W&S .455 SL ammo package - military?

[RangeRover]

Empty, sadly, but still an interesting piece (I think) given to me by a friend.

 

A 1918 date is written in ink on the box along with some other unreadable text. Other packages I've seen here have a different design, with clearly military-use markings on them. Curious about potential source and/or application of this ammunition.

Edited 10 January , 2019 by RangeRover
typo

[4thGordons]

It looks to me to be a packaged for non government (aka "private") sale rather than for issue - but I am well out of my comfort zone here.

It's at times like this that the chap who would almost certainly have known (TonyE) is sorely missed.

 

Tony did however leave us with all this information for comparison - which would seem to show that packaging in 7 rounds was normal - lots of other good info too (including a military style paper wrapper )

Chris

[MikB]

12 hours ago, 4thGordons said:

It looks to me to be a packaged for non government (aka "private") sale rather than for issue - but I am well out of my comfort zone here.

It's at times like this that the chap who would almost certainly have known (TonyE) is sorely missed.

 

Tony did however leave us with all this information for comparison - which would seem to show that packaging in 7 rounds was normal - lots of other good info too (including a military style paper wrapper )

Chris

I think that's right, too. If it were a service store or issue it'd carry "Cartridge S.A. Ball Pistol Self Loading Webley & Scott .455 inch Mark I" as per the sample label TonyE posted. 

If it were made to military order, it'd be labelled with military nomenclature.

Edited 11 January , 2019 by MikB

[o j kirby]

Hello,

Just a passing thought. If a weapon was private purchase and had specific ammunition to that weapon, would the owner have to provide his own if it differed from that on general issue? 

 

Cheers,

Owain.

[MikB]

1 hour ago, o j kirby said:

Hello,

Just a passing thought. If a weapon was private purchase and had specific ammunition to that weapon, would the owner have to provide his own if it differed from that on general issue? 

 

Cheers,

Owain.

Yes he would. TonyE once posted a list of the 'non-regulation' pistol calibre rounds available for purchase from Army stores - they included most of the usual rounds in use at the time.

 

But I think he would also be required to carry the standard issue pistol calibre ammunition - .455" *revolver* as distinct from the .455" self-loading pistol rounds referred to in the OP's photo.I'm not sure how much he would have to carry but would expect at least 6 rounds.

Edited 11 January , 2019 by MikB

[RangeRover]

Thanks for the replies so far. I took a closer look at the service-issue ammunition package and then went back to the empty box I have. I put it under better light, and a bit of magnification, and took a photo of the complete set of hand-written marks on the box. 

 

Looking at the ink on the end flap, and using the markings on the military label from TonyE's post, there appears to be a hand-written I.S.A.A. Between that marking and the 3-4-18 date there are two other marks, not as clear. Is it possible they are an "E" and a broad-arrow, to approximate the markings on the military label? Given the wartime date on the box, it would seem unlikely there would be any ammunition produced that would not be dedicated to the military. 

 

[MikB]

If that's a Broad arrow, it's imaginable that ammunition originally manufactured for the commercial market (for example by Eley) might have been purchased by WD for military use to clear shortages. 

Edited 12 January , 2019 by MikB

[AlanD]

Personally I would say it is a military packet of a generic pattern for the .455 auto, with the addition of relevant date of manufacture etc, added by hand.Perhaps this was just expediency, when properly marked labels were unavailable for some reason.

 

Regards

 

AlanD

Sydney