Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice WWII Issue "Packing box M1917" ammunition crate for Armor Piercing .30-06 cartridges in cartons, as used by most of the long rifles and machine guns fielded by the U.S. during WWII. The front of the crate still bears the original stenciled packing information:

1500 CARTRIDGES
ARMOR PIERCING
CALIBER .30 M2
IN CARTONS

AMMUNITION LOT NUMBER
LAKE CITY ORDNANCE PLANT 12191

There is a shortened version of this on the left side of the box. Lake City Ordnance Plant was established by Remington Arms in 1941 to manufacture and test small caliber ammunition for the U.S. Army. The facility has remained in continuous operation except for one 5-year period following World War II. As of July 2007, the plant produced nearly 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition per year. In addition, Lake City performs small caliber ammunition stockpile reliability testing and has ammunition and weapon testing responsibilities as the NATO National and Regional Test Center. LCAAP is the single largest producer of small arms ammunition for the United States Armed Forces

The crate measures approximately 18"W × 14 ½"H × 9 ½"D, and is constructed using rabbet joint corners. It is an pre / early war example, and is natural wood with the correct black painted lettering. It is also painted with a wide yellow stripe with a central blue stripe, which is the color designation for "Armor Piercing". The top of the box is not matching, and is marked:

SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION
LOT R. A. 5706

Overall condition is very good, with the main discrepancy being some missing wood on the lid, and that the wing nuts to secure it are all missing, while the threaded studs are still present. Also, as shown clearly in the pictures, the crate is empty.

Ready to add to your collection and display!

Pre-war and early-war ammo packing boxes were made of stained wood with black-painted lettering. Mid- to late-war packing boxes were painted Olive Drab brown with white or yellow lettering that used the item's AIC code and a system of symbols to indicate the contents at a glance. The caliber, ammunition type and model (e.g., Caliber .30 Ball M1) were in the upper center field in bold lettering. The number of units (i.e., how many bullets or shells there were per box) and packing information (i.e., whether it was in cartons, bandoleers or belts) were on the two lines below it. The caliber (CAL .45, CAL .30, or CAL .50) was painted in bold lettering in the upper left corner. The gross weight of the box in pounds and its volume in cubic feet was painted in the lower left corner and the Ammunition Lot information (manufacturer code and lot number) was painted in the lower right corner.