Cal .30 Ammunition Box

[edstorey]

Here is a 1943 photograph of a .30 Cal wooden ammunition box for 250 rounds. Is this one part of the British system of wooden and metal boxes or is it something different?

 

[ramc181]

It would appear to be a Remington .50 Service ammunition crate, rather than any military-specific pattern one.

See 'Bay item 370379080426 for a couple of photos of the remains of a similar crate for comparison.

In case anyone was wondering, the vehicle isn't a Humber Armoured Car as it first appears, but the visually similar Fox Armoured Car built by GM Canada, which was fitted with one .50 Browning and one .30 Browning.

All the best,
PB

 

[TonyE]

Crate

I agree it seems to be a commercial crate even though it has the "Safety Class 6" sticker. Also the term "Service" to denote ball rounds is not one normally used by the British military.

My only question is whether it says ".30" or ".50" on the box. Remington made both on contract.

Regards
TonyE

 

[ramc181]

There's a higher-resolution version of the photo on Maple Leaf Up, which appears to show a serif 5 rather than a flattened 3.
I guess we could consider what size of box 250 rounds of each cartridge would occupy and work it out from there.

From memory, the Fox had purpose-designed .30 ammunition cans which fitted into racks, and a fixed hopper for the .50 ammunition.

All the best,
PB