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2pdr Littlejohn colours?

T

Tony Williams

Well-Known Member
The "Ordnance QF 2-pr Gun Ammunition" manual I have includes black & white illustrations of Littlejohn Mk 1 and Mk 2 ammo, and labels the projectile noses as being coloured blue, and the rest of the projectile black with red lettering.

Yet in all the ones I can recall seeing the colours are black overall with red and/or white bands around the nose. Can anyone clarify this please?
 
Sounds like your manual is post war when the colour codes changed. The 2 pdr was used into the 50s in armoured cars. Info in previous posts on here. Cheers Tig
 
The blue nose marking was only ever used on the AP shot which could only be used in guns up to Mk 10A.
The 48 - 51 system used a blue tip for the Littlejohn shot.
 
Last edited:
Tony Williams said:
The "Ordnance QF 2-pr Gun Ammunition" manual I have includes black & white illustrations of Littlejohn Mk 1 and Mk 2 ammo, and labels the projectile noses as being coloured blue, and the rest of the projectile black with red lettering.

Yet in all the ones I can recall seeing the colours are black overall with red and/or white bands around the nose. Can anyone clarify this please?
Click to expand...

Sounds like the pictures in the 1951 dated RAC training pamphlet, armament, Daimler armoured car Mks 1 and 2.
 
tigbrand said:
Sounds like your manual is post war when the colour codes changed. The 2 pdr was used into the 50s in armoured cars. Info in previous posts on here. Cheers Tig
Click to expand...

Does anyone have any 1950's Littlejohn specimens they can show please?

Dave.
 
Tony Williams said:
The "Ordnance QF 2-pr Gun Ammunition" manual I have includes black & white illustrations of Littlejohn Mk 1 and Mk 2 ammo, and labels the projectile noses as being coloured blue, and the rest of the projectile black with red lettering.

Yet in all the ones I can recall seeing the colours are black overall with red and/or white bands around the nose. Can anyone clarify this please?
Click to expand...

Interestingly although the pamphlet shows a picture of a APSV with the blue tip/black body/red markings the description under the heading Recognition describes the blue tip/red ring/white ring as shown in the 1951 picture posted by MINENAZ16. The pamphlet also contains a picture of fired projectiles with the pre 1951 colours!
 
I have to say I'd always thought the inclusion of blue band on the 2pdr (and others) was a post war marking.... I'll dig out my 1950's Daimler AC Service instruction book later and that definitely defines a blue band on the 2pdr littlejohn. Having said that, I've never seen on with original paint and neither do I know the year when blue was introduced.

Now to add a little more ambiguity to the picture, again I don't have written evidence, but always thought the S gun littlejohn round had no red or blue banding... I remember seeing the item below (1944 dated) On eBay 10 or so years ago.

image.jpg

:)

rich
 
Thanks Guys, I'm learning a lot!

I have a supplementary question: the photo below of sub-calibre WW2 AP rounds in my collection includes a replica of the APSV Mk 2 on the right, next to a genuine APSV Mk 1. The colours of the Mk 1 don't seem to match what's been shown so far - there is no red band, the only red visible on it being the usual two quarter-circles on the body. Any comments?

SubcalAmmo2.jpg
 
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