.475 No 2 Nitro Express
cartridge
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a British rifle cartridge developed by Eley Brothers in the early 20th century.
Design
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a rimmed bottle necked cartridge designed for use in single-shot and double rifles. The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a very large, impressive cartridge, the empty round is 3.5 in (89 mm) long with an overall length of 4.26 in (108 mm).
The standard factory load fires a .483 in (12.3 mm) diameter 480 gr (31 g) bullet at 2,200 ft/s (670 m/s), although two powder charges were available with either 80 gr (5.2 g) or 85 gr (5.5 g) of cordite.
.475 No 2 Jeffery
W. J. Jeffery & Co. offered an alternate loading, known as the .475 No 2 Jeffery which fired a slightly larger .489 in (12.4 mm) diameter 500 gr (32 g) projectile at 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s), although again multiple powder charges were available, with either 75 gr (4.9 g), 80 gr (5.2 g) or 85 gr (5.5 g) of cordite. Jefferys built a very fine handling double rifle for this round with a 24 in (610 mm) barrel that weighed only 11 lb (5.0 kg) but retaining moderate recoil.
History
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is one of several rounds developed in response to the British Army 1907 ban of .450 caliber ammunition into India and the Sudan which saw the development of the ballistically very similar .500/465 Nitro Express, .470 Nitro Express, .475 Nitro Express, and .476 Nitro Express.
Eley created the .475 No 2 Nitro Express by necking up their earlier .450 No 2 Nitro Express.
WWI service
In 1914 and early 1915, German snipers were engaging British Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition.
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