One Cartridge, not a box: 6.5×53.5Rmm Dutch M.S. (M.S. for Mannlicher Schoenauer) (RIMMED) produced in 1943 by Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company, laminated steel case with *“43 am St 23″ Head-Stamp, “23″ is for Lot 23 or 23rd. lot of year, with copper wasted or clad steel jacketed bullet. For Swartzlose machineguns (M.08) and Lewis machineguns (M.20).*Head Stamp information“am” is for “Otto Eberhardt Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company)” in Hirtenberg, Austria under German occupation at the time they production. “43” for 1942, St” for Steel, “23″ is for Lot 23 or 23rd. lot of year.
On Title: “M.S.” for Mannlicher SchoenauerHistory of 6.5×53.5 Rmm Dutch Mannlicher:
The 6.5×53.5 Rmm Dutch Mannlicher cartridge, also known as the .256 Mannlicher cartridge was one of the first smokeless, small, 6.5mm caliber military rifle cartridges designed by Otto Schoenauer (Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company) for 1890 Romanian trials to find a small bore smokeless repeating rifle. The cartridge was use in Mannlicher Model 1891 Bolt-action rifle, which was adopted by Romania in 1892 for the Mannlicher M1893 and the Netherlands in 1895 for the M95Mannlicher bolt action rifles.
During the second world war the ball rounds were also produced by the Austria Arms-Manufacturing Company in Hirtenberg, Austria under German occupation at the time they production. with a steel case (with “am” factory code on the headstamp) and a gilding metal clad steel jacketed bullet. Later also copper nickel jackets were used.Production of steel cased cartridges was also done by FN in Belgium (with “ch” headstamp code). The steel cased cartridges were used in captured M95 rifles, Swartzlose machineguns (M.08) and Lewis machineguns (M.20).
