303 wadding?

I hacksawed through a decidedly corroded CAC 303 soft point round today (dated 1950) and discovered what appeared to be a form of wadding at the base of the projectile.
What’s it’s purpose - to hold the cordite in place or??
@gundoc

have a look at cordites picture.....I believe its a wee cap on top of the cordite strands....they put in straight walled case then its formed into neck as we know it...

It is a card wad to keep the sticks of cordite in place during the balance of the loading process. The .303 cartridges were loaded in a very unique way because the strands of cordite can't be poured into the case like conventional powder. The cases are primed and loaded with a bundle of cordite sticks and the small card wad on top while the case is still a straight tube. The case then goes through a forming die to get the correct shape before the bullet is seated and crimped. The card wad is held in place by the newly formed shoulder, which in turn holds the cordite firmly against the base of the case to give consistent ignition as cordite is harder to ignite than regular smokeless powder.

Wasn’t there also a problem with the gases from the cordite eroding/pushing past the base of the projectile so the wadding helped with barrel life/accuracy?

Thanks guys! @gundoc - it all makes sense!:thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stug

Wasn’t there also a problem with the gases from the cordite eroding/pushing past the base of the projectile so the wadding helped with barrel life/accuracy?

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No this gases don't damage the base of the projectile, they do torch the the crap out of the throat, My old mentor when I started shooting was the head of quality control
at CAC for the Army through the war retiring in 1965, He had stacks of photos of the CAC factory and loading machinery and an excellent cartridge collection of .303 ammo,
Told some great stories about what went on and full of technical facts about the .303 and 7.62x51, Still have one of his Omark 44's.