Navy Cleaning Rod History Turned Upside Down.

[m1903a3]

Thanks to contributions, I have narrowed the gap to only 68 1917 dated P.04s around s/n 1000.

If any member has a 1917 dated P.04 in the range 990-1058, please reply with the serial number size.

As long as I have been collecting Imperial Navy P.04s and their accessories I have believed the Brass zig-zag pattern was the original type cleaning rod and the steel ones were the later ones. This is presented as established fact in any number of books on the subject, including the authoritative Görtz and Sturgess set.

But it isn't true!

I've had a copy of the second (1913) printing of the official P.04 manual for a while, but I had not read it from cover to cover. The title page of the 1913 version says that revisions 1, 2 and 4 are incorporated in the text. It also says that revision 3 was in a footnote to the section on the cleaning rod.

Recently I received a copy of an original 1906 manual from a European member, which prompted me to compare them.

Surprise! The original 1906 manual describes the cleaning rod as made of steel, with a brass tip to protect the bore. The 1913 manual has the same text, with the addition of the footnote (which reflects revision 3) which says "Since 1910 the cleaning rod is made of brass."

So, the steel rod with a brass tip is officially the first Navy cleaning rod.
The brass rods came in 1910.

That leaves the steel rods with a steel tip. I know from my research into the ditty boxes that the Navy was very short of brass late in the war, to the extent that they asked the sailors to forego their brass nameplates.

That leaves open the (likely) possibility that the Navy returned to a steel rod to save brass at some point during the war, probably with a steel tip.