303 blank

[Andysarmoury]

Could someone help i have a pkt of ten 303 blanks the head stamp is two arrows that i know is spennymoor and dated 1941 and its stamped VIIIZ and according to the book they only made MkV in blank, is it the case they just used up what ever cases were at hand.
Cheers
Andy

 

[Falcon]

There never was a .303 blank Mark 8z, these are reject Ball Mark 8z cases loaded as blanks.

 

[Andysarmoury]

Hi Falcon, that seems to be the only answer there also in the correct pkt so they have to be Mk V Z,
Thanks
Andy

 

[Falcon]

Yes, blanks made during WW2 on reject cases with headstamps for other loads are blank Mk Vz.

 

[TonyE]

Blank

Are they Blank Mark V (cordite loaded) or Vz (NC loaded)? The packet, which should be blue, will tell you. In 1941, I suspect they are more likely to be Mark V.

Blanks could be made from any reject case, as the headstamp made no diference since the round was obviously a blank. You can find ball, tracer, incendiary, AP and even grenade launcher cases made into Blank Mark V.

Actually there was a Blank Mark 8z that was post WW2 and fitted between the old wood bulleted Mark VII blank and the L9z. It was an experimental wood bulleted blank for the Bren gun that was sealed but never introduced to service. I have an example with a plain wood spitzer bullet and no headstamp. With modification it eventually became the blank L.10z.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Andysarmoury]

Hi Tony, the pkt is dark blue and marked Blank 303 inch L Mk V, i all so have another pkt in light blue marked Blank 303 inch Mk V Z and the head stamp is R-L 43 Mk L V
Cheers
Andy

 

[TonyE]

blank

If the Spennymoor packet is to be believed then they are cordite loaded (LV) The RL ones though have a packet saying Vz (NC) yet are headstamped LV (cordite). I have the same RL headstamped round but there is no easy way to tell what it is loaded with without cutting it.

I am always surprised that they bothered to make a new headstamp bunter for LV blanks when there must have been hundreds of thousands of reject cases. I can only presume the demand for blank in 1943 was so high for training the D-Day armies that they ran out of reject cases. There are also Spennymoor 1943 blanks with an LV headstamp.

Regards
TonyE

 

[Andysarmoury]

Thanks tony, i too find it confusing that is how i obtained them, its possible there was so much going on at the time they didn't worry about it to much,
Andy

 

[Falcon]

Actually there was a Blank Mark 8z that was post WW2 and fitted between the old wood bulleted Mark VII blank and the L9z. It was an experimental wood bulleted blank for the Bren gun that was sealed but never introduced to service. I have an example with a plain wood spitzer bullet and no headstamp. With modification it eventually became the blank L.10z.

Is there any known reason why it was never introduced into service?

 

[TonyE]

Blank L.8

In 1953 a new blank was required for the Bren so trials were held at BAOR in Germany with two types of new blank. One had a Swedish style hollow wood bullet and needed a muzzle attachment whilst the other was an Indian designed wood bullet blank that did not need a muzzle attachment. This had already been approved in India as the "IA 803 Blank 8" or Mark 8 in our teminology.

Following the trials the Indian blank was considered unsafe and was not adopted, but presumably to avoid confusion the Mark 8 designation was left and the Swedish style blank was adopted as the L Mark 10.z, following the adoption of the new crimped rifle blank, the L Mark 9z, at the same time.

Quite why the L Mark 9z ever came to be adopted as a new item is uncertain as it is virtually identical to the L Mark Vz.

Regards
TonyE