Jump to content

.30 Cal Ammo Crate


hirsca
 Share

Recommended Posts

Recent estate sale pick up. Came with the lid, all six stamped metal wing nuts and the metal liner. 1344 rounds divided by 48 (the number of rounds in a bandoleer) equals 28 bandoleers. My question is: Were the bandoleers stored loosely in the metal liner? Or were they separated into spam cans of 14 bandoleers each? If so, why was it not marked on the exterior of the crate? The way the metal liner was opened leads me to believe that they were stored loosely all together. What say you?

 

Thanks, Al

post-12790-0-07980300-1543986109_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Johan Willaert

The one they tear open in the 1949 movie 'battleground' shows them just loosely stacked inside the metal box...
Of course it's just a movie, but then again given the time frame, it may very wll have been on original crate...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the bandoleers had been in spam cans, the crate would have been smaller and the tin liner unnecessary. The tin liner was the early attempt to "weatherproof" the ammo, so yes, the bandoleers were stacked loose in the crate you have.

 

Great find. It's not often now to find an early crate with the liner and lid still present. I had a crate several years ago with 5 round clips in bandoleers inside a crate like yours, with the liner still present.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-180924-0-02670900-1544040889_thumb.jpeg

Your crate's inner metal container would have had 8 round en blocs packed in bandoleers looking like this. The example I have here is DEN43 5 rd clipped that was repacked after the war and put into post war ammo cans, but this is how they would have looked inside your opened metal can...open the wooden crate, open the metal container then grab and go the Bandoliers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For info, your crate held repacked AP dating from very late 44 or so. The Repacked lot code on the crate is NOT the original SL ammo lot number, but instead when St Louis Ordnance Plant repacked it. This list I pictured ( for shooters) has the ammo lot codes for when NON corrosive ammo was first manufactured, a good guide when shooting USGI surplus ammo.

post-180924-0-82321200-1544044809_thumb.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

For info, your crate held repacked AP dating from very late 44 or so. The Repacked lot code on the crate is NOT the original SL ammo lot number, but instead when St Louis Ordnance Plant repacked it. This list I pictured ( for shooters) has the ammo lot codes for when NON corrosive ammo was first manufactured, a good guide when shooting USGI surplus ammo.

attachicon.gifimage.jpeg

 

Thanks, great info.

 

Al

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...