MkVI .303" drill round

[smle2009]

Hi to all,
looking for any info on this pre D suffix MkVI drill round regarding the red painted(remains) bullet,could this have been done at unit level or did they have a specific use?
My first thought was that someone had b*****d about with it! but I seem to remember seeing this(and in purple!!) before, many moons ago!
Could it be to represent a tracer round in linked drill rounds?

Cheers
Tony

 

[ydnum303]

Drill round

Hi Tony,

AFAIK this was not anything done officially; these Mk VI drill rounds without the "D" in the headstamp are the early ones, and at that time we did not use red tips on tracers.

It could have been someone's attempt to make the bullet resemble the red-stained wooden bullet of the Mk. III drill round; if it was, then it was done very much at the local level, I would think. Must admit that over the years I have seen a lot of Mk. VI drills, but this is the first time I have seen one with a red painted bullet. (Although I have seen a .30-06 Home Guard-made drill round with a red painted bullet.)

Roger.

 

[smle2009]

Hi Roger,
thanks for that,the tracer idea was a shot in the dark(pun intended!):tinysmile_hmm_t:,I don't think we ever used red tips on .303" tracer,excepting some contracted out rounds,but as the early pre D suffix drill rounds would have been also used in much later years for training,it was just an idea.
The paint does seem to have been on it a very long time,but as you say it may have been a very local application and we may never know the reason why.
Think I will leave this one as it is,just in case.

All the best
Tony