.5 Vickers Class D

[rigby]

Hi all,

can me anyone explain the difference between a .5 Vickers bullet with tombak-jacket/purple tip from 1937 and a nickled magnetic bullet from 1927?
I know the puple tip is the normal ball with steel core, this bullet is in the lower part magnetic and in the upper part non-magnetic. The nickled bullet is all over strong magnetic.

 

[rigby]

Purple tip

 

[TonyE]

The purple tipped mild steel cored round will have a lead tip filler so only the lower part of the projectile with the steel core will be magnetic. Assuming the other round has a ball headstamp it would appear to have a cupro-nickel clad steel envelope, which gives it a strong magnetic attraction all over.

1927 is very early for a Class D, the earliest of the eight I have is 1928, and none of them have a CN or CNCS envelope. I do have a 1935 incendiary with a GMCS envelope but all others are GM.

Regards
TonyE

 

[rigby]

Thanks Tony for this information.
Here is the 1927 headstamp.