Description
Physical description
description: brass case with gilding metal jacketed bullet
History note
Description: introduced in 1932 as the military equivalent of the 200 grain .380 Webley Special cartridge introduced in 1929. This was a blunter, heavier bulleted load for the ubiquitous .38 Smith & Wesson cartridge, which was normally loaded with a 146 grain bullet. There was an equivalent 200 grain load in the United States called the .38 Smith & Wesson Super Police, and it is not clear whether this was originally a British or American development. The 200 grain bullet certainly increased the effectiveness of a hitherto rather modest performer used mainly in police and civilian self defence revolvers, and the British army considered it was an acceptable replacement for the .455 revolver cartridge. While the .455 was a formidable load at short range, the revolvers chambering it were large and quite heavy, and in 1922 the War Office decided to replace it. The .380 allowed the use of a smaller, lighter revolver but without an unacceptable level of recoil for the average military user. While round nosed lead bullets had been used by many combattants during the First World War, including the Germans, without concern, thinking changed during the inter-war period with regard to the compliance of such bullets with the St Petersburg Declaration and Hague Convention. Having provisionally adopted the adequate .380 Mark 1 round in 1922 and the Enfield revolver, designed by Captain Boys, to go with it in 1932, Britain decided to adopt a Mark 2 cartridge with a jacketed 178 grain bullet in January 1938. This was less effective, but the Mark 2 cartridge and Enfield, Webley, Smith & Wesson and Colt revolvers chambered for it were given widespread use by British and Commonwealth forces, various Allied forces equipped by the British and Resistance groups during the Second World War. It continued in British service use until 1968, and remains in use in India, and probably elsewhere. This is a post-war example of .380 IIZ, loaded with a nitrocellulose propellant, loaded at the South African Mint. This manufacturer changed its headstamp from 'U' to 'SAM' in 1961.
[1] mark, stamped, case base (headstamp)
[1] SAM 63 // // .380 2Z