Leaderboard

Very nice Jeeensy,just pack them up and send to me squire.

I thought I would do a quick guide to cartridge headstamps. I know many of us are well aware of what all the stamps mean, but some people don’t and I think it would be useful to those people not yet as obsessed as me !!! I will only cover American, British and German small arms headstamps in this thread.......artillery casings are much more complicated and need a whole forum on their own, let alone one little thread. To start with, here are the main allied small arms cartridges lined up so you can see the difference in overall shape and size. Take particular note of the difference between a standard 30calibre American cartridge and the British 303. Also note the difference between the standard 30calibre and the M1 Carbine cartridge (this is not live by the way ! I remade it from two bits ). Ok, on to identifying Allied small arms headstamps. We’ll start with 20mm cannon cartridges. A view of 3 cartridges found on various WW2 airbases. Ok. Let’s look at the headstamps. You can see they all follow the same pattern. A letter ‘code’ which represents the manufacturer, a date stamp and a calibre. The right hand case therefore is made by RG (Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, UK), in 1942. The middle case was made by I.C.I. , otherwise known as Kynoch in Standish, UK which is represented by the K2, in 1944. Also, you may have noticed the chunks cut into the rim of the cartridge. This is not modern damage but damage caused by the breech block forcing the cartridge into the breech and then extracting it again as the gun cycles. With American cartridges, the headstamps are usually very short, sharp and sweet ! Take for example these 50 calibre cartridges, again found on various airbases around the UK. The headstamps on these are not as detailed as some. Usually you get the manufacturer ‘code’ and the last two digits of the year, EXCEPT in the case of 1944 which is always represented by a single ‘4’. So on these cartridges you have RA 43, TW 43, LC 43, SL 4 and DM 4. RA is Remington Arms Company, Tw is Twin Cities ordnance plant, LC is Lake City Ammunition Plant, SL is St Louis Ordnance Plant and DM is Des Moines Ordnance Plant. These headstamps are repeated in standard 30 calibre and Carbine rounds. Take for example these 30 calibre cartridges, found on Slapton Sands.The headstamps all follow the same principals as the 50 cal cartridges. British cartridges tended to be a little more verbose. Take for example these cartridges, all found on an old D-Day practice beach. The headstamps, as you can see, contain a little more information. We still have the manufacturer ‘code’ and the year of manufacture (as either 2 or 4 digit), but we also regularly see ‘VII’ which denotes it is a standard Mark VII cartridge, and in some instances ‘303’ which obviously denotes the calibre. Different Roman numerals denote different 'marks' of cartridge. You may also see the marks 'Z' or IZ' which denote the type of cordite/powder used. It is interesting to note that the last three cartridges all have the same ‘odd’ shaped firing pin mark. This elongated mark is made by the firing pin of a Bren gun. A Lee-Enfield makes the ‘dot’ mark in the left hand two cartridges. So not only does the headstamp tell us something, even the firing pin mark can ! Now let’s look at 9mm and .45 calibre cartridges, again found on a D-Day practice beach. Now you can see a pattern emerging ! Hopefully you can now determine what the headstamps mean when you look at them. You have the manufacturer code, the year stamp and the calibre………….It’s easy once you know what you’re looking at ! The Germans used a little more complicated system than the Americans and British. Take for example these 7.92 calibre cartridges, all are ‘safe’ and were bought off a guy in an antiques place for 20p each ! He didn’t know what they were but I did because of a basic knowledge of headstamps. Ok…..all German 7.92 calibre cartridges carry four stamps. As you look at the picture, at 12 o’clock is the manufacturers code. At 3 o’clock is a code with a combination of a roman numeral (I to XXII) for the steel mill supplying the basic case-metal, a lower-case letter for the plating agency and an arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 or 17) for the steel-analysis, which all identifies a copper-plated steel case. In some cases you may see (as below) a code such as St or St+ or S*. St or St+ indicates a steel case, either plated or lacquered. * or S* indicates a brass case. At 6 o’clock is a batch number and at 9 o’clock is the year of manufacture represented by the last 2 digits of the year. Of interest is the fact that the Germans changed their manufacturer code system. Between 1937 and 1941 they used the P codes (Patronenfabrik Nummer). Between 1940 and 1945 (there was some overlap between the change of coding) they switched to a letter code and ditched the ‘P’ number. This means all ‘P’ coded cartridges are made prior to 1941, and all letter code cartridges are made from 1940. So, for example, the far left cartridge was made by cg (Finower Industrie GmbH, Finow/Mark, Brandenburg), the case was made of St+ (steel case, plated), a batch number of ‘6’ (yes….i got it wrong on the picture !!! It’s a 6 not a 9 ), and a year of 1942. The far right hand case is made by P490 ( Hugo Schneider A.G., Werk Altenburg), the steel mill code IX (August-Thyssen-Hutte A.G., Duisburg-Hamborn), the plating firm code w, (Hugo Schneider A.G. Messingwerke, Taucha-Leipzig), and the steel composition 1. The batch number is 7 and it was made in 1939. I hope this of use to some of you. I know many will already know it but it’s good to pass on this sort of information ! Here are some useful links. 303 headstamps - http://enfieldking.tripod.com/enfieldking/id12.html General headstamps - http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm German WW2 headstamps - http://home.scarlet.be/p.colmant/german7_92x57.htm Info about headstamps and cartridge sizes - http://members.shaw.ca/cstein0/riflelist3.htm Have fun !! Steve T

Added ammunition pouches to the uniform along with a pair of Y straps.

Packed and on way... err need shipping address

Hey it's me, your Brother You are the heir to a very rich Nigerian prince... to access his fortune please send those grenades to me~

Nice example of a German WW2 ammo pouch, with name tag. Just the one unfortunately, not got the pair.

Memory serves me right,there was a chap who got out on the wing of a burning bomber and put out the fire with an extinguisher and a blanket? Canadian guy? VC winner i think?

Never realised, and looking back it's clear to see. Thanks

Lachhiman Garung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachhiman_Gurung

Excellent as always Nick. Thanks for sharing.

Even though I'm quite young I have been able to visit many places such as Normandy, Munich, Obersalzburg, Arras, Ypres, The Somme, The Ardennes and I will be re-visiting the Somme this year as I won a ballot ticket for the centrenary ceremony at Thiepval. I love visiting museums and was wondering where you guys have been and would suggest. I hope to go to Dunkirk, areas on the Eastern Front and Berlin in the future so any museums in these areas would be appreciated. Here a few good ones in the areas I've been: Normandy:- Overlord Museum, Juno Beach museum, Pegasus Bridge Museum... (There's also a great museum at Mont Ormel about the Falaise Pocket with a beautiful Polish 1st Armoured Sherman) Ypres:- Passchendaele Museum, Sanctuary Wood museum, Hooge museum.... The Somme:- Delville Wood centre.... (Thiepval Memorial museum as of 1st July 2016) If you want any suggestions from other places I've been to just ask

Hi everyone, I'm loving the forum BTW, Righty then, Well, I'm 14 years of age, I live in Derby and have just began collecting a few months ago. I am very keen and enjoy looking at militaria, (and hoping I'll be able to afford it at some point). I'm going to be visiting the Newark Militaria Fair in April as my birthday is at the end of March, so I'll be able to get another nice piece.

Hi All Thought I would share pictures of my War Room. 95% of what you see I have recovered and preserved myself from WW2 sites around the UK, (with a few bits from Europe.....but from a while ago as I've not been digging there for a long time), as well as purchases from carboot sales and the like. Everything you see is completely inert and contain no explosive or propellent of any kind, and everything abides by current UK firearms legislation. All items have been recovered with documented landowners permission. How you enjoy looking at my little museum.....

A step back into the 1st wold war this time with the defensive Percussion Kukelkopf. A work of art if you ever take one apart to look at the fuse assembly. Thanks for looking.

Hi Thought I'd share this little beauty. Recently obtained from a good friend of mine, the grenade came still with some of the leaflets inside. I've had them translated and they make interesting reading The one with larger font tells the Russian infantryman that Stalin is sending them to their death and to 'come over to us!'. The smaller font says alot about lies being told to the soldiers and how their wives are being 'plundered' back home while they are out fighting.

There are many, I know, but which one stands out to you?

Tried to post pics of my G33/40 today. Can't do it----pics are too big (even one of them!). This could be an issue on the sales forum, vis a vis details of an item. Are there any work arounds? Steve

Yes it does take similar tales as the spigot on the back of the bomb matches the rebate on an SD Yes there the ones and took ages getting them right but they fit lovely again

Hit refresh and it let's you post them. Was having the same issue on mobile last night.

If your starting out,i would prolly pick a topic of collecting and start there. Will see what i can do,but be aware that this hobby aint cheap!

Looks like an eyelet from the tip of a large piece of ordnance. Sits in the fuze well to protect it. Possibly

Oh man,i remember that one hahah. Are those the tails for it on the left?

Hopefully I can visit in the future. Cheers for this mate!:)

http://www.visitoostende.be/en/atlantikwall-openluchtmuseum This was ace pal! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Wall_Open_Air_Museum

Updated the pics. Hopefully you can all see them now

Patience matey,lots of graft too.

Pleased as punch with the fuze grouping too my old friend. Safe to say that this 15 suited this dated case? @Satan1800

Very familiar and one nice marked case ,there and incedently ,not to far from me at the Stratford Olympic park there is an observation tower which was all made of tubing and very high indeed ,which has been converted into a reastuarant now I beleive ,and guess who manufactured it yep Rheinmetall

I'm loving this forum already.

Allways liked the design of this medal Bryan. Here is my example, marked 20 on the ring for c.f. Zimmerman

No worries mate,Im going to be very active on the forum. Couldnt wait to get away from the Facebook site

Thanks for linking the page, what a bloke!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511325/Wartime-pilot-saved-stricken-plane-crew-climbing-wing-engine-fire.html This fella I read it originally in a wartime story book i got as a nipper

Makes me think of this...

Oh thats cool!!! Yep,worked a treat mate

will dig mine out,swear blind that they are made from horse-hide? I remember a long lost debate from years ago online

Cheers mate, In the past I've put gun oil on after removing surface rust but from now on when I get something I'll rub a small amount of Ren Wax on and leave them in my display case.

have anybody seen this pic? (from pinterest) says A British 17 pdr round lodged in a block of armor from a Tiger I, which it failed to completely penetrate.

It's a common one that does the rounds..

Nice ....and with a prolific leather goods manufacturer too....

It's a controversial pic, the right hand bullet is fired, the left hand one unfired. so it's likely the left jand round was in an ammo pouch when struck.

Hi Harvey, Display case won't stop rust, you need to keep it in stable temp and humidity. If it's in stable conditions then will be fine. Of course a lot depends on the state of the original helmet. Remember it's at least 70 years old. Old rust is stable and is fine, it's more like patina. I wouldn't do anything to a helmet apart from a gentle dab with a moist cloth. Occasionaly I've used a very very light rub with a small amount of renaissance wax, which to be honest is a must have for most things. As for the bayonet, don't use anything abrasive, as you've seen... remember these are 100 years old, and are old soldiers... If you're not confident in what you're doing, just leave it. As I've already said, taken 70-100 years to get to this state, keep it in stable conditions and it'll be fine. Really need pics though....

The WWI panzer badge was not instituted until July 1921! Grab a buy it now bargain LOL.

My B-Day is on the 28/03 so I'll go and have a look and hopefully see something I like.

I've had nearly flawless luck with eBay since it began. The only disappointments have been my own fault due to not fully understanding or misinterpreting what was being offered. Some items that are made of unobtainium here in the US (recently a Spanish helmet badge) are only found on the 'bay. Same for COMBLOC radios / parts and the like which I collect. International postage can be a drag, but if I really want the item then so be it. Interestingly, USPS and China Post have some sort of sweetheart arraignment, so delivery from China only takes a few days and the postage is either free or a very small amount.

...yeah because Panzer officers really love cockerels, owls and foliage.. ...saying that, it's got free P&P.

Absolutely sublime, as usual.. .;)

Bergflak's latest update to his M24 page, superb... M24 makers marks