WWII .303 calibre ammunition question

[Longshaor]

Hi all,

I've recently become involved with a WWII reenacting group and we had an interesting question come up today I'm hoping someone here can answer.

Did the UK colour code their special purpose ammunition the way the US did? I.e. painting the tips to denote certain types. I've seen some .303 incendiaries here in the States that had both light and dark blue tips, but outside of that I've never seen any evidence of such a system. Can any of you enlighten me further?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PeterC]

My expertise on 303's doesn't come close to many of the guys here, but in general terms I think it is fair to say that the British didn't employ an across the board tip color recognition system as did the US or Germans. WW2 303 British identification relied predominently on Headstamp Codes, some of the more commonly encountered loading prefixes would be; W = AP, G = Tracer, B = Incendiary, O = Observation, U = Inspection.
You will however encounter some tip colored examples, particularly in certain Tracer and Incendiary loadings and I am sure other members here can detail some of those for you if you desire.
regards,
Peter

 

[TonyE]

From 1918 onwards .303 inch ammunition was identified by a combination of headstamp code (as described by Peter) and the colour of the primer annulus; red for tracer, green for Ap, blue for incendiary, black for Observation etc. Prior to WW2 the only tip colour used was black for the Observation O Mark I (now a very scarce round).

With the proliferation of tracer and incendiary types during WW2 a system of tip colours was introduced. These were:

White -Tracer G Mark IV and VI (Day Tracer)

Grey - Tracer G Mark V (Night Tracer)

Red - Canadian Tracer G Mark II and some British G Mark II

Blue - Incendiary B Mark VII and VIIz and some trade patterns of B Mark IV*

Green - Some Armour piercing W Mark 1z rounds are encountered with green tips. These

are not British service but manufactured for export contracts.
Black - Observation O Mark I

[FONT=&quot]Orange/Yellow - Quoted in wartime Ministry of Supply pamphlets as identification for night tracer, but no specimens have been found.[/FONT]

The grey tip colour of the G Mark V is often so pale as to appear almost white. Generally British B Mark VII incendiaries have a mid-blue tip but Canadian examples can range from milky blue to almost black.

There was also a list published in the ammunition manuals for tip colours on American made contract ammo in WW2, but since virtually no special purpose ammo was made on contract these will not be encountered.

Regards
TonyE

 

[ydnum303]

I have also seen a black-tipped Canadian AP round, and also Ball rounds with a thick, waxy red or green tip. The tip colours on these Ball rounds is for target-marking (so they know which gunner hit the target).

Roger.

 

[Longshaor]

Thanks guys! Looks like this will be a tad more complex than I thought...