ID Ammo Box?

ccm75

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Was given this box that’s been in my FIL basement forever. He’s 96 years old and in a memory care unit. Physically fit as a fiddle but his mind has gone....The classic story. Quit school at 13 when his father died, into the Army at 18, Purple Heart at Anzio while stringing telephone wire. Worked 40 years at the same tool & die shop....
Legend is he brought this home from the war. Nomenclature for WW2?

My wife says he brought home “a rifle” too, but his wife made him get rid of it soon after....😞
Thanks for any info on this ammo box.
 

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Was given this box that’s been in my FIL basement forever. He’s 96 years old and in a memory care unit. Physically fit as a fiddle but his mind has gone....The classic story. Quit school at 13 when his father died, into the Army at 18, Purple Heart at Anzio while stringing telephone wire. Worked 40 years at the same tool & die shop....
Legend is he brought this home from the war. Nomenclature for WW2?

My wife says he brought home “a rifle” too, but his wife made him get rid of it soon after....😞
Thanks for any info on this ammo box.

Ca. 1942, M2, the first metal ammunition container​

The steel M2 Ammunition Can / Box was adopted 21 September 1942 for .50 caliber machine gun ammunition, replacing the M17 .50 cal. ammunition chest and other earlier containers. The M2 ammo can was designed to hold link belts of 105 cartridges of .50 cal. ammunition for the M2 Browning machine gun, but was in fact also utilized for other ammo calibers and packaging. M2 ammunition can with a belt of .50 cal. ammunition in the cradle of a Browning anti-aircraft machine gun, Normandy, France, 1944.

Construction details of the M2 .50 cal. ammunition can / box:

  • Steel material with welded seams, made in several different patterns
  • Top edge hinge consists of rolled small tubes attached to the body of the box and matching pins attached to the lid
  • Side-opening hinged lid, removable by sliding the lid pins off the hinge tubes
  • Metal bar handle attached to the lid by rectangular wire loops so it can fold flat for stacking or lift up for easy carry
  • A wire loop on lid edge is engaged by a latch panel to clamp the lid down
  • Rubber gasket under lid makes the box almost waterproof when clamped closed
  • Wire loop on the end panel to mount the box to a machine gun
  • Top and sides have embossed recessed areas for added strength
When the lid latch is closed, a small metal loop protrudes through a hole in the latch panel. A cotter pin, attached to a ring, is inserted in a hole in the metal loop to fasten the latch securely. The M2 ammunition box was painted semi-gloss olive drab. Two shades were used, one a little lighter than the other. Both are authentic for this ammo can. Embossed markings on the front say “Amm. Box Cal. .50 M2.” One end panel will have the Ordnance flaming bomb and manufacturer’s name embossed

It's a shame about the rifle. I wonder how many are left stuck away in attics.
 
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