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My Baton Rounds

batonroundcollector

batonroundcollector

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I finally got round to taking photos of my batons. I'm going for the definitive collection but have plenty more to find - if anyone has any that are not shown here for sale/trade - please message me!

Pics below show roughly the development of British batons from early '70s to present; where appropriate, projectile is shown to the right of it's case.

rubber.jpg

'Rubber Bullets' - proved to be far from non-lethal! note different finishes - assume middle case markings shows transition from imperial (1.5 inch) to metric (38mm) measurements.

plastic.jpg

'Plastic Bullets' - were to be fired at (lower) body of rioter, rather than at ground and then ricochet upwards like previous type.

ARWEN.jpg

ARWEN rounds - shown in plastic holder top, bottom row L-R: AR-1 baton round (direct fire); AR-2P irritant smoke (indirect fire) practice; AR-5/P practice, unsure for which type??

l21a1.jpg

L21A1 - shown in holder left; note right case markings - early type?

l21a1 belt.jpg

L21A1 in 10-round belt, think British Police issue

blanks.jpg

L38A1 BLANK, shown in holder left; PRIMETAKE baton training case

l60a1 aep.jpg

Experimental?? type left, dated 12/85; Current L60A1 AEP (Attenuating Energy Projectile)

* * *

If anyone has any further info to add below I'd be interested to read :)
 
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The "PSH" lot numbers are from Pyrotechnik Silberhtte (Rheinmetall subsidiary) of Germany.
 
It's been a while since I posted... here are some of my new additions:

new batons.jpg

L-R, from top: another L2A2 'rubber bullet'; L4A1 irritant; another L5A4 (in poor nick!); L5A7 case only; South African 'CTG 37mm Plastic Shot' case only; experimental rubber balls for 37mm cases.

As always I'm interested in any more info on these items and let me know if you have any variants for sale that I'm missing :)
 
May I say that you have a rather fine collection. I have a modest collection of U.K baton rounds myself and hope that you may be able to answer a few questions that I have. Firstly, the L5 series. The cases I have seem to show a marking about 4mm inside the case. This would suggest that the round was recessed into the case and sealed flush with something. All photographs I have seen of the L5 series show the projectile standing proud in the case. How were they issued? Was there a seal or were they all issued slightly proud of the case? Secondly, the U.K irritant rounds. What was the projectile, if any? Do any survive? Also, I have often read about "long range" rounds. Is this an urban myth? Were they issued? How are these identified? Mark number? Banding or colour coding? And finally, aside from experimental rounds, what are the issued marks that are hard to find? I hope you can go some way in answering my queries, but as you know, details on baton rounds are scant.
 
Hi adammack,

Sorry for the poor quality, but I hope these photo's will help to answer some of your questions.

The first photo mainly shows British military baton rounds with L numbers, including various marks of L5.

The 4th round from the left is a British L3A1 long range baton round and is marked L.R.


image.jpg

The second photo shows a mixture of British military irritant rounds and other baton rounds.

The first rounds on the left are L2A2 Irrt, L3A1 Irrt and L4A1 Practice Irrt, all with their projectiles.

I'm not sure how I know this, but I'm pretty sure that the 2 grey circles before the ARWEN rounds are closing discs from L5 baton rounds.

Maybe someone else can confirm...


image.jpg

Regarding information on baton rounds, the best places are copies of British military grenades manuals which you can find on eBay and Jane's Infantry Weapons.

Happy hunting!

Gary
 
Hi,

better photo's of the L5 closing disc and L3 Long Range baton round:


image.jpg


By the way, the 1984 Grenades manual says that the L5 rounds are designated for medium ranges (20-25 metres); The L3 is designated long range (50-80 metres).

Cheers,

Gary
 
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Hi Gary. Fine selection as always ! You are right about the grey alloy caps, they are closing caps for the early L5 series Batons. They changed to a silicone seal at some stage, not sure when.

Could you provide a better pic of the L18A1 CS cart at some stage ? I have never seen one in the flesh.

Cheers, Tony.
 
Hi Tony,

Thanks for confirming the purpose of the alloy caps.

By the way, the illustration doesn't show it, but the 1984 manual describes the closing cap of the L3A1 Long Range baton round as an orange disc, embossed with the letter 'L' for night-time identification. It also warns that medium and long range rounds shouldn't be carried together because the long range round could be lethal at shorter ranges.

Please see below photo of the L18A1 irritant cartridge and, fresh from Quickfire Auctions, an XL21E1 practice irritant cartridge:


image.jpg image.jpgimage.jpg

Cheers,

Gary
 
I wish I hadn't asked now ! lol

Thanks Gary :) How did I miss that ! ;)
Another item I've not seen before and one to look out for !

Tony
 
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Whilst we are on the subject, there is the L18A2 CS Cart, and the L3A2 LR Baton to look out for as well !
 
Thanks for showing your collections. I realise how far I have to go now!! Would I be right in assuming that the closing caps are had to come by?
 
adammack said:
Thanks for showing your collections. I realise how far I have to go now!! Would I be right in assuming that the closing caps are had to come by?
Click to expand...

There are loads of variants of Baton Rounds and Irritant Carts, even if you just stick to British items. Lots of modifications and trials.

The caps do seem hard to come by, I only have a couple myself. The Batons and common cases are easy to get and not expensive either.
 
Is there a definitive list of UK Baton Rounds?
From what I have seen there are :
L1A1 (this is an assumption!) 1970
L2A2 Rubber bullet
L3A1 Irritant
L4A1 Irritant
L5A1 Plastic 1975
L5A2 Plastic
L5A3 Plastic
L5A4 Plastic
L5A5 Plastic
L5A6 Plastic
L5A7 PBR 1984
L8A1 Blank
L18A1
L21A1 AEP
L60A1 AEP
L60A2 AEP

Would those more knowledgeable than myself amend the list accordingly?
Feel free to add X prefix rounds.

Cheers
Gary
 
Hi Gary,

First of all, thanks again for the L3A1 Irritant Cartridge which we traded a few years ago!

Regarding the list of baton rounds/ irritant cartridges, I'm not sure about the existence of an L1A1 baton round.

I've listed some additional rounds below:

There was certainly an L2A1 rubber baton round and XL2E1 version. I remember a photo of the XL2E1 in another thread.

There was also an XL2E2 rubber baton round (I bought mine from WD Militaria).

There was also an L2A2 Irritant cartridge with cardboard case and L3A1 and L3A2 Long Range plastic baton rounds.

The L4A1 was a Practice Irritant cartridge.

The L5A4 plastic baton round was also made as L5A4B1.

In addition to the L8A1 blank, there were L8A2 and L38A1 blanks.

There was also an L8A1 Proof Round.

The L18A1 Multi Source Irritant Cartridge was also made as L18A2.

In addition to the L21A1 AEP round, there was an XL21E1 AEP round and an XL21E1 Practice Irritant Cartridge.

Those are the ones that I've seen in the flesh or photographs - I'm sure there are others!

Cheers,

Gary
 
I might be able to add one or two more to the list, I will have a look later and see what I have got or have listed on any documents.
 
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