The M1917 Ammunition Packing Box was the standard pre-war shipping and packing box the US Military used to transport ammunition. It was designed to be reused.
The interior was lined with an airtight soldered ternplate box to keep out dampness and corrosion. It was peeled open by using a built-in wire handle to tear through the top.
Pre-war boxes were made of stained wood and had wide stripes painted on them. The color indicated at a glance what type of ammunition was inside. The stripes were also duplicated on the labels on the ammo cartons inside. Triple stripes were used for mixed machinegun ammunition. They indicated what kind of ammunition was inside (e.g., like Ball and Tracer or Armor-Piercing and Incendiary) and whether it was belted or linked. Straight vertical stripes meant it was Caliber .30 (.30-06 Springfield) ammo and diagonal stripes indicated it was Caliber .50 (.50 BMG) ammo.
Wartime boxes were painted brown with white or yellow lettering. They had the Ammunition Identification Code painted in the upper left corner of the box. (This was a five-character code that indicated munitions and explosives items, priority issue in combat.)
M1917 Ammunition Box[]
The standard rectangular box was used to carry .30- and .50-caliber ammunition. It was 18-7/16" Long x 9-7/16" Wide x 14-13/16" High, weighed about 12 pounds empty, and had a volume of 1.5 cubic feet. The lid was secured by brass wingnuts that fit over two pairs of threaded brass posts in the sides and one in each end. They were reinforced by two flat iron struts across the top that fit over the side posts.
| M1917 Ammo Packing Box | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .30-'06 Springfield | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 20-round Carton | 60 Cartons (20 rounds each) | 1200 rounds total | 93 lbs. |
| Carton | 20-round Carton | 75 Cartons (20 rounds each) | 1500 rounds total | 113 lbs. |
| Bandoleer | 5-round "Stripper" Clip | 20 Bandoleers (60 rounds each) | 1200 rounds total | 92 lbs. |
| Bandoleer | 5-round "Stripper" Clip | 25 Bandoleers (60 rounds each) | 1500 rounds total | 112 lbs. |
| Bandoleer | 8-round "En-Bloc" Clip | 25 Bandoleers (48 rounds each) | 1200 rounds total | 98 lbs. |
| Bandoleer | 8-round "En-Bloc" Clip | 28 Bandoleers (48 rounds each) | 1344 rounds total | 108 lbs. |
| Bandoleer | 8-round "En-Bloc" Clip | 30 Bandoleers (48 rounds each) | 1440 rounds total | 112 lbs. |
| Belt | 100-round M3 Cloth Belt | 12 Belts (100 rounds each) | 1200 rounds total | 106 lbs. |
| Belt | 250-round M1917 Cloth Belt | 5 Belts (250 rounds each) | 1250 rounds total | 95 lbs. |
| Belt | 250-round M1917 Cloth Belt | 6 Belts (250 rounds each) | 1500 rounds total | 111 lbs. |
| .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG) | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 10-round Carton | 30 Cartons (10 rounds each) | 300 rounds total | 100? lbs. |
| Carton | 10-round Carton | 35 Cartons (10 rounds each) | 350 rounds total | 109 lbs. |
| Belt | 110-round M7 Cloth Belt | 2 Belts (110 rounds each) | 220 rounds total | 71 lbs. |
| Link | 265-round Metal Link Belt | 1 Belt (265 rounds each) | 265 rounds total | 97 lbs. |
| .45 ACP | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 24-round Carton | 50 cartons (24 rounds each) | 1200 rounds total | ? lbs. |
| .30 Carbine | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 50-round Carton | 69 cartons (50 rounds each) | 3450 rounds total | 110 lbs. |
Pre-war .30-caliber ammo boxes were packed with 1200 rounds in cartons, bandoleers or belts. This was expanded to 1500 during wartime. The .30-'06 "en-bloc" bandoleer ammo boxes went from 1200 to 1344 to 1440 rounds.
Pre-war .50-caliber ammo boxes were packed with 300 in 10-round cartons, expanded to 350 rounds in wartime. High-Pressure test rounds were packed 300 to the crate and .50-caliber Blank M1 cartridges were packed 450 rounds per crate.
The machinegun belts were actually rarely pre-made then, as they usually used linking machines on base to load the loose ammo into web belts or links. A small reserve of pre-made belts were stored in case of hostilities. To conserve steel during the war, linked ammunition was reserved for Anti-Aircraft units, the US Army Air Forces, and Naval Aviation. In the mid-war period, .30-caliber anti-aircraft and aircraft machineguns were deemed obsolete, so its ammunition was manufactured in belt form only. In the late war period following D-Day, the Allies' air superiority (combined with large stores of ammunition nearing their expiration date) released linked ammunition for US ground forces use.
Ammunition for the .45 ACP M1917 Revolver was pre-loaded in 3-round semi-circular "moon clips". There were 8 clips (24 rounds) per rectangular carton, packed either in early two-row (2x12 cell - sideways interlocking "zig-zag" style) or later three-row (3x9 cell - inline overlapping "spoons" style).
M1917 Pistol Ammunition Box[]
A square box that was used to carry pistol and submachinegun ammunition. It was 16-7/16" Long x 12-11/16" Wide x 7-5/8" High and had a volume of 0.92 cubic feet. The lid was secured by brass wingnuts that fit over threaded brass posts in each side and reinforced by two flat iron struts across the top that fit over the side posts.
| M1917 Pistol Ammo Packing Box | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 20-round Carton | 100 Cartons (20 rounds each) | 2000 rounds total | 110 lbs. |
| Carton | 50-round Carton | 40 Cartons (50 rounds each) | 2000 rounds total | 107 lbs. |
Pre-war and early-war .45 ACP ammunition packaging came in 20-round cartons, the number of rounds in a standard Thompson SMG magazine.
M1917 Carbine Ammunition Box[]
A square box that was used to carry carbine ammunition. It was ?" Long x ?" Wide x ?" High and had a volume of 0.83 cubic feet. The different size from the Pistol Ammo Box was probably so soldiers wouldn't grab the wrong ammunition. The lid was secured by brass wingnuts that fit over threaded brass posts in each side and reinforced by two flat iron struts across the top that fit over the side posts.
| M1917 Carbine Ammo Packing Box | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .30 Carbine | ||||
| Packing | Sub-Unit | Units | Load | Gross Weight |
| Carton | 45-round Carton | 60 cartons (45 rounds each) | 2700 rounds total | ? lbs. |
| Carton | 50-round Carton | 60 cartons (50 rounds each) | 3000 rounds total | 98 lbs. |
Pre-war and early-war .30 Carbine ammunition packaging originally came in 45-round cartons. Each 45-round carton was divided into 15-round sections - the number of rounds in a standard M1 Carbine magazine - to eliminate wastage. These were later switched to 50-round cartons in 1942 for ease of distribution.