An ammunition box or cartridge box is a container designed for safe transport and storage of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

. It is typically made of metal, wood, and

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for maki ...

, etc. Boxes are labelled with

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

, quantity, and manufacturing date, lot number, UN

dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...

labels. With a metal container, rubber

gasket Some seals and gaskets A gasket is a mechanical seal which fills the space between two or more mating surfaces, generally to prevent leakage from or into the joined objects while under compression. It is a deformable material that is used to c ...

is commonly found in the hinged lid to protect the ammunition from moisture damage. With other containers, plastic bags and

desiccant A desiccant is a hygroscopic substance that is used to induce or sustain a state of dryness (desiccation) in its vicinity; it is the opposite of a humectant. Commonly encountered pre-packaged desiccants are solids that absorb water. Desiccant ...

s can be used. The resealing ammunition box is largely a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

tradition.

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

nations typically stored and transported ammunition in single-use "spam cans". They had crates that had a sealed zinc lining on the inside.

Commercial ammunition boxes

Some enthusiasts and investors collect historical ammunition boxes. Many also use them as containers for the recreational activity of

Geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

Storage

Due to their durable construction, used metal ammunition boxes are popularly re-used for general storage and other purposes. They are a popular choice for

geocaching Geocaching (, ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called ''geocaches'' or ''caches'', at sp ...

containers. Used ammunition boxes have lead and propellant residue inside, so they should not be used to store food or drink. Commercially-made new or fully reconditioned used boxes do not have this problem. Used boxes are often sold at

military surplus Military surplus is goods, usually materiel, that are sold or otherwise disposed of when held in excess or are no longer needed by the military. Entrepreneurs often buy these goods and resell them at surplus stores. Usually the goods sold by th ...

stores.

Regulations

Shipments of explosives and similar hazards are highly regulated. Based on the

UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods The ''UN Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods'' are contained in thprepared by the Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). They cover the transport of da ...

model regulations, each country has coordinated design and performance requirements for shipment. For example, in the US, the Department of Transportation has jurisdiction and published requirements in

Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR Title 49 - Transportation is one of fifty titles comprising the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 49 is the principal set of rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) issued by the Departments of Transpo ...

. The applicable regulation depends on the level of hazard, quantity being shipped, mode of transit, etc.

Gallery

Image:Ammunition box.jpg, An M19A1 ammunition box for

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...

M80 ball File:Hand grenade display at Easton Lodge Gardens, Wartime Open Day, Essex, England.jpg, WW II English hand grenade box File:Box of .375H&H.JPG, box of cartridges File:Montpon-Ménestérol, exposition musée 1939-1945 (28).jpg, Wooden box, WWII File:US Navy 030321-N-9693M-004 Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Colby Willett uses a barcode scanner and printer to inventory cases of ammunition at the Naval Air Station's weapons department.jpg, Checking bar codes on wooden ammunition boxes File:Polish artillery shells (23862122650).jpg, box of 100 mm Polish artillery shells File:USS Blue Ridge preparations 150226-N-KL617-069.jpg, Sailors carrying box of ammunition

References

selected US specifications

*MIL-B-2427 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION PACKING: WOOD, NAILED (30-AUG-1984) *MIL-B-3060, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOXES, SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION: M19A1 AND M2A1 (12 DEC 1979) *MIL-B-18876 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION, 40MM MARK 1 MOD 0 *MIL-B-20390 - MIL-B-20390B, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOARD, AMMUNITION CONTAINER *MIL-B-46506, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: BOXES, AMMUNITION PACKING, WOOD, WIREBOUND *MIL-C-2439 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, AMMUNITION, FIBER, SPIRALLY WOUND *MIL-C-2440, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, METAL, FOR PROPELLING CHARGE *MIL-C-2440 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, METAL, FOR PROPELLING CHARGE *MIL-C-6879, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINERS, CARRYING AND STORAGE, SIGNAL, ILLUMINATION AIRCRAFT *MIL-C-21215 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CRATES, PALLETS, AMMUNITION *MIL-C-70469, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, STEEL, FOR BULK PROPELLANT *MIL-C-70469, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, STEEL, FOR BULK PROPELLANT *MIL-C-70470, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER FIBER FOR BULK PROPELLANT *MIL-C-70478 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, AMMUNITION, METAL, FOR CARTRIDGE, 120MM, TANK AMMUNITION *MIL-C-70842, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, SHIPPING AND STORAGE, CARTRIDGE, 40MM, PA120 GENERAL SPECIFICATION *MIL-C-70998 -, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: CONTAINER, SHIPPING AND STORAGE, *MIL-DTL-2427, DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOX, AMMUNITION PACKING: WOOD, NAILED *MIL-DTL-3060 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOXES, SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION - M19A1 AND M2A1 *MIL-DTL-18492 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: TANKS, CARTRIDGE, POWDER, ROCKET, AND COMPONENTS (ALUMINUM) SHIPMENT OF PROJECTILE METAL PARTS AND PROJECTILE AMMUNITION *MIL-DTL-46506 DETAIL SPECIFICATION: BOXES, AMMUNITION PACKING, WOOD, WIREBOUND *MIL-PRF-32076 PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION: UTILIZATION OF AMMUNITION *MIL-S-23389 MILITARY SPECIFICATION: SHIPPING AND STORAGE CONTAINER, CARTRIDGE, 20MM, M548 *MIL-S-50312, MILITARY SPECIFICATION: SHIPPING AND STORAGE CONTAINER, CARTRIDGE, 30 MILLIMETER - XM592

External links

European Ammo Box Translations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammunition Box Ammunition Containers