Lonewolf - I have seen several sites and have books which give that info, which is technically correct

My recollection (Spent the last half hour fruitlessly looking at the internet and my library) was that when Vieille developed "Poudre B" in 1884 and introduced it in the 8mm Lebel rifle in 1886 with a greatly improved performance it was clear to all that smokeless was the way forward and Rubin developed the round for that

The Standard British propellant of the time was Black Powder so that was used as a stopgap until Cordite was available

All interesting stuff

TH44