Headstamps of the .

303 British Calibre

Service Ammunition Round
Much of the information in this page has been taken from the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum website, a direct
link for which is provided at left. It has been presented a little differently and incorporates additional information on
.303 rounds that my company APEX Enterprises manufactured during the 1970s. As well as information brought to
light by others.
Each type of round is listed in the key below and is identified by an alphanumeric code that hopefully is also
descriptive of the round concerned.
KEY DESCRIPTION
AP Armour Piercing
APNC Armour Piercing, Nitro Cellulose
APMKVII.P Armour Piercing Mk VII.P
APMKVII.W Armour Piercing Mk VII.W
APMKVII.W.Z Armour Piercing Mk VII.W.Z
B Ball
BBPMK2 Ball, Black powder Mk 2
BCMK2 Ball, Cordite Mk 2
BCMK4 Ball, Cordite Mk 4
BCMK5 Ball, Cordite Mk 5
BCMK6 Ball, Cordite Mk 6
BCMK7 Ball, Cordite Mk 7
B7756MNC Nitro Cellulose 7.7 x 56 M917 Ball (interchangeable with .303)
B7756R 7.7 x 56R ball (interchangeable with .303 after 1973)
BNC Ball, Nitro Cellulose
BNCMK7Z Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z
BLK Blank
BBLK Bulleted Blank
BBLKMK6 Bulleted Blank Mk 6
BLKBPMK3 Blank, Black powder Mk 3
BSRP Ball, Short Range Practice
CRGBHMK1 Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1
CRGBHMK1Z Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z
D Drill
D7756R Drill 7.7 x 56R interchangeable with .303
DMK3 Drill Mk 3
DMK6 Drill Mk 6
DMK6D D Mk 6, Dummy
DPMK6 Drill Premark 6
DUMK5 Dummy- U Mk 5
EAPA Experimental Armour Piercing Ammunition
EPSAMK2 Explosive PSA Mk 2 (VII.AA)
HE High Explosive
GLB Grenade Launching Blank
I Incendiary
IAPT7756R Incendiary Armour Piercing- Thermite filling
IAPP7756R Incendiary Armour Piercing- Phosphorus filling
IBIKMK1 Incendiary, BIK (VII.K) Mk 1
IBMK6 Incendiary, B Mk 6
IBMK6Z Incendiary, B Mk 6Z
IBMK7 Incendiary, B Mk 7
IBMK7Z Incendiary, B Mk 7Z
IP Incendiary (phosphorus)
LTBLK Line Throwing Blank
MK7NC Nitro Cellulose Mk 7
TR Tracer
TR7756R 7.7 x 56R Tracer
TRGMK2 Tracer- G Mk 2
TRGMK3 Tracer- G Mk 3
TRGMK4 Tracer- G Mk 4
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The 'Z' suffix Refers to graphite glazed nitro-cellulose propellant
A (Armscore)
Pretoria West Metal Pressings Pty. SA... B7756R. The photo of the 7.7 R1M3Z
case head was sent by Michael Douglas.
A or AI
Artillerie Inrichtingen, Hembrug, Netherlands. Became Nederland Wapen &
Munitiefabrik'de Kruithoorn' NV,'s Hertogenbosch Later became Eurometaal.
BNC, BLK, BBLK, LTBLK, TR.
AE
Arsenal do Ejercito, Lisbon, Portugal... B7756MNC.
AOC
Bombrini, Parodi et Delfino, Rome, Italy. Used on military .303 carts supplied to
Egypt in the period 1948 - 1954... BNC, MK7NC, TR.
APX
Atelier de Construction de Puteaux, France.
Manufactured during 1918... BNC,
APNC,TR.
The 1931 round may not be crimped at all,
yet the 1918 round has a very heavy crimp.

A - VE
Atelier de Construction de Valence, France... B.
A.VIS
Atelier de Fabrication de Vincinnes, France... B.
B,J,M or N
Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co Ltd. Birmingham, UK. Company formed in 1897, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Nobels explosive company who also owned a further Ammunition plant, fully acquired in 1907, at Waltham Abbey,
Essex. BM&M had ceased Ammunition manufacture by 1920. The company was taken over in 1918 by Explosives
Trades Ltd which became Nobel Industries, which was in turn was to become part of the new giant Imperial Chemical
Industries Ltd when it was formed in 1926.
The headstamp code B denoting the manufacturer should not be confused with B as in BVIIZ which indicates
incendiary Ammunition.
Types produced between 1897 & 1919... APMKVII.P, APMKVII.W, APMKVII.W.Z, BBPMK2, BCMK2, BCMK4,
BCMK5, BCMK6, BCMK7, BNCMK7Z, BSRP, BLKBPMK3, BBLKMK6, CRGBHMK1, D, DMK3, DMK6, DMK6D,
DPMK6, EPSAMK2, EAPA, IBIKMK1.
BE or BE??
Royal Ordnance Factory, Blackpole, Worcester, UK. This factory was part of the 1939 - 1945 war emergency expansion
plan and was situated at Blackpole on the site of the earlier Government Cartridge Factory No 3 of 1916. Initially ICI
Ltd were to have operated this plant but they were advised in 1940 of the change in plans and the factory was run as a
Royal Ordnance Factory by the Ministry of Supply. This factory made and marked cases but filling was carried out at
the Royal Ordnance Factory Swynnerton, Staffs. cartridges produced with the BE cases from 1941 to 1945 were...
BCMK7, CRGBHMK1Z, DUMK5, IBMK6Z, IBMK7Z, TRGMK2, TRGMK3, TRGMK4.
BLANCH
J Blanch & Sons of Fenchurch St, London, UK. Made dummy drill rounds with a one piece tinplate case and bullet,
having a crimped on base, in 1915.
BM
British Munitions Co Ltd, Millwall, London, UK. Believed to have manufactured... BBPMK2 from 1890.
BPD
Bombrini, Parodi et Delfino, Rome Italy. In addition to the .303 cartridges manufactured for Egypt this company also
manufactured nitro-cellulose loaded 7.7 x 56R cartridges, which are interchangeable with the .303 round and are
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known to have been made in... B7756R, D7756R, IAPT7756R, IAPP7756R, TR7756R.
BROWNING
Browning Arms Co. Manufacture thought to have been by Fabrique Nationale
(National Weapons Factory) at Herstal in Belgium.
The bullet in the illustrated round was 180 gr, PSP type, Photo provided by
Sylvain Benoit.

C..
Pirotecnico di Capua, Italy. Manufactured 7.7 x 56R bulleted blanks that are interchangeable with the .303 British.
CAC
Colonial Ammunition Co., Auckland, New Zealand. Produced .303 cartridges in... BCMK2, BCMK4, BCMK6,
BCMK7, B (Mk 6 Match),BNCMK7Z,CRGBHMK1Z,BLK (Mk 6 and 6 converted), BLK (Mks 3, 5, 5z), BLK
(Commercial), D (D Mk 9), Dummy (Mks 3, 4), Dummy (Non Regulation), Practice (Gaudet), Practice (short range...
NZ pattern), 215 gr RNSP, 180 gr PSP, 180 gr HP, 174 gr PSP, 150 gr PSP, 130 gr PSP and 150 gr HP Sporting
Ammunition, Mks 4 and 5 (Big Game Exploder) Sporting Ammunition, H.V. (Exploder) Sporting Ammunition.
CAC
Colonial Ammunition Co., Melbourne, Australia. Known to have produced during 1920-21 the .303 cartridges in...
BCMK7, Dummy.
CP
Crompton Parkinson Ltd, Guiseley, Yorkshire, UK, although filling took place at Doncaster (see below). This factory set
up as part of the 1939-1945 war emergency expansion plan. Produced .303 cartridges during the period 1940 - 1944 in:-
AP (W Mk 1), BCMK7.
C-P
Crompton Parkinson Ltd, Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK. Production of Ammunition ceased in 1944. Known to have
produced .303 cartridges in... AP W Mk, AP W Mk 1 Special, EAPA (1942), BCMK7
D
Dominion Cartridge Co., Brownsburg, Quebec, Canada are known to have produced .303 ball cartridges.
D|, DF, N| or S|
Indian Government Ammunition
Factory, Dum Dum, Calcutta, India.
This factory manufactured cartridges
for use by the British Army in India as
well as the Indian Army. In 1918 this
factory was capable of producing at the
rate of about 10 million rounds per
month. The example at right is of their
manufacture. The far right image shows
the unusual neck crimp consisting of
three parts of the circumference of a
circle and three small triangular indents.
They produced .303 cartridges in...
BCMK2, BCMK2 Special, BCMK6 and
BCMK7, BSRP I.P. Mk 1*, BLK,
Dummy Drill Mk 1. IP,and IP No 2 Mk 1
DA
Dominion Arsenal, Montreal, Canada made .303 cartridges in... Ball, Cordite Mk 6
Blank, Nitro-cellulose L Canadian Mk 1 (1955 & 1956)
conversion done to here
DAC
Dominion Arsenal, Quebec, Canada manufactured .303 cartridges in... AP (W
Mk 1), BCMK6, BCMK7, Ball, Match
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z (Late Pattern)

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Blank, Cordite Mk 5 (Canadian Pattern)
Blank, Nitro-cellulose L Mk 5Z (Canadian
Pattern)
Drill, D Mk 6 and D Mk 9
Drill D 1942 (Canadian Pattern)
Incendiary, B Mk 7
Proof, Q Mk 4
Tracer G Mk 1 (Canadian Pattern)
Tracer G Mk 1Z (Canadian Pattern)
The 1939 DAC Mk VII is a match grade
(turquoise bands) made for the Dominion
Rifle Association (the Canadian equivalent to NRA) clubs and was intended for
target shooting. Further images are avialable on the supplementary page
Image courtesy
Sylvain Benoit
DAL or LAC
Dominion Arsenal, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada. Produced .303 cartridges in... BCMK7.
DC
Defence Industries, Brownsburg, Quebec, Canada made .303 cartridges in... Gallery Practice Mk 1 (Black powder -
Canada) Gallery Practice Mk 1 (Smokeless - Canada) Gallery Practice Mk 2 (Canada)
DC
Dominion Cartridge Company, military production was a simple D with a C-broad arrow for the Brownsburg plant
which later became the Dominion Ammunition Division of Canadian Industries Ltd. They operated factories in
Brownsburg, Quebec and Montreal, and the illistration is a sporting cartridge. The DOMINION headstamp was used
on commercial ammunition from 1911 untikl 1955. They also produced .303 cartridges in... Ball, Cordite Mk 2, 4, 6 and
7
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7 (Canadian WW1 contract pattern) 1914-16
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z (Canadian Pattern)
Drill D 1942 (Canadian Pattern)
Tracer G Mk 2Z, G Mk 4Z (Canadian Pattern)
DCC
Dominion Cartridge Company, Montreal plant, dates and types unknown
DI
Defence Industries, Verdun, Canada. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z
(Canadian Pattern)
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 8Z (Canadian Pattern)
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z (Canadian Pattern)
Drill D 1942 (Canadian Pattern)
Tracer G Mk 2Z, G Mk 4Z, G Mk 6Z (Canadian Pattern)
Do
Hirtenberg Patronenfabrik factory at Dordrecht, Netherlands produced .303 ball cartridges.
DOMINION
Made by CIL (Canadian Industries Limited) in Quebec between 1911 and 1955.
They later switched to the headstamp "Imperial" (listed below), image from
Michael Douglas.
DWM
Deutsche Waffen Und Munitionsfabrik, Karlsruhe, Germany produced both ball
and blank .303 cartridges.
E or EB
Eley Brothers, Edmonton, London, UK. Factory in operation 1828 - 1919. During
WW1 Eley produced in excess of 209 Million .303 Mk 7 cartridges. Eley Brothers
produced cartridges in... Armour Piercing Mk VII.W
Ball, Cordite Mks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z
Ball, Short Range Practice (Gaudet)
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite Mk 1
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z
Drill, Mk 3, Drill Mk 3 Expedient
Explosive Pomeroy Mk 1, PSA Mk 1, PSA (VII.A) MK 1
PSA Mk 2 and PSA (VII.AA) Mk 2
Incendiary BIK (VII.K) Mk 1
RL Tracer Mk 1, Tracer SPK Mk VII.T and SPG (VII.G) Mk 1Z
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E (reversed) or unstamped
Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan. Fabricated nitro-cellulose loaded Imperial Japanese Navy Year Type 92 Machine Gun
Ammunition, which is interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in... Armour Piercing, Ball, Incendiary- [Phosphorus
filling] & Tracer
F or AF or SAAF
Small Arms Ammunition Factory, Footscray, Melbourne, Australia. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... Ball,
Cordite Mk 7
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z
Drill, D Mk 6
FC
Federal Cartridge Co, Anoka, Minn., USA. Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 jacketed soft point
sporting Ammunition with 180 gr and 150 gr bullets.
Fiocchi
Exported MkVII type Ammunition in the 1950s from Italy.
FN
Fabrique National d'Armes de Guerre, Herstal, Belgium produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in... Ball, FN
8/7
Blank
Bulleted Blank
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, H Mk 7Z, M11 and M12
Incendiary
Tracer L83
Jacketed soft point sporting Ammunition
FNB
Fabrique Nationale Herstal, Herstal, Belgium This FNB headstamp round was
equipped with a 174 gr, Mk VII bullet.
FNM
Fabrica Nacional de Municoes e Armas Legeiras, Moscavide, Portugal. Known to
have produced nitro-cellulose loaded 7.7 x 56R ball Ammunition which is
interchangeable with the .303 cartridges
FNT
Fabrica Nacional de Espana, Palencia, Spain. Made .303 cartridges in... Ball Mk
7Z.
G, GB or GBF
Greenwood and Batley, Leeds, UK. This company manufactured Ammunition
from an early stage, finally ceasing production in the late 1950s. They had a
filling factory at Abbey Wood and later during the 1939-45 war a filling factory
at Farnham. The headstamp code G, denoting manufacturer, should not be confused with G as in GIV indicating a
tracer cartridge. During WW1 Greenwood & Batley are known to have produced in excess of 705 million .303 Mk 7
cartridges. They are known to have manufactured .303 cartridges in... Ball, Black powder Mk 2
Ball, Cordite Mks 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Ball, Match
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z
Bulleted Blank Mk 6
Drill, D Mk 6, D Mk 9
Dummy, Drill Mk 5
Proof OSP
GA
Grenfell and Accles Ltd, Perry Barr, Birmingham, UK. The company was formed in the early 1890s having acquired
the Holford Works of the National Arms and Ammunition Company and was in existence for only a short time. Known
to have manufactured Black powder Ball Mk 2 .303 cartridges from 1891 - 1896.
G18F1 or C18F1
Government Cartridge Factory No 1, Blackheath, Staffs., UK. This factory was built in 1916 and was administered on
behalf of the Government by the Birmingham Metal and Munitions Co. .303 cartridge production started in early 1918
and continued until late 1918 when the factory ceased production altogether. Type in production... BNCMK7Z.
G..F3 or C..F3
Government Cartridge Factory No 3, Blackpole, Worcestershire, UK. This factory was built in 1916 and was
administered on behalf of the Government by the Kings Norton Metal Co. Production of .303 cartridges did not start
until late 1918 and the production of all Ammunition ceased in early 1919. Known to have manufactured .303
cartridges in... Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z and SPG Tracer (VIII G)
GKB or K
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George Kynoch, Birmingham, UK. This company was first formed in 1862 and manufactured percussion caps. It
became G. Kynoch & Co Ltd in 1884 and by then was manufacturing metallic Ammunition. It became Kynoch Ltd in
1897. Prior to the formation of Kynoch Ltd (see Kynoch) it produced .303 cartridges in... Ball, Black powder Mks 1 and
2.
GEVELOT
Gevelot & Gaupillat Freres, Paris, France. produced .303 ball cartridges for export.
Hornady
Hornady manufactured their Custom brand of nitro-cellulose loaded .303 Ammunition in the following sporting
cartridges... 150 gr Spire Point Soft nosed and 174 gr Round Soft nosed.
HN
Royal Ordnance Factory, Hirwaun, South Wales, UK. This factory was set up as part of the 1939-45 war emergency
expansion plan. It was involved in the production of .303 cartridges in only a very limited way and is known to have
manufactured Tracer G Mk 2 (in cases dated 1943 and 1944).
HXP
Greek Powder and Cartridge Co, Athens, Greece made nitro-cellulose loaded .303
cartridges in... Ball, L1A1 to British Government contract(1982-85)
Ball (1969)
Blank
Photo... Fred Schwaner

IMPERIAL
Canadian Industries Ltd, Montreal, Canada and Plattsburg, NY, USA. Produced
nitro-cellulose loaded .303 sporting Ammunition in 180 gr jacketed soft point.
The imperial headstamp is from was used in the 1955 - 1976 era.
Photo at right synthesized from an original by Sylvain Benoit.

INTERARMCO
Thought to have been manufactured by Fabrique Nationale Herstal, Herstal,
Belgium for Interarmco of Virginia, USA. Picture Michael Douglas.
K or KYNOCH
Kynoch & Co, Witton, Birmingham, UK. This firm was first formed by George
Kynoch at Witton in 1862 as a manufacturer of percussion caps. It was changed to a
limited company in 1884 as G. Kynoch & Co Ltd and by then was manufacturing
metallic Ammunition. A further reorganisation and expansion followed in 1889
when George Kynoch was ousted from the management and this then culminated in
a further change of title to Kynoch Ltd in 1897. During the period ending with the
1914-18 war Kynoch, which by then was the largest of the British commercial
Ammunition manufacturers, owned rolling mills at Witton, at Lodge Road,
Birmingham and at Eyre Street, Birmingham. At various times it had propellant
factories at Arklow, County Durham, making cordite, at Warsboro Dale, Yorkshire,
making black powder and at Kynochtown, Stanford Le Hope, Essex, making smokeless powder. In addition to these
plants the original cap production was maintained at Witton. Later, effective tracer and incendiary composition
operations were also carried out at Witton. After the war in 1918 Kynoch Ltd, in common with most other British small
arms Ammunition manufacturers, was merged into Explosives Trades Ltd, later to become Nobel Industries. In 1926
when Nobel Industries became part of the new Imperial Chemical Industries, the old Kynoch factory at Witton was
retained as the Ammunition centre as part of the Metal Group within ICI. The propellant interests being concentrated
mainly at Ardeer within the Nobel Division of ICI. In 1962 the Metals Division of ICI was reorganised as a separate
company known as Imperial Metal Industries (Kynoch) Ltd. During WW1 Kynoch produced in excess of 2,373 million
.303 cartridges.
The following .303 cartridges were produced by Kynoch... Armour Piercing Mks VII.S, VII.P, VII.W, W Mk 1 and W
Mk 1Z
Ball, Blackpowder Mk 2
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Ball, Cordite Mks 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Ball, Match
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mks 7Z and 8Z
Ball, Short Range Practice
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 8z with Aluminium Case
Blank, Ballistite L Mk 9Z
Blank, Black powder Mk 2
Blank, Cordite Mks 4 and 5
Blank, Nitro-cellulose L Mk 5Z
Bulleted Blank, Black powder Mk 1
Bulleted Blank, Mk 6
Bulleted Blank, L Mk 7
Bulleted Blank, L Mk 10
Cartridge Line Thrower H Mk 2
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z
Drill, D Mk 6, D Mk 8, D Mk 9 and D Mk 10
Dummy, Drill Mk 4
Greener Triplex Cartridge
Incendiary Buckingham Mk VII.B
Incendiary B Mk 3, B Mk 4Z*, B Mk 6, B Mk 6Z,
B Mk 7 and B Mk 7Z
Practice Tracer PG Mk 1
Proof Q Mk 3
Tracer, Self Destroying
Tracer Mk VII.G, G Mk 1, G Mk 2, G Mk 2Z, G Mk 3,
Tracer G Mk 3Z, G Mk 4, G Mk 5, G Mk 6, G Mk 6Z,
G Mk 7, G Mk 8 and G Mk 8Z
Triple Ball Experimental (1918) See... Pawnbroker special
180 gr Jacketed soft point sporting Ammunition
Streamlined Pattern 1927 Match Cartridge
Streamlined Pattern 1936-37 Match Cartridge
Streamlined Pattern 1947 Match Cartridge
Bulleted blanks for Bren, Lewis and Vickers
French Drill Cartridge
Experimental armour piercing
Experimental semi-armour piercing
Experimental armour piercing tracer
Experimental armour piercing incendiary (1956)
Experimental tank piercing (1940)
Experimental Tracers
Experimental Observation
Experimental Bulleted Blanks
K2
Imperial Chemical Industries Kynoch factory at Standish, near Wigan, Lancs, UK. This factory was set up as part of
the 1939-45 war emergency plans and produced its first complete .303 rounds in October 1940. Known to have
manufactured .303 cartridges in... Armour Piercing, W Mk 1 Special
Ball, Cordite Mk 7
Shot Cartridge
Tracer G Mk 2, G Mk 3and G Mk 6
K4
Imperial Chemical Industries Kynoch factory at Yeading, Hayes, Middlesex, UK. This factory was also set up as part of
the 1939-45 war emergency expansion plans. Cartridge cases were being produced by late 1940, but the ball bullets
were still being imported into the factory in 1941.This factory produced... Ball, Cordite Mk 7
Tracer G Mk 2,G Mk 3, G Mk 4, G Mk 5 and G Mk 6
K5
Imperial Chemical Industries Kynoch factory at Kidderminster, Worcestershire., UK. Set up as part of the 1939-45 war
emergency expansion plans. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... Armour Piercing, W Mk 1
Ball, Cordite Mk 7
Incendiary B Mk 7Z
Tracer, G Mk 2, G Mk 3 and G Mk 6
KF or K
Indian Government Ammunition Factory Kirkee (or Kirkee Arsenal), near Poona, INDIA. In 1918 this factory had the
capacity to produce about 5.4 million rounds per month.
They manufactured .303 cartridges in... Armour Piercing W Mk 1 and W Mk 1 IP
Ball, Cordite Mk 2, Mk 2 Special, Mk 6 and Mk 7
Ball SB Mk 1
Blank
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Cordite H Mk 3 and H Mk 5
Drill, D Mk 6 and D Mk 7
Lachrymatory Cartridge
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Observation O Mk 2 and O Mk 3
Tracer G Mk 1 and G Mk 2
KN
Kings Norton Metal Co., Birmingham, UK. This company was formed in 1890 at Kings Norton, it owned its own rolling
mills and had a loading plant at Abbey wood in Kent. Cases were made in Birmingham then assembled and loaded at
the Abbey Wood Factory, next to Woolwich Arsenal.
Produced .303 cartridges up to 1919 in... Armour Piercing VII.F, VII.FZ and VII.W
Ball, Cordite Mks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
Ball, Match
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mk 7Z
Blank Cordite Mk 5
Bulleted Blank Mk 6
Dummy, Drill Mk 3, Mk 3 Expedient, Mk 5
Explosive RTS (VII.R) Mk 2
Incendiary BIK (VII.K) Mk 1
Incendiary Buckingham (VII.B) and B Mk 3
Tracer SPG Mk VIIG Mk 1 and Mk 1Z
Experimental RTT Explosive Cartridge
Experimental Blank Cartridges
L
There is some confusion over this headstamp code as both Lorenz Ammunition and Ordnance Co, Millwall, London,
UK and Ludlow and Co, Wolverhampton, Staffs, UK are believed to have used the letter L as their code and both
manufactured .303 cartridges between 1887 and 1890. Both firms are believed to have manufactured .303 Black powder
Mk 2 Ball Cartridges
L-E or U
Remington UMC, Bridgeport, Conn., USA. {On UK Government contracts 1914 - 1915}. manufactured nitro-cellulose
loaded .303 Ball, Mk 7 cartridges
M
Nobel Explosives Ltd., Manchester, UK. Manufactured .303 cartridges between 1914 - 1918 in... Ball, Cordite Mk 7 and
Explosive, PSA Mk 2
MAXIM
Maxim Arms Co.,London, UK. The cases were made by BSA for Maxim machine guns in the 1890s. Cartridges known
to have been manufactured in: Ball, Cordite Mk 2
MEN
Maschinenfabrik Elisenhutte, Nassau, West Germany. This producer has now become
Metallwerk Elisenhtte GmbH Nassau. This company produced .303 ball cartridges during 1988
[Harrington website].
MEXICO
Fabrica National de Munitions, Mexico City, Mexico produced .303 ball cartridges.
MF or AF
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 1, Footscray, Melbourne, Australia. manufactured .303 cartridges in... Armour
Piercing W Mk 1
Ball, Cordite Mk 7
Blank, Cordite L Mk 5
Blank, Mk 9Z
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Cordite H Mk 4
Drill, D M 7/N
Incendiary B Mk 7
Proof Q Mk 3 and Q Mk 4
Tracer G Mk 2 {Australian Pattern}
MG
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 2, Footscray, Melbourne, Australia. 1940 - 1949. Known to have manufactured
.303 cartridges in... Ball, Cordite Mk 7 and Incendiary B Mk 7.
MH
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 3, Hendon, Australia. Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... Ball, Cordite
Mk 7
Blank, Cordite L Mk 5
Tracer G Mk 2 {Australian Pattern}
Incendiary B Mk 7
MI
Societe Meridionale d'Industrie, Robert Paulet & Cie, formerly called Cartoucherie Leon Paulet, Marseille, France
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made 7.7 x 56R ball cartridges.
MJ
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 4, Hendon, Australia produced .303 cartridges in... BCMK7.
MKE
Makina ve Kimya Endustrisi, Kuruma, Turkey manufactured 7.7 x 56R ball cartridges.
MQ
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 5, Rocklea, Australia... made .303 BCMK7.
MS
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 7, Salisbury, Australia... made .303 BCMK7 and TRGMK2Z {Australian
pattern}.
MW
Small Arms Ammunition Factory No 6, Welchpool, Australia.
nny See PP
NORMA or norma
Norma Projectilfabrik, Amotfors, Sweden produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in... BBLK, 130gr, 150gr,
180gr and 215 gr jacketed soft point sporting rounds.
OFN
Government Ordinance Factory, Lagos, Nigeria produced .303 ball cartridges.
P or PC
Peters Cartridge Co., Kings Mills, Ohio, USA. Produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in... Ball, Mk 7. British
military contracts between 1914 & 1917, Ball, Mk 7Z (Canadian Pattern). On British military contracts 1940-45 180 &
215 gr jacketed soft point sporting Ammunition
PMC
Suggestions as to what PMC stands for are 'Precision Made Cases' or 'Precision
Metallic Cartridge', but I now know it is 'Precision Made Cartridge' here is a
link to their website. I picked up the illustration at right from www.Ammo-
one.com and would comment that the head stamping is hardly what I would
call 'precision'. I think it unlikely that it is 'Poongsan Metal Manufacturing
Company' Ltd., Seoul, Republic of Korea Angang Ammunition Plant. As the 'M'
is not shaped like an upside 'W'. Eldorado Cartridge Corporation (was Patton
and Morgan Corp., and Pan Metal Corp.) PO Box 62508, Boulder City, NV
89006. The PMC head stamped Ammunition for ECC has been made in Korea,
the Philippines, Mexico and the Republic of South Africa. I am also told that
PMC originally stood for "Pan Metallic Corporation" and they were initially
made in Korea.
PMP
Pretoria Metal Pressings (Pty) Ltd., Pretoria, South Africa made nitro-cellulose filled .303 cartridges in... 174 gr Full
jacket boat tail bulleted Ammunition
150 and 174 gr jacketed soft point sporting Ammunition.
POF
Pakistan Ordnance Factory, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Known to have produced .303 cartridges in... B, BLK, GLB, Proof (Mk 3).
PP or nny
Prvi Partizan, Titovo Uzice, Yugoslavia. (Yugoslav arsenal code PPU, which in
Cyrillic looks like 'nny'.) Their latest address is... Prvi Partizan, Milosa
Obrenovica 2, 31000 Uzice, SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO, Phone: +381 31
511 382, Fax: +318 31 515 350 Email: office@prvipartizan.com The Prvi
Partizan company was founded in 1928. In those days it was operating under
the name FOMU - Arms and Ammunition Factory Uzice involved in shotgun
Ammunition manufacture. The factory had developed pistol and revolver
Ammunition production by the year 1938. This factory has produced .303
cartridges in... Ball, Mk 7, 7Z , 8 and 8Z and various sporting loads. Since the
break up of Yugoslavia the factory is in Serbia and Ammunition is sold in boxes
that have the Wolf brand... Information from Michael Douglas who also took
the box Photos.
Photo... Fred Schwaner
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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PS or S
Pirotechnico Militar de Seville, Spain made 7.7 x 56R cartridges which are interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in...
Ball and Tracer (Green tip).
RA
Remington Arms Co.,Inc., Bridgeport, Conn., USA. Nitro-cellulose filled .303 WW1 Contract Pattern cartridges were
produced during the period 1914 - 1917 as. Ball, Mk 7.
RA
Raufoss Ammunisjonsfabrikker, Raufoss, Norway produced .303 ball cartridges c 1934
REM-UMC
Remington-Union Metallic Cartridge 1911-1960, then became R-P (Remington Peters)
RG
Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, Cheshire, UK. This factory was part of
the 1939 - 45 war emergency expansion plans being situated near Crewe and is
still in operation. Production of the .303 cartridge commenced in 1940 and the
last known production of this cartridge was in 1973 with Mk 7Z Ball and
Dummy Drill cartridges. Initial Radway Green production used a single arrow
as the headstamp code and this was replaced in 1942 by the RG code.
Armour Piercing W Mk 1, W Mk 1 Special and W Mk 1Z
Ball, Cordite Mk 7
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mks 7Z and 8Z
Blank, Ballistite L Mk 9Z
Blank, Cordite L Mk 5
Blank, Nitro-cellulose L Mk 5Z
Bulleted Blank, Nitro-cellulose L Mk 10Z
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Cordite H Mk 2, H Mk 4 and H Mk 4Z
Drill, D Mk 10
Dummy Drill 1973 Pattern
Dummy, U Mk 5
Incendiary B Mk 6, B Mk 6Z, B Mk 7 and B Mk 7Z
Proof, Q Mk 3
Tracer G Mk 2 and G Mk 8
RH
Raleigh Cycle Co, Nottingham, UK. Made BCMK7... 1941 - 1945.
RL
Royal Laboratory, Woolwich Arsenal, Kent, UK. Woolwich Arsenal, of which the Royal Laboratory was only a part, is
situated in South East London on the River Thames. The Arsenal dates from 1670 and has manufactured many
different items of warlike stores for the armed forces. Ammunition was made at Woolwich long before the adoption of
the .303 cartridge in 1889. Ammunition production ceased completely at Woolwich in 1957, the last known production
of .303 Ammunition there being Mk 7 Ball in 1957. The Woolwich site apart from containing all the supportive facilities
for the research, design, development, inspection and testing of Ammunition also included an extensive range complex
on the Plumpstead Marshes. In addition there was a filling area not far away in the vicinity of Abbey Wood.
The following .303 cartridges are known to have been produced since 1889... Armour Piercing Mks VII.S, VII.P,
VII.PZ, VII.W, VII.WZ, W Mk 1,
W Mk 1 Special and W MK 1Z
Ball, Black powder Mks 1,and 2
Ball, Cordite Mks 1, 2, 2*, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Ball, Match
Ball, Nitro-cellulose Mks 7z, 8z & 7z RC (reduced charge)
Ball, Short Range Practice, Cordite Mks 1,2,3 and 4
Ball, Short Range Practice (Gaudet)
Blank, Black powder Mks 2 and 3
Blank, Cordite, Mks 2, 3, 4, 5
Blank, Cordite L Mk 5
Bulleted Blank, Black powder Mk 1
Bulleted Blank, Cordite Mks 1, 6
Bulleted Blank, L Mk 7
Bulleted Blank, L Mk 10Z
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Cordite Mks 1 and 2
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Cordite H Mk 2
Cartridge Rifle Grenade, Ballistite H Mk 1Z
Cartridge Discharger, Black powder E Mk 1T
Drill, Magazine Rifle Mk 1 and 2
Drill D Mk 6, D Mk 6*, D Mk 7, D Mk 8 and D Mk 9
Dummy, U Mk 5
Dummy Drill Mks 3, 4, 5, 6
Dummy Version of Explosive R Mk 3*
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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Inspectors Dummy Mk 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Explosive R Mk 1, R Mk 2, R Mk 3, and R Mk 3*
Incendiary Buckingham (VII.B), B Mk 1, B Mk 2Z, B Mk 4,B Mk 4
B Mk 5, B Mk 6, B Mk 6Z and B Mk 7
Instructional Mk 6
Machine Gun Blank, Cordite Mk 1
Machine Gun Dummy Mks 1 and 2
Observing O Mk 1
Proof, Cordite Mk 1, Mk 2, Mk 3, Q Mk 3, Q Mk 4 and Q Mk 5
Shot Cartridges
RL Tracer Mk 1
Tracer SPK(VII.T) and SPK(VII.TZ)
Tracer SPG(VII.G) Mk 1 and SPG(VII.G) Mk1Z
Tracer G Mk 1, G Mk 1 Special, G Mk 2, G Mk 3 and G Mk 4
Experimental steel anti fouling bulleted rounds
Experimental Armour Piercing Tracer (1917-18)
Experimental Armour Piercing Cartridges
Experimental Bulleted Blanks
Experimental Explosive, RTS and RTT Cartridges
Experimental Grenade Launching Cartridges
Experimental Lachrymatory Cartridge
RNRA
Rhodesia National Rifle Association nitro-cellulose loaded .303 Mk 7z Ball manufactured by FNM of Moscavide in
Portugal.
R-P
Remington Arms Co, Bridgeport, Conn., USA made nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in:- 180 & 215 gr jacketed
soft point sporting forms.
RR or RRCO
Ross Rifle Co, Montreal, Canada. Produced .303 Mk 7 ball Ammunition in cases believed to have been made by Eley.
RTS
Richard Threlfall and Sons, UK... explosive anti - Zeplin cartridges.
R..W
Rudge Whitworth Ltd., Tyseley, UK. This company was the only new commercial Ammunition manufacturer put into
business by the Government as a result of demand in the 1914 - 18 war. They received their first Government contract
for the supply of Mk 7 Ball Ammunition in 1915 and continued to produce .303 cartridges from 1915 - 1918 in...
BCMK7, DUMK5, I (Buckingham VII.B), I (B Mk 1),I (B Mk 2Z), TR (SPG VII.G), TR (Mk 1Z).
S&B
Sellier & Bellot, 180 gr full metal jacket and 150 gr soft point sporting, both types
boxer primed
Photo of headstamp... Fred Schwaner

SBR
Sellier & Bellot, Riga, Latvia... produced .303 ball cartridges c 1937
SFM
Societe Francaise des Munitions, Issy - les - Moulineaux, France manufactured nitro-cellulose loaded .303 ball
cartridges for export pre 1939.
SMI
Societa Metallurgica Italiana, Campo Tizzoro, Italy made nitro-cellulose loaded 7.7 x 56R Ammunition types B7756R
and TR7756R.
SR
Royal Ordnance Factory, Spennymoor, Durham, UK. This factory was part of the 1939-45 war emergency expansion
plan. It began production of .303 Ammunition in 1941 initially with the headstamp code of two arrows replacing these
in 1942 with the code SR. The Spennymoor Ammunition was filled at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Aycliffe, Durham.
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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Types... B, MK7, MK8Z, IBMK6, IBMK6Z, IBMK7, IBMK7Z,LTBLK (Mk5) were manufactured.
SUPER SPEED
is a Winchester trademark, no other details as far as the .303 brass pictured here.
This case picked up and scanned by Michael Douglas.
TM..B
Pirotechnia di Bologna, Italy produced nitro-cellulose loaded 7.7 x 56R
Ammunition, interchangeable with the .303 in... B and TR.
THOMAS BLAND & SONS (stamp require verifying) made .303 ball and
sporting Ammunition.
U or SAM
South African Mint, Pretoria, South Africa... U code from 1939 - 1961 and SAM
1962 onwards. (When U is used with a diamond this represents the Kimberley
factory... B, BCMK7, TRGMK2, Semi AP (F Mk 1), Jacketed soft point
sporting.
US
United States Cartridge Co, Lowell, Mass.,
USA made nitro-cellulose loaded .303 Ball Mk
7 cartridges during 1914 - 1917.
The finishing date has been called into
question... By finds made by 'Juergen' from
Magdeburg, the four headstamps illustrated
at right were all found in the same cache of
Ammunition that was made between WWI
and WWII.
The very poor quality crimp shown at upper
right is typical of worn out machinery that
had been patched up to reach the end of
WWII.
It might be speculated that the 'missing'
primer crimp is also due to faulty machinery
or broken tooling.

VE
Cartoucherie de Valence, France have produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 Ball cartridges
VPT
Valtion Patruunatehdas, Lapua, Finland produced Ilmavoimat Konekivaarin Patruuna Kal 7.70 machine gun
cartridges, which are interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in... 'Special' B, 'Special' AP.
W or WRA
Winchester Repeating Arms Co., New Haven, Conn., USA. Known to have
made nitro-cellulose loaded .303 cartridges for 1914 - 1917 military contracts
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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as... B, and Mk 7.
During WW2... B, Mk 7Z (Contract Pattern),Scott multiball (duplex) and 180
gr jacketed soft point sporting Ammunition.
Photo... Fred Schwaner
WCC
Western Cartridge Co., East Alton, Ill., USA. Known to have produced nitro-
cellulose loaded .303 cartridges in... B, Mk 7Z (WW2 Contract Pattern).
WW SUPER (W-W SUPER)
Winchester Western (unsure which factory) 180 gr 'Power Point', brass trimmed
to 2.208", Boxer primed, overall length 3.055", muzzle velocity 2367 fps
Photo... Fred Schwaner
W-W
Winchester Western Division of Olin Industries, New Haven, Conn., USA.
Produced nitro-cellulose loaded .303 180 gr Jacketed soft point sporting
Ammunition.
y
Toyokawa Naval Arsenal, Japan. Known to have produced nitro-cellulose loaded
Imperial Japanese Navy Year Type 92 Machine Gun Ammunition which is
interchangeable with the .303 cartridge in... AP, IP, TR, B.
ZV
Zbrojovka Brno, Brno, Czechoslovakia made .303 cartridges in... B, Mk 7, MK 8Z
CHINA made some 7.7mm rimmed Ammunition for use in captured Japanese machine guns from 1945 onwards. This
cartridge is interchangeable with the .303 British cartridge.
EGYPT produced .303 ball Ammunition at the Government Arsenal Shoubra, United Arab Republic and Factory No
10 at Alexandria in Egypt.
ETHIOPA manufactured .303 ball cartridges c 1959
FINLAND is known to have produced .303 inch cartridges in various loadings including:- B, AP, D, I, TR.
FRANCE manufactured several variants of the .303 cartridge, including:- B, TR, I, AP, AP with Tracer.
IRAQ is known to have
produced .303 Ball
cartridges, but details are
missing. Iraqi Stamps
often have a triangle and
symbols, the images at
right were provided by
Lee Ratcliff. Note the
poor centring of the
primer crimping groove.
ISRAEL manufactured
.303 ball cartridges at the
Government Arsenal, Tel
Aviv, Israel. c 1948
JAPAN is known to have manufactured
nitro-cellulose loaded Imperial Japanese Army Year Type 89 Machine Gun Ammunition, which is interchangeable with
the .303 cartridge, without any headstamp codes in... APNC, TR.
JAPAN is also known to have manufactured nitro-cellulose Imperial Japanese Navy Year Type 92 Machine Gun
Ammunition, which is interchangeable with the .303 cartridge, at their Aichi Naval Arsenal, Toyokawa Naval Arsenal
and Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in the following types... APNC, TR, B, HE (Violet Primer), IP.
SPAIN manufactured .303 Ammunition and used it on a limited scale during and after the Civil War of 1936 - 39.
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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I have been stumped by the far right
headstamp sent by Michael Douglas, which is
boxer primed and had a crimped primer.
IGMAN d.d. Konjic, Donje Polje 42, 88400
Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina... Produce
the ammunition that has puzzled many
shooters, there are two images at right, I am
endebted to Erick Fisk for unravelling the
mystery and further images are avialable on
the supplementary page

If you can identify the headstamp illustrated at right, I can include the details
here. Although not shown in this image, the case normally carries a green
annular sealer around the primer. The bullet was a hunting type, round nose
180 gr. What looks like a primer crimp is eithe cosmetic or inadequately struck,
as there was no effort at all in de-priming.

Various people have given help with information and images... I thank them warmly, some are mentioned in the
text, but if I have ommitted anybody I appologise, A few did not wish to be identified, so I will say a little thank you to
the anonymous contibutors as well.
Printed from Dave Cushman's website
Originated... Spring 2001, Revised... 12 July 2001, Revised... 19 June 2002, Revised... 07 March 2003, Corrected... 04 September 2003,
New Domain... 12 November 2003, Upgraded... 24 December 2004, Addition... 18, 20 February 2006,
Further Upgraded... 18 January 2007, Additions... 14, 16 20, & 25 April 2007, Addition... 06 May 2007, Addition... 11 August 2007,
Upgrade & Additions... 25 to 28 January 2008,
Headstamps of the .303 British Calibre Service Ammunition Round http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/303headstamps.html
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