Very old .45 ammo box

K

Kensterfly

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2013
Messages
232
Reaction score
187
I found this ammo box in my gun cabinet (used to be my father-in-law's before he passed on.) I have his Colt 1911 ARMY that he carried as a navigator on a B-17 for his 35 missions over Europe in the last year of the war. Have his Army leather holster, too.
Just curious if this ammo may have been war time government issue. The box contains 13 shells.
 

Attachments

  • 1911.jpg
    1911.jpg
    42.6 KB · Views: 359
Register to hide this ad
It looks like govt issue 45. The mfg date is probably what is crossed out with marker, to the right of the "wcc". That would at least pin down if it was made prior to 1945. Also, if the ammo inside the box is correct to the box, it should have a wcc headstamp with a 2 digit year number.
 
Last edited:
Your ammo should have a 2-digit year date on the headstamp. That'll tell you if it was issued during WWII era.
 
I tried my best to make out what was printed under the marker but can't.
If it means anything, the butt end of the bullets have this lettering:

WCC69

I have always thought that he brought a box of shells home with him along with the .45. The gun itself looks like it was hardly ever shot. Maybe just enough to qualify with. Not sure how much handgun training was done for airmen. The gun is an absolute beauty with only the very slightest rub marks along the top of the frame due to holster carry. I've been told it's worth upward of $3000 but I'll keep it in the family for his grandsons.
 
CTG_COLLECTOR said:
Your ammo should have a 2-digit year date on the headstamp. That'll tell you if it was issued during WWII era.
Click to expand...

Well, there it is. WWC 69(the headstamp, would be a 1969 manufacture.

That box sure looks older than that, though.
 
A little bit of investigation on other sites tells me that the WCC was originally Western Cartridge Company, then Winchester. Parent company Olin. WCC was the headstamp for shells produced for the military. The 69 is way past WWII, though.
 
Very Old .45 ammo box

Does this help?

Olin was always the parent company. Their line of ammunition was Western. In 1931 Olin bought Winchester and in1938 WRA Co. became a Division of Western Cartridge Co. Olin highlighted the "Winchester" name because of its sales appeal. Today, Winchester isn't really Winchester anymore, except in name.
 
Kensterfly said:
I tried my best to make out what was printed under the marker but can't.
If it means anything, the butt end of the bullets have this lettering:
Click to expand...

Cartridges, my friend, cartridges. The bullet is what flies out the end of the barrel. :)

Take pride that your father served our country during war. Mine too served in the European Theater of Operations, as a crew chief in a Troop Transport outfit. His next-older brother, my uncle, was captured in the Battle of the Bulge and was marched around Germany for a few months before escaping.
 
jeffreybehr said:
Cartridges, my friend, cartridges. The bullet is what flies out the end of the barrel. :)
Click to expand...

Roger that. A temporary lapse. I had just been telling my bride about them and using the term "bullets" was just easier in that conversation.
 
I can't tell too well from the pic, but that box also looks kind of on the whitish side. All the WWII .45 ammo boxes I have seen are a dark card board brown or a more Dingy color.
 
WWII issue .45 A.C.P. came in boxes like the one below. Yours likely dates from the 1960s, as evidenced by the headstamp on the cartridges.
 

Attachments

  • WCC 45 M1911.jpg
    WCC 45 M1911.jpg
    74 KB · Views: 92
Come on folks. A simple internet search reveals the corporate name was Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation in the period 1954-1969. Most ammunition collectors know the progression of names of the various ammunition companies by heart, as they are a big help in dating their boxes. Incidentally, these military .45 ammunition boxes are as common as dirt.
 
DWalt said:
Come on folks. A simple internet search reveals the corporate name was Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation in the period 1954-1969. Most ammunition collectors know the progression of names of the various ammunition companies by heart, as they are a big help in dating their boxes. Incidentally, these military .45 ammunition boxes are as common as dirt.
Click to expand...

Yes, I pretty much said that about three weeks ago. Of course, not being an ammunition collector I did not previously have that knowledge, hence my inquiry.

As far as I, (the OP) am concerned, the thread can be closed.
 
That ammo was made in 1969. It is standard military issue 230gr "HardBall".

When I was in highschool in the late 1960's I bought thousands of rounds in those exact boxes, except most of it was marked WCC 67.

It was very good shooting ammo.
 
Let me add that back in those days the only full power 230gr ball you could get better than that was the WCC "White Box" match ammo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lestert357
U.S. Army CPL Thomas Edison Traylor’s .38 Special Colt Peacemaker in WWII?????
Replies
15
Views
1K
lestert357
lestert357
L
.32-20 +P ammo-Safe??
2 3
Replies
54
Views
3K
Drm50
D
oldbrownhat
The bear who was a private in the Polish army
Replies
6
Views
521
oldbrownhat
oldbrownhat
K
Shooter new to handguns
Replies
2
Views
262
The Last Standing Knight
T
kstaines
Need info on a .32-20 Spanish S&W clone
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
Alk8944
Alk8944

Latest posts

Back
Top