircraft
British experimental version of Hotchkiss 13.2mm?
Rob
It's a Bullet.... (how can we name size, etc with nothing to compare the size to, no measurements, etc? just from general generic shape?)
William
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
put us out of the misery tony anyone right yet............
Come now, I did put it up alongside a .55 Boys round for scale.
OK. It is a .600/500A.
In 1918 the RAF demanded a large calibre round that had the potential to do more damage than the normal .303, whether by delivering more incendiary compound or by a more powerful AP bullet. This was required to counter the Giant and Gothe aircraft that were raiding the UK and which were proving difficult to down with .303.
Eley Bros. were given the job of developing the round and started by necking down the powerful .600 Nitro Express sporting round to .5 inch called the .600/500. (left hand round in attached picture). They then added a belt (right hand picture) and it became the .600/500A before developing the proper projectiles. Vickers developed an enlarged version of their .303 inch MG but the war ended before it was brought into service. Picture attached.
AP, SPG tracer and Buckingham incendiary rounds were developed and all are extremely rare today.
Post was development work continued and eventually the design was changed slightly, the case was shortened and the belt removed, and it became the .50 Vickers that we know today.
Consolation prize to Gary J, as although it is not a .50 Vickers, that was the closest!
Regards
TonyE
British Military Smallarms and Ammunition
Collector, Researcher and Pedant
https://sites.google.com/site/britmilammo/
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