Ball cartridge nr.1S (Scherpe patroon no.1):

Introduction:

With the introduction of the Mannlicher M.95 rifle in 1895 the Dutch army also introduced a new cartridge, the 6.5x53.5mm R. The cartridge case was rimmed, bottle-necked  and made of brass. The bullet was round nosed and made of a lead/antimony core with a steel plated envelope. Early production bullets had no groove and were seated in the neck of the case resting on an internal rim. In 1924  the bullet was modified. From that date the bullet had a groove and was fixed with a neck crimp. During the first world war the Netherlands stayed neutral but the war caused a shortage of raw materials, including steel. In this period other metals (including non-magnetic copper nickel and brass)  were  allowed as an alternative for the production of envelopes. 

The early ball cartridges nr.1S had headstampmarkings at 12- and 6 o'clock. From 1921 also at 3- and 9 o'clock. The headstamp gave information about production-year (12 o'clock), code letter for the brass supplier (6 o'clock), production date (3 o'clock) and powder lot (9 o'clock).

The M.95 rifle was loaded with a five round clip. 

When a cartridge case was re-used the case was marked with an extra "o" on the headstamp.

 The ball cartridge nr.1S was produced at the factory "Artillerie Inrichtingen" (A.I.) at the Hembrug in the Netherlands. But there were also cartridges imported from foreign countries like the United Kingdom (at Kynoch), Austria (G.Roth), Belgium (F.N.), etc.

During the second world war the ball rounds were also produced in Austria with a steel case (with "am" factory code on the headstamp) and a gilding metal clad steel  jacketed bullet. Later also copper nickel jackets were used. Production of steel cased cartridges was also done by FN in Belgium (with "ch" headstamp code).  The steel cased cartridges were used in captured M95 rifles,  Swartzlose machineguns (M.08) and Lewis machineguns (M.20).

Specifications:

The packages:

The Ball cartridge nr.1S  was packed with 10 rounds in 2 clips in a brown cardboard box. The information was printed with black ink on one side. Early boxes had linen laces on the flap to make it easier to open. 

The AM code on the box indicates the use of American produced propellant. The date on the box is the same as the date of the cartridges inside. 

As economical as the Dutch government was, even the cardboard boxes were re-used. The old information was crossed out and the box was reprinted (as can be seen at the next image)

Sometimes extra text  / infomation was added on the carton box. For example cartridges to practice shooting on the shooting range were marked with the text "schietvoorraad". There are also boxes known with a lot number stamped on it. 

When  a star was stamped on the box the powder batch of the cartridges was changed within that month. 

The meaning of a triangle on a box or headstamp is unknown. But there are unproved rumors that the triangle was added on the headstamp when cases, which were already on stock at the factory, were used at a later time. This would indicate that the markings of the production date and powder lot should be ignored because the were incorrect and the right information was printed on the box.

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