6.5x55 puzzle,

[beihan62]

I have had this case with its copper cap for some years,and it has always puzzled me as to why it has this copper cap,is it some form of blank,the cap was a good fit so I assumed it was correct for it to be there,could it be just an odd cap that someone has put in the case or has it some definate purpose,also is it a military case or a hunting rifle case,any help on this would be much appreciated,
Thanks,Don,

 

[super7]

It a gallery practice round (short range).

Regards, Jan

 

[fotomanx]

Hallo

There is a swedish military Short Range

Peter

 

[beihan62]

puzzle solved,

Many thanks for the quick replies,much appreciated,Regards,Don,

 

[smle2009]

They were also used by the British in the spotting barrel of the Charlie G.

Cheers
Tony

 

[TonyE]

Charlie G

The Gustav did not have a "spotting" barrel as such, it used a sub calibre training device. This consisted of an 84mm "round" which had a breech and 6.5mm barrel through the normal fuze stand off and a mechanism to fire it, in much the same way as the .22 sub calibre adaptor for the Boys rifle.

The 6.5mm round in question was the L11A1 Sub calibre short range in British service and was used for indoor training. There was also an L10A1 sub calibre tracer for outdoor use. This originally had a white bullet tip that was later changed to red to conform with British marking. The tracer round also had half the head coloured black to denote sub calibre.

Both the L10A1 tracer and the L11A1 in British service were made in Sweden.

Regards
TonyE

 

[smle2009]

And here is a couple of photo's of the L10A1 tracer round

Cheers
Tont

 

[beihan62]

puzzle solved,

Many thanks guys,I was unsure about this round but now I know it is military it will stay in my collection,I appreciate you sharing your knowledge,again,many thanks,Regards,Don,

 

[Bockscar]

The round that you show is officially the Swedish 6.5 m/m x 55 M/12 Kammarpatron.
Projectile styles differed over the years that the round was in service. The lead round nosed projectile fitted to the first examples was found to have a good bit more range and lethality than was good for a "short range" cartridge, and was soon replaced by a much lighter projectile. So far I have come across 7 different styles of projectile in the series.

 

[beihan62]

Hi Bockscar

Many thanks for the info on that 6.5x55 case,at first I thought it was just a cap that was pushed into the case just because it fitted,when I got round to getting it out it was clear that as it was such a good fit I got the idea that it was supposed to be there,I have never come across anything like it before (I only collect in a small way)so it was a bit of a puzzle,when I finally got it apart the inside was pristine,apart from a small bit of matchstick presumably to make it rattle to show it was inert,
Thanks again,
Regards,Don,

 

[smle2009]

Hi Boxcar,
is it possible for you to list the other variants? I have found the round nose lead type,the copper one as in Don's and one of the same profile but in 'silver' CN?,and am I right in thinking that the blue neck seal on my example of the tracer denotes a reduced charge?

All the best
Tony

 

[ammocat]

84mm Sub Calibre Training Device

The Canadian military use to use the 6.5mm sub-calibre training cartridges for training personnel in the operation of the Carl Gustov. The 6.5mm cartridges have been replaced with 7.62mm cartridges. The cap and holder fits into the side of the sub-calibre training device. When the Carl Gustov is fired the firing strikes the cap in the holder and this in turn operates the mechanism in the sub-calibre training device which drives the firing pin into the primer of the 7.62mm cartridge.

 

[smle2009]

And a Swedish 7.62 nato gallery round I just turned up!

Cheers
Tony

 

[proditto]

Practise use

The indoor short range round was used with a projected image on a sheet of paper. The sound of the firing at the projected target stopped the projector. The image could then be compared to the hole on the paper.
The outdoor round was interesting as the tracer could be clearly seen down the range. The velocity was low to try and mimic the Gustav round.

 

[Bockscar]

Tony,

First let me apologize for not keeping up to date with this thread and not supplying the information that you asked for.
The examples of the Kammarpatron that I have are;

1 - The lead cylindrical body,hollow based,round nosed type.
2 - A steel cylindrical body,round nosed type with a white fibre type core embossed "NP".
3- Copper plated steel cylindrical body,round nosed type with white fibre type core embossed "NP".
4 - Copper plated steel cylindrical body (slightly longer than the types above) round nosed type, no core, hollow.
5 - Brass cylindrical body,round nosed type with white fibre core embossed "NP".
6 - Nickel plated,cylindrical body, round nosed type with white fibre type core embossed "NP".