Richard Fisher

If you go to http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk/acc-mountings.htm you'll find an Australian War Memorial photo of one in the relevant section on that page. Glad to have helped. Richard

The 1942 pamphlet was the first one that covered this mounting, however, I have found mention of it earlier on, but can't recall where. I've never seen one in the flesh and would imagine they are few and far between. I'd certainly like to put a pair of my Vickers guns on one!

John, It is the Radial AA mount made for mounting one or two Vickers MGs. There was a specific Small Arms Training manual supplement for them, which I have available for free download from: http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk/manual-sat.htm It was printed in 1941 so is about halfway down the page. Regards Richard

Following on from the above, I've recently acquired a 1949 Series 1 Land Rover. I've got some information on how the Land Rover was used with the Vickers but would welcome anymore! I've now got the first and last British vehicles used to transport the Vickers. Cheers Richard

Well, they finally came off yesterday, with much washing up liquid and some delicate use of tyre levers. Some minor damage to the canvas on the edge of the rims but the rubber remains sound and they didn't split. Now the tapes are off and all wire-brushed down ready to prime and have new tubes put in and the tyres back on. I've secured a slightly different variant of the MG handcart as well so this one should be finished in March and the other one picked up at the end of the month. Thanks for the advice on here. Richard

Excellent little cart that! If you ever come across a photo of one stacked with Vickers MGs and ammunition, it means I'll want something else for the collection. My tyres don't seem to be as bad as those. I'll be having a go a the weekend with the non-intrusive approach and seeing how it comes along. I'll let people know how it turns out. Thanks Richard

Thanks for the advice given so far. There's a few options to consider there. I think I'll try first with washing up liquid and see how far I get, without any damage, and then progressively work up towards some of the other options but, as a last resort, I like the idea of the foam filling. Regards Richard

The ones on the market in 7.92mm were mainly made for the Turks and gifted by the British in 1940 to keep them out of the Second World War, or at least favourable to us. Certainly the list of vehicles is a long one and a few representative examples would be good over time! Rich

Feel free! I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions for here in return as I intend to gradually acquire at least a few of the vehicles used to transport the Vickers (over time anyway!). Richard

Although I've been a member here for a few years, I've never got to post an introduction. I'm primarily a Vickers MG collector and have a website that covers all of its usage, including the vehicles used to transport it. My collection includes the hind portion of a Limbered GS Wagon, which was used for the Vickers during the Great War. I will be constructing the fore portion over the next couple of years. As far as I am aware, there aren't any examples of the hind portion available for view, unless someone can correct me and help out. Thanks, Richard

Evening All, As part of my Vickers MG Collection, I've recently acquired a handcart used by the Irish Free State Army that was used to transport the Vickers they used. I've completely stripped it down to restore it; however, the one bit I am stuck on is the tyres. It is fitted with a pair of 3.25 x 19 tyres, on spoked wheels, which according to the seller are adapted BSA wheels (hence my reason for posting on this board). They are both in reasonable condition and are W/I\D moulded in the rubber so I would like to keep them. They will never need to be road-legal and will not be subjected to the stresses and strains of use again so I'd like to be able to keep the same ones on there; however, the rubber seems to have hardened a bit. Can anybody advise on the best way to remove them? Whether any lubricant (vaseline, fairy liquid etc.) is needed or whether warming prior to removal will work? Open to suggestions and ideas. Only done car tyres that not worried about splitting or cycle tyres before. I've uploaded a couple of photos onto my website of the cart. http://www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk/world-ireland.htm Regards Richard

I've sadly seen them go for more! Being Vickers AND Great War demands so much money now. I can remember buying a couple of hundred of them (in the packing boxes) for about £100 the lot. Gradually got rid of most of them but had the luxury of keeping quite a few for sticking in every box I could find. Would've been a greater rate of return if I'd have kept hold of them. Rich

Just picked this up. The Vickers was last used in British active service by the Royal Marines in 1974. The MG Platoon commander is a member of the Western Front Association and I've met him on a couple of occasions when I have taken some of my Vickers collection for display at their events. The last Army use was 1966 by the Parachute Regiment in the Radfan. It was used alongside GPMGs as, I believe a heavy support weapon with the GPMGs in the Rifle Companies. I was contacted in 2006 by a member of one of the more rural police forces in India who was after some foreign-language manuals on the Vickers that he could use to train the MG section that they still had. Apparently the four-gun platoon was used for 'riot control'! Hope that is of interest. Regards Richard