[Daniel Watters]

1) What were the physical specs of the .256 cartridge used by the Bang rifle during the 1928 "Pig Board" trials at Aberdeen Proving Grounds?

2) Does anyone have exact citations for Frank T. Chamberlin's articles on the testing of the .220 Swift in the Phillipines circa 1935-1936? What was Chamberlin's rank at that time? (He retired as a Colonel after WW2.)

3) Does anyone have information concerning the experimental sub-caliber cartridges based on the .30-40 Krag case tested by the US Military around the turn of the previous century? (I'm particularly interested in the sub-.25 caliber wildcats.)

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[LIProgun]

Dan, I don't know the answers to your questions, and I doubt that my decent historical library on metallic cartridges has the answers (though I will try to check this weekend). I suggest you post these questions in the IAA Forum in case nobody else here is of help.

 

[Daniel Watters]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

 

[Daniel Watters]

Two out of Three...

FWIW: I found info related to Questions #1 and #3 in History of Modern U.S. Military Small Arms Ammunition: Volume I.

I wish they'd write a third volume concerning post-WW2 developments.

 

[BushRat]

Daniel,
Although exact specs are not listed, in "Hatcher's Book Of The Garand" on page 81 Hatcher writes:
"At 300 yards the caliber .256, 125-grain flat-base bullet gave by far the most severe wounds in all parts of the animal. All calibers caused very severe trauma, but the .256 seemed to be in a class of its own....
In referring to the table of 600 yard firing, it appears that the caliber .256, taking all wounds into consideration, gave up more pounds of energy to the tissues than any of the bullets at this range..."
As the metric equivalent of the .256 was 6.5mm, could the .256 been a variant of the Swedish round???

--BushRat--

 

[Daniel Watters]

BushRat: Thanks. My search was launched because of the refence in Book of the Garand and Frank T. Chamberlin's piece in Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders: Volume 2.

The cartridge used in the Pig Board tests was not the 6.5x55mm Swede, but it was close in size. Evidently, the Bang rifle was not used for these tests. It used a cartridge similar in size to the .25-06.

 

[csmkersh]

The cartridge used in the Pig Board tests was not the 6.5x55mm Swede...

What happened to the goats? :bolt:

 

[Daniel Watters]

The cartridge used in the Pig Board tests was not the 6.5x55mm Swede...

What happened to the goats? :bolt:

Funny you should ask. A Goat Board was held a year or so after the Pig Board. Chamberlin killed quite a few goats during these tests and even more while he was stationed in the PI a few years later. It was the first thing I thought of when Sanow first told me about the 'Strausbourg' precis back in late 1992.

 

[csmkersh]

I should have saved the article when the Express-News published it 3-4 years back. But BAMC* did some "goat testing" back during the early days on 'Nam. It wasn't to learn what was the best ammo for military use, but to provide "patients" for meatball surgeons headed to MASH units.

*BAMC = Brooks Army Medical Center located at Ft Sam Houston. The Academy of Health Science where all corpmen are trained is also located here.

Which magazine is your article going to be in or are you doing the research for your own enlightenment?

 

[Daniel Watters]

I should have saved the article when the Express-News published it 3-4 years back. But BAMC* did some "goat testing" back during the early days on 'Nam. It wasn't to learn what was the best ammo for military use, but to provide "patients" for meatball surgeons headed to MASH units.

*BAMC = Brooks Army Medical Center located at Ft Sam Houston. The Academy of Health Science where all corpmen are trained is also located here.

FWIW: BAMC was still shooting goats in the late '80s/early '90s. I remember the ruckus the animal rights folks were causing. I particularly remember the sign which showed a goat wearing a Kelvar helmet with the slogan: "It hurts to get shot by a M16A2." Well, duh!

Which magazine is your article going to be in or are you doing the research for your own enlightenment?

It is mostly for my own amusement. If I publish anything, it will be here at TGZ. I've got another update for the 5.56mm Timeline just about ready for HTML coding, a piece on "The Great Powder Controversy" that I'm going to forward to Dean soon, and over thirty pages done on a companion 7.62mm NATO Timeline.