cartridge identification

[James C]

hi i was just wondering if anybody could identify this cartridge/bullet and the weapon that may of used it, its dated 1942 and has the inscription v11 and F G or maybe FC thanks in advance james

[moaning minnie]

Hi James have this thread moved to ORDNANCE and AMMO then Tony can help,im no expert but looks like a "303"US made version,if you look under the ammo section all the headstamps are listed in order throughout the entire world production,regards Dave.

[James C]

hi dave many thanks for looking ,,yes its seems ive placed this thread into the wrong subsection woops ,your advice to check in the ordnance section has payed off judging by the id guide this is .303 round in the standard mkv11 cartridge the maker is RG (royal ordnance factory )and the oblong pin strike would suggest from a bren gun ,,thanks again james

[Steve T]

Glad you found the right thread and id'd it yourself Always the best way to learn is to find out yourself Glad my sticky thread helped you

[James C]

many thanks steve for your great guide you have put a lot of effort into it ,it's also fun doing the detective work all by yourself ,ill now know where to look if i need to id any more ,thanks again james

[m3bobby]

As you've identified, its a MkVII .303 made by Radway Green. The Bren firing pin leaves a very distinct impression on the cap but they are always in the centre. It looks like this impression is off to one side so I think this maybe just damage or where someone has fired off the cap with some sort of tool.

[James C]

thanks bobby yes the pin strike does seem off center and quite a rough looking indentation ,thanks for your thoughts ,james

[TonyE]

I quite agree with m3bobby, that is the mark of some kind of tool. The firing pin impression from a Bren is far more distinctive than that. I will try and find a case fired in a bren and post the picture.

ROF Radway Green was one of the five new generation Royal Ordnance Factories started just before WW2, along with Spennymoor, Blackpole, Hirwaun and Steeton. They were backed up by nine new Royal Filling Factories, of which three were partnered with the ROFs making small arms ammunition. These were Swynnerton, Thorp Arch and Aycliffe.

RG was ROF No.13 and came on line in July 1940, initial production of .303 inch ball ammo was headstamped with a single Broad Arrow rather than the familiar "RG". This was a security measure designed to conceal the fact that a new factory was in operation. This continued into mid 1941 when the "RG" code started to appear on the headstamp.

Incidentally, your round has had the tip of the bullet cut of with pliers or similar.

REgards
TonyE

[James C]

many thanks tony E for going into more detail on the factories manufacturing these i love the fact the new factory was concealed from the TR ,i wonder why somebody hit the cap with a tool of some sort ,i certainly wouldnt want to try it (newton's law ) probably blew his hand off ,can i ask if the bullet is correct for this cartridge ,you are correct on the pliers ,the cartridge has plier marks on the casing where the bullet was pushed back in under force thanks again james

[TonyE]

Yes, that looks like the correct cupro-nickel Ball Mark VII projectile for the RG case. You should find it fairly easy to replace it with a similar undamaged one.

Regards
TonyE