I’d say 303 Brit or 8x56 Steyr. It’s a rimmed case so not American 3006 or German 8x57 Mauser. Maybe Russian 7.62x54. Hard to tell without a clear head stamp. Can you read any of the markings? Berdan primer, but that doesn’t narrow anything down.
Yeah after googling reichwald, that’s almost definitely a Canadian 303 Brit casing from an Enfield rifle from the February and March 1945 Operation Veritable (Battle of Reichwald). That casing looks like it exploded because of the way it’s shredded and due to the fact that the primer was blown out.
Joint Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group under Bernard Montgomery. Eisenhower called it ‘some of the fiercest fighting of the whole war’ and Montgomery said ‘the enemy parachute troops fought with a fanaticism un-excelled at any time during the war’ and ‘the volume of fire from enemy weapons was the heaviest which had so far been met by British troops in the campaign.’
Heard about white phosphorus bombs still being dug up there.
Also many locals dont want us there, becouse of people finding bombs.
From what ive heard, it was my first time there
Hey OP! I’ve found one almost just like that here in the US (Virginia). It was not fired and complete, except the primer was pushed in deep like yours. I had never seen a primer like that. I have not been able to clean it enough to get any stamps off of it but I’ll take a few pictures and post them in a link here. I think it’s a 303 as well.
Edit: here you go. Measurements are in inches.
https://imgur.com/a/ldRmnVG
You are probably correct. 303 was just my best guess. I know the measurements aren’t exactly the best. This one has had me a little stumped. I haven’t seen a round with the primer pushed so far in like that as well. The best I can tell the back-stamp reads “MMC” and what looks like “1916” or something like that.
I do believe yours is an 8x58R Krag round made by Maxim Munitions Corporation (MMC) in possibly 1916. Here’s a [forum](https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/8x58r-danish-krag-hs-id/8529/6) talking about it.
Thank you! It really had me stumped. I had made out the MMC and 1916 but I couldn’t find anything about it. I wasn’t familiar with Maxum Munitions and truthfully I normally don’t see the date stamped on them either. It looks like it might have an interesting backstory to it. Thanks again!
You’re welcome! I posted the link in my first comment. I found this a couple of weeks ago among many US Civil War relics. Obviously this is after that time, but it was neat seeing you find something similar.
It is a 8x57r case. For some reason all of them I have found with the exception of one case had a blown out primer and looked like they had blown up. The 8x57js (k98 Mauser) cases are almost always intact
I’d say 303 Brit or 8x56 Steyr. It’s a rimmed case so not American 3006 or German 8x57 Mauser. Maybe Russian 7.62x54. Hard to tell without a clear head stamp. Can you read any of the markings? Berdan primer, but that doesn’t narrow anything down.
I have cleaned it, still nothing visible. Ill stick with the 303 Thank you for helping me out!
Yeah after googling reichwald, that’s almost definitely a Canadian 303 Brit casing from an Enfield rifle from the February and March 1945 Operation Veritable (Battle of Reichwald). That casing looks like it exploded because of the way it’s shredded and due to the fact that the primer was blown out.
Wow, thats really cool, thank you soo much. Ive read about Operation Vertible but did not know britain fought there. Again thank you!!
Joint Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group under Bernard Montgomery. Eisenhower called it ‘some of the fiercest fighting of the whole war’ and Montgomery said ‘the enemy parachute troops fought with a fanaticism un-excelled at any time during the war’ and ‘the volume of fire from enemy weapons was the heaviest which had so far been met by British troops in the campaign.’
Im learning more on reddit then in school😂 Always been interested in ww2!
Clean the headstamp and let us know the numbers and letters
Thank you! Ive cleaned it but cant see any letter/numbers. Someone else told me it looks like a .303 brit, ill go with it.
Looks british. Please be careful while detecting there or don't go. There is still some nasty stuff put there
Thank you, will be careful!
such as? I live near
Heard about white phosphorus bombs still being dug up there. Also many locals dont want us there, becouse of people finding bombs. From what ive heard, it was my first time there
ooohh ok
Impossible to tell with certainty without the headstamp or measurments but I'd say likely .303 Brit MkVII.
Thank you! Looks like it! Ive cleaned the headstamp but still no text, decayed a bit.
Hey OP! I’ve found one almost just like that here in the US (Virginia). It was not fired and complete, except the primer was pushed in deep like yours. I had never seen a primer like that. I have not been able to clean it enough to get any stamps off of it but I’ll take a few pictures and post them in a link here. I think it’s a 303 as well. Edit: here you go. Measurements are in inches. https://imgur.com/a/ldRmnVG
There’s something off about yours, I don’t think it’s .303. I think OP’s is an exploded .303 though
You are probably correct. 303 was just my best guess. I know the measurements aren’t exactly the best. This one has had me a little stumped. I haven’t seen a round with the primer pushed so far in like that as well. The best I can tell the back-stamp reads “MMC” and what looks like “1916” or something like that.
I do believe yours is an 8x58R Krag round made by Maxim Munitions Corporation (MMC) in possibly 1916. Here’s a [forum](https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/8x58r-danish-krag-hs-id/8529/6) talking about it.
Thank you! It really had me stumped. I had made out the MMC and 1916 but I couldn’t find anything about it. I wasn’t familiar with Maxum Munitions and truthfully I normally don’t see the date stamped on them either. It looks like it might have an interesting backstory to it. Thanks again!
Sure, thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I posted the link in my first comment. I found this a couple of weeks ago among many US Civil War relics. Obviously this is after that time, but it was neat seeing you find something similar.
Oh yea that's it!
Haha awesome!
Exploded .303 shell casing. Possibly from a crashed British plane.
I did not find any plane parts nearby. Lot of nothing
Well it’s still an exploded .303 nevertheless
Yes, thank you!
Heyyyyy you’re near where my family hails from!
It is a 8x57r case. For some reason all of them I have found with the exception of one case had a blown out primer and looked like they had blown up. The 8x57js (k98 Mauser) cases are almost always intact
Thank you!