Mystery ammo box

[michielvr]

Hello

Last sunday i bought this ammo box.
Is this a vickers ammobox? Because i havent seen this style before.

There is an LW&Co and No10 stamp on the inside.
And there is an arrow painted on the lid indicating that this box is for a gun with righthand feed.

And there is an extra piece of wood on the inside. Later addition?

Any thoughts?

[Richard Fisher]

Interesting. The markings seems to be British or Commonwealth but the box looks more like the German Maxim box.

[andrewupton]

Nov 2, 2012 18:11:54 GMT 1 Richard Fisher said:

Interesting. The markings seems to be British or Commonwealth but the box looks more like the German Maxim box.

When I looked up the maker on the web when this was first posted I found reference to a just-pre WW1 German wooden tool maker called something like Wolffe & Co who were known to use this mark. Try as I might I cannot find this again...

[michielvr]

Could it be for a British Maxim?

[woodsy]

I am inclined to think it is for a British Maxim (or early Vickers) even though the method of construction is quite different to the norm. The use of 'No.' is distinctintly British whereas the Germans would use 'Nr.'. I am sure it is for land use as naval boxes would have brass fittings instead of steel. Could it be an immediate precursor to the WW1 steel boxes, and of very limited issue? A very interesting find!

[andrewupton]

Nov 5, 2012 22:48:54 GMT 1 woodsy said:

I am inclined to think it is for a British Maxim (or early Vickers) even though the method of construction is quite different to the norm.

I was thinking Richard was pretty much on the money with his German suggestion, and would now probably put a small bet on it being of Austrian origin. Although Dolf doesn't go into much detail in "The Devil's Paintbrush" on the numerous patterns of ammunition box used by various nations with different types of Maxim gun, he does on page 206 (illustration 273) show what he captions as:

"273: Auxiliary tripod for the M7/12 Austrian Schwarzlose machine gun. Since the Schwarzlose feeds from beneath the right side side of the receiver, only a short ammunition box (holding a 100-round belt) can be used with this tripod. Authors collection."

postimage.org/image/mlfyml2wr/



Although shorter in height to compensate for the shorter belt, the box illustrated is seems nearly identical in design to the original posters example (excepting we can't see the inside to compare whether the smaller compartment is a period feature or later addition of course).

[andrewupton]

Other evidence based on this and collected from the web would seem to support the Austrian design, although the closure method appears different, eg:

sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=517

[woodsy]

Andrew, you appear to be correct. I have just done a Google search and the pictures of the Schwarzlose boxes look to be of the same design.

[andrewupton]

Nov 6, 2012 7:32:59 GMT 1 woodsy said:

Andrew, you appear to be correct. I have just done a Google search and the pictures of the Schwarzlose boxes look to be of the same design.

I also found a thread on Gunboards.com which sounded like it might be relevant, but not being a member could not see the pictures. I applied to join, and having now had membership approved can see that of the two ammunition boxes which prompted the thread, one is identical to the original posters here, and the other is a variation on the same (with the sprung flap on the front of the box rather than the top):

forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?217922-Are-these-MG08-08-15-related

It seems these sort of boxes generally are associated with the Schwarzlose, and can be encountered with a variety of closure methods.

[michielvr]

according to a friend of mine this ammobox is an early German ww1 box.

[captmax]

Although the design is similar to the Schwarzlose box, the latch is different. I have both the tall and short Schwarzlose ammo boxes and the latch is different than either of those.
CaptMax