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Strange statement on Ammo Can!!??
- Thread starter hicky1300
- Start date
As the others have said - overhead fire. Cartridges for OFA (overhead fire application) are loaded only with bullets with GM jackets since GMCS jackets may tend to shred. Also, OFA Tracers have a foil closure disc rather than the heavier GM disc in case the disc seperates from the bullet when it's over the heads of troops. Many collectors have OFA cartridges in their collection without realizing it. A magnet test will usually pick out the Ball rounds but you have to pull the bullet to ID the tracers.
That is a great, and very collectable, ammo box.
Ray
That is a great, and very collectable, ammo box.
Ray
Last edited:
Tony
Since the OFA cartridges meet the same specs as the standard M62 and M80 they can be used in any situation, including combat. That's likely the reason they were not given any special designation.
There are three other experimental OFA cartridges that never reached production. The XM178, XM179, and XM180 were loaded with bullets turned from solid Gilding Metal. The Ball (XM178) is fairly easy to find, but the tracers (XM179 and XM180) are seldom encountered, even in advanced collections. It takes a trained eye to spot them and specemins may have passed thru collectors hands without them realizing what they were.
Ray
Since the OFA cartridges meet the same specs as the standard M62 and M80 they can be used in any situation, including combat. That's likely the reason they were not given any special designation.
There are three other experimental OFA cartridges that never reached production. The XM178, XM179, and XM180 were loaded with bullets turned from solid Gilding Metal. The Ball (XM178) is fairly easy to find, but the tracers (XM179 and XM180) are seldom encountered, even in advanced collections. It takes a trained eye to spot them and specemins may have passed thru collectors hands without them realizing what they were.
Ray
I need to clarify a part of my first post on the OFA cartridges. I said that the only way to ID the tracer is by pulling the bullet. The OFA tracer has a red tip, compared with the orange tip of the standard M62. But, it's a simple matter to make a fake. Unless you are positive of what you have, the only way to tell for sure is to pull the bullet. That's what I should have said.
Ray
Ray