Ammunition designations A, AS, AX, B, BS & BX used in First World War

[argonaut]

Can anyone familiar with these pls translate?

The source is the regimental diary of 2nd Cdn Div Ammunition Column, a privately-printed extract of which can be found at http://www.archive.org/stream/extractsfromward00claruoft#page/n0/mode/2up

Most of the artillery ammunition they carried appears to have be 18 pdr and 4.5-in.
I'd guess these letters might correspond to HE, smoke and shrapnel (no gas?), but can someone say for sure?

TIA,
Argo

 

[AMMOTECHXT]

What a fantastic document. I've seen some of the WW1 War Diaries of battalions that my relatives served in, and they are not a patch on this.

As for what those letters mean, I can only guess that they may be forerunners of what I knew as Hazard Divisions and Compatability Groups, their main purpose being to ensure greater safety in storage and transport by grouping like with like and keeping safe distances between them. If a fire were to break out or an explosion occur, then providing there is adequate spacing, other stocks of nearby ammo should not become involved.

Just a thought, why not try contacting the museum of the Royal Logistic Corps, who may have a more definite answer? Good luck.

 

[argonaut]

It's quite a piece of work, and apparently prepared mainly on their own time, postwar.
Coincidentally, I recently received an original copy from someone who's dad had been given it by a
relative of mine 90-odd years ago. While scanning that to put it online, we discovered the version you've seen.

> I can only guess that they may be forerunners of what I knew as Hazard Divisions and Compatability Groups

Interesting idea, and you may well be right. As you may have read, members of that unit sometimes went into a
dump under shellfire to separate burning ammunition boxes from the rest. Without some type of organization
such as you suggested, it's not hard to see how that could be a lot hairier.
I'll follow up with the logistics corps museum.
Thanks!

Argo