Need Identification. It's not 50 BMG......

[imaokie2000]

I picked up what I thought was a 50 BMG round at a gun show that had the bullet pulled and powder dumped out. Head stamp is E 13 2-111 and has a boxer primer. The bullet is a FMJBT with a steel core showing at the end. I think I have determined that it was made in the UK by Eley Brothers, Ltd., London, England, in 1913 but 100%sure

Someone pulled the bullet by clamping it into a vise and smashed the neck, so I was going to resize the case & bullet and reassemble it. As always, I checked the bullet dia before I sent it down the resizing die only to find the dia of the bullet to be .530 instead of .510.

I'm stumped now. I have searched hard to figure out what this round is. All measurements meets 50 BMG specs except the neck & bullet dia and the length from the bottom of the case to to the shoulder is a little long, aprox 3.10 instead of 3.006. The neck is a little shorter too since the total length of the case is the right length for a 50 BMG round.

The odd round is on the left. The round on the right is 50 BMG.

Does anyone have any idea what I have? :tinysmile_cry_t:

 

[kahu1]

You have a slightly dented Japanese 13.2 X 99mm Type 93 Hotchkiss.

cheers
Bob

 

[TonyE]

Your round was made at the Yokosuka naval Arsenal (E , which should be reversed to give the Japanese character) in the last third of Koki Year (2-III) which is 1942. The "13" indicates the calibre of 13.2mm as stated. It is either a ball or an armour-piercing round as I am not sure of the colour of the primer annulus. Ball should be black, AP should be white.

When trying to identify an unknown round one must always consider the context of date, manufacturer and calibre. In this case, the first experimental .50 Browning rounds were not made until late 1918 so a 1913 date could not be possible. Also, Eley stopped making military ammunition in 1918 when they were absorbed into Explosive Trades Ltd and so never made any .50 BMG rounds. Finally of course the orientaion of the headstamp is wrong for a British military round. Not knowing the context is one of the problems of trying to identify something using the internet; they never provide the important details!

Regards
TonyE

 

[imaokie2000]

Thanks Bob. I guess the only thing I was right on is that it wasn't a 50 BMG! lol

 

[imaokie2000]

Thank you TonyE. I did suspect it to be Japanese atfirst, but then decided the E wasn't backwards I had no idea what 2-11 stoodfor and assumed 13 meant it was made in 1913. None of it was adding up rightthough. This is very interesting and I'm sure learning a lot.

I wish I had the equipment to properly reassemble it.

Thank you very much for your help!!!!

.....JR

 

[Falcon]

Do you have a lathe, have access to one or know someone who does? I have made bushings to resize the necks on various calibres with good results. The trick is to bore a hole through a section of square brass bar. The internal diameter of the hole should be .530" plus the thickness of ONE case neck wall. This will cause the neck to hold the projectile tightly.

Once the hole is bored, put a 10 degree taper on the front so the the damaged neck has somewhere to be forced back down to size. Leave the bushing in the lathe chuck. Lock the lathe tailstock in place, smear some grease round the case neck, then wind the tailstock handle to push the case into the resizing ring.

Remove the bushing from the chuck and gently use a piece of rod through the hole to knock the case out of the bushing. Hopefully the neck will now be resized. The bullet can then be re-inserted by putting a piece of scrap wood over each jaw of a bench vice, and using the vice jaws to press the bullet into the case.

 

[imaokie2000]

I had thought about getting a neck bushing from C&H and basicly try the same thing. I do have a lathe and I like your idea a lot better. I will do that!

Thank you a lot!
....JR

 

[Falcon]

Sorry I meant round bar there. Why did I type square? A 1/2" slice of 3/4" brass bar or similar size should work fine. Steel will work but it may scratch the case neck unless the hole is well polished after turning.