.303 rifle ammo bandoleers

[Adrian Stevenson]

These are a very humble item of the British soldiers kit but are now quite hard to find, despite being made in their hundreds of thousands. Most seem to have been destroyed. I was fortunate to buy these examples from a friend who was selling up before moving abroad.

Two are dated from the First World War (1918) and are mint condition. Another is dated 1932. Almost anything dated between the wars is hard to find, while the final one is 1944. They have additional dates stamped on them to show when they were filled.

The bandoleer will hold 50 rounds of .303 ammo for the Lee Enfield rifle. They came pre filled in ammo boxes, then were issued out to the men. Sometimes carried in the 1937 pattern basic ammo pouches or slung around the body.

Cheers, Ade.

[Rifleman]

interesting, i have one dated late 1945 and another dater 67 , the 67 one is made of a heavier green fabric though both have the wire hook closing fixtures

what does the M.G and box with line thru it signify?

[Adrian Stevenson]

what does the M.G and box with line thru it signify?

Hi, thanks for the comments. Sorry I don't know the answer to your question.

Cheers, Ade.

[Nige H]

It maybe the inspectors mark and initials for the date the ammunition was pack in the bandolier the box could symbolised when it had been repacked after inspection, or checked and repacked, seeing as one of the other bandoliers has been reused or repacked from 8-3-32 to 30-3-44 but does not have these marking on the latter date.

Nige

[Rifleman]

cool, heres the 2 i have , i had more of the green ones but have sold quite a few, they came new with new charger clips

[ILH]

Just a geuss;
You've got date, calibre and type, so could it be the manufacturer? Not all ammunition is equal so knowing the make without opening the bandolier might be desirable.

if these were .303 cartridge case headstamps (only got ww2 info) then Ade's got, from 3rd marking photo down:

MF Small Arms Ammunition Factory No.1 Footscray, Melbourne, Australia.
MG " " " No. 2 " " "
RL Royal Laboratory, Woolwich Arsenal, UK. the B.... Incendiary?
MW Small Arms Ammunition Factory No.6 Welshpool Australia.

and rifleman's got another MG or SAF No.2.

jim.

[GasMasksUK]

I've got a 1945 dated one, should i be using it to hold my sewing and wash kits?

Thanks

Dany

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Jim, all sounds plausable to me.

Hi Danny, no this is actaully too good a collectable item for that kind of useage.

Cheers, Ade.

[HJ-Collector]

cool item , ade you have a marry poppins bag down there in derby i am convinced!

[John Brandon]

The sad thing is, when I used to shoot .303 I bought the rounds from a RFD in those bandoleers, never gave them much thought at the time (1995) I still have 5 0r 6 left with different dates on them, I was always looking for a WW1 dated one

If only we knew