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Ammo found (saltwater norway)

Article about: Hi. Me and my friends go spearfishing around the coastline here in norway. One of our best spearfishing areas are "infront" of a old bunker area. Went out diving a few weeks ago, b

  1. #1

    Default Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    Hi.

    Me and my friends go spearfishing around the coastline here in norway. One of our best spearfishing areas are "infront" of a old bunker area. Went out diving a few weeks ago, but due to winter and weather there was no fish. So i started digging around below one of the bunkers at the shoreline.

    It became quite clear that somebody dumped a crate of 7.62 ammo here. I also found some smaller calibre ammunition, but it was badly corroded and i didnt bring any back.
    I actually didnt find any fired rounds.
    They are marked with RA 1942.

    I dont know how to add pictures here but i have links:
    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3606/...826ed0ec_o.jpg
    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3414/...71cdbb38_o.jpg
    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/...fc99dc37_o.jpg
    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/...1b41ef09_o.jpg

    I googled around and found the headstamps (as far as i understand) mean:
    RA - Deutsche Messingwerke Carl Eveking A.G. Metallhalbfabrikate, Berlin-Niederschönweide

    I will go back and try to find more. One of my friends said he spotted some boxes in the sand. They looked almost yellow/rusty and were round.
    Any feedback/thoughts? I think actually they look pretty good to have been exposed to saltwater since the mid 40s. Some of them look to still be watertight

  2. #2

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    Hey there

    Welcome to our forums !

    The ammunition you have is almost certainly NOT German 7.62mm. The headstamp and rim around the base of the carrtridge would indicate they are British .303 rounds.

    Please have a look at this thread for guidance on small arms ammunition headstamps.

    https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/firea...eadstamps.html

    German cartridges almost always had four individual stamps and the letter code was always in lower case not upper case.

    Look at the base of the cartridge, particularly the 'rim' and match it to the pictures in the above thread but, from what i can see of your pictures, they look like 303 rounds.

    Hope this helps.

    Steve T

    PS Nice find BTW. It always amazes me that items survive so long in salt water. I have found cartridges in relatively dry land that are corroded more ! (Boggy smeller water is the worst.....the cartridges just become a massive clump of rotting gunk almost impossible to clean )

  3. #3

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    That is interesting. British ammo infront of a german bunker in an installation that never saw action (wasnt even finished when the war ended). I guess there is a million ways that ammo could have gotten there, but its still wierd. We had contact with the british many times during the war. Maybe this was something confiscated by the germans during the war.

    I also thought of something. We had a norwegian munitions producer called "Raufoss Ammunisjon". Maybe the RA stands for this. Im currently sending an email to them to see if they can confirm this. The germans were good at using what they found so i suspect this might come from norway.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    An understatement about the corrosion. Wow.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    What I found on good old tinternet

    About Ammunition Headstamp Code: RA

    Ammunition Country of Origin

    * Norway

    About the Ammunition Manufacturer

    * A/S Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker, Raufoss, Norway

    Dan

  6. #6

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    Nice one Dan

    The rim is still exactly like a 303 round though. Did they use 303's in Norway ? According to my list of 303 round makers marks, Raufoss made 303 ball cartridges from about 1934.

    Steve T

  7. #7

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    Hello are you still active on this site, saw this was posted in 2009.
    Im based in Stavanger , which bunkers where you looking around ??

  8. #8

    Default Re: Ammo found (saltwater norway)

    The "RA" stamp is "Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikk" a norwegian ammunition factory...

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