... Essentially all the Brits did was add sights and stocks, and even had the gall to rename some perfectly fine German rounds, such as the 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer and 7x57 Mauser.
MD-
Hmmm!
It's pretty certain that the 6.5x54 M-S rimless was developed not by Germans, but by
Austrians at Steyr, possibly including Ferdinand M. himself. Holt Bodinson's article in the Jan 2015
Guns is pretty clear about this.
I think, however, that Bodinson erred in the same article in writing that the 6.5x54 cartridge was anglicized by calling it the
256 Jeffrey. I can find no other references to that name.
If
Cartridges of the World and some other references are correct, the cartridge was named the
256 Fraser Rimless by Daniel Fraser, and the
256 Swift Rimless by some person or persons unknown. It's unfair to blame the Brits for the former name, since Fraser was a Scot from Edinburgh. (Fraser photo below.)
Datig says that the 256 Swift was an English wildcat, with some known samples having 6.5x54 headstamps. More information about this cartridge name would be helpful, particularly dates. (Did it predate Wotkyn's Swift?)
Other British names for the 6.5x55 may include
256 Gibbs Rimless Nitro Express.
Following Solomon, Hemingway split the Austo-Anglo baby in two and used "256 Mannlicher". However, with all such use I can recall he was describing the rifle, not the cartridge.
Sorry, I'm feeling picky today.
--Bob
.
.