Thread: .280 Labels

Continuing showing some interesting labels.

Most are .280 as opposed to .280/30, but if you look at the label for the grenade launching round you will see that it says "New Rim", meaning it has been changed to U.S. .30 dimensions, i.e. it is a .280/30.

The 7mm Mark 1z label is for the last batch of 7mm made by RG in 1970 for a project at the School of Infantry.

Regards
TonyE

Tony,
Do you know a source to visually ID color tips on .270, .280, and .280/30 rounds? There are two different blue tips, a few different red tips, and it can get a bit confusing.

The colour codes on the British 7mm series are a little confusing I will grant you. Some of the colours are duplicated in different typed of 7mm, particularly red. Also colour codes are listed in official documents that do not seem to have been used, especially some of the double colours like white over blue for inert tracer.

However, here are a few examples which I hope will go some small way to clarifying things.

First blue: The Type A 130 grn lead cored ball is listed with a blue tip. This is a mid Royal Blue but unfortunately this is one round I do not have (anyone got a spare?) so cannot show a picture. The AP is a much lighter blue and is listed as "Eggshall blue". See first picture.

Yellow: There is a marked diference in the yellow used by Kynoch and Radway Green on the Type B 140 grn mild steel cored bullets. Picture 2 shows the colours. However, when the .280/30 was adopted as the 7mm Mark 1z with the Belgian 140 grn lead cored S12 bullet, some of these were also made with a yellow tip as shown in Picture 3.

Red: The observation round has a red tip, and this can be either a long or short tip, dipped or sprayed. Picture 4 shows a .280 Observation. However, when the 7mm 1z was adopted the proof round used the Belgian S12 bullet with a short red tip! Picture 5 shows a 7mm Proof on the left and a 280/30 Observation on the right. Just to confuse matters even more, when the 7mm 2nd Optimum/ High Velocity/ Compromise rounds appeared, red was used for tracer as well.

I hope that is all as clear as mud Jonny!

Regards
TonyE

Brilliantly clear!
I think I have both blues, will try to post a pic tomorrow, with daylight.

I believe the left is ball (RG 49 280/30), and the right is AP (R.G. 48 280).

Other way round jonny.The light blue tip is AP.

Regards
TonyE

Right! I have it the correct way in my log book. I was thinking that AP was more scarce and that you didn't have that one.
I wish the Labbett book had an attached color (or colour) code.

No, for some reason it is the darker blue tipped ball that has eluded me over the years. I have about sixty variations of the 7mm series but not that one.

There was one in a lot at the last SLICS auction and I started bidding on it but it went too steep considering the other rounds in the lot were more common and I did not need them.

No doubt one will turn up!

Cheers
TonyE