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THE development of a practical method for producing steel cartridge cases became necessary when the critical shortage of copper made it imperative that the standard brass cases be replaced with ones made of steel. A group of manufacturers, including Buick, worked on the problem with the Ordnance Department, and a cartridge case committee was formed, consisting of representatives from both Ordnance and industry. Very successful results have accrued from this cooperative program, and, according to latest reports, steel cartridge cases in practically all calibers will soon be in volume production. This paper tells the story of how the process developed by the Buick engineers was accomplished, and describes the method in detail. The Buick process has been applied successfully to the manufacture of steel cases of the 75-mm size, which are now being produced in large quantities.

CERTAIN ferroalloys containing boron, known as “special addition agents” possess the property of markedly increasing the hardenability of many steels when added in relatively small quantities. These additives offer promise of conserving critical alloying elements by their ability to replace important amounts of nickel, chromium, and molybdenum. The additive treatment of steel from a commercial viewpoint is relatively new, having started in 1938. In general, it may be stated that, with respect to hardenability and mechanical properties, a carbon steel can be made equivalent to a low-alloy steel and a low-alloy steel equivalent to a high-alloy steel by additive treatment. The amount of additive required varies, depending upon the type of additive, the composition of the steel, and the degree of deoxidation. Uniform melting practice is essential to good results.