British .303 mk iii ball or blank cartridge?

[Wgreen]

Hi to all I have a British .303 mk iii cartridge but it is unfortunately damaged at the top making i.d between the cordite mkiii blank and ball a bit tricky the headstamp is in good clear condition and reads
R arrow L C lll I know the mk iii ball is a very rare round and as such this is probably a damaged blank missing the identifiable top construction but I just wondered if anyone can tell the difference from the headstamp thanks

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[Jimiles]

The headstamp you show could be either the very, very rare Ball Cordite Mk III or the very scarce Blank Cordite Mk III as both rounds shared the same headstamp. Sadly without the front end of the cartridge there is no way to tell them apart as both also had the same uncrimped copper primer. Mk III Ball cases were also used as Gallery rounds but for these the headstamp was cancelled out. Nice find!
Jim

 

[Wgreen]

The headstamp you show could be either the very, very rare Ball Cordite Mk III or the very scarce Blank Cordite Mk III as both rounds shared the same headstamp. Sadly without the front end of the cartridge there is no way to tell them apart as both also had the same uncrimped copper primer. Mk III Ball cases were also used as Gallery rounds but for these the headstamp was cancelled out. Nice find!
Jim

Hi Jim thanks for your info you say the gallery rounds used ball cartridges with the info barred out if you can notice in the pic there seems to be a deliberate line around the headstamp which runs across the c for cordite could this be possibly a gallery round thanks

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[Jimiles]

Yes, I can sort of see a cancellation ring - is there any chance of a clearer photo? In the meantime I shall try to upload a photo of my own Gallery round made from a Mk III Ball.

 

[Jimiles]

.303 Gallery round converted from Mk III Ball.

 

[Wgreen]

View attachment 141755

.303 Gallery round converted from Mk III Ball.

Hi Jim that's great I believe that is what mine is but it is not so complete a circle ,mine runs from the R around to the lll through the c if you get my meaning making a sort of part circle I think it is more noticeable in this pic thanks

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[ydnum303]

I suspect this is the case for a Mk.III black-powder blank, as I have seen several with similar headstamps with a relatively long cancellation strike through the "C". One also comes across Mk.V cordite blanks that have been made from Mk.III Ball cases.

Regards,
Roger.

 

[Jimiles]

Hi Roger,
I think you are correct that the cancellation does only run through the 'C' and not the entire headstamp however I'm not sure I understand why the 'C' would be barred out for a Mk III Blank round when they were loaded with cordite anyway.
Jim

 

[Jimiles]

Got it....I think! So this started out as a Ball Mk II Cordite and was then reloaded as a Mk III Blackpowder (and not cordite) Blank. This would account for the 'C' being cancelled and the addition of a number '1' would explain the slightly irregular spacing between the numbers.
Jim

 

[Wgreen]

Got it....I think! So this started out as a Ball Mk II Cordite and was then reloaded as a Mk III Blackpowder (and not cordite) Blank. This would account for the 'C' being cancelled and the addition of a number '1' would explain the slightly irregular spacing between the numbers.
Jim

Hi thanks to all for the info not quite a mk iii ball doh! but sounds a interesting .303 with some conversion marks from ball to blank I guess the reason they did not just convert it to a cordite blank was at that time there was still many black powder rifles long lees in use

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