ferretfixer

I guess you mean an L43? :coffee:

The L43 is UNIQUE to the Scorpion. The differences are: flash hider is held on with an external circlip with a small 'spike' in it which clips onto the outside of the flash hider & a small hole drilled shallowly into the barrel to retain it. Trigger mech is a 24v solinoid. Has a SHORT stub of a barrel retaining lever. this is retained also by a unique removeable catch assembly to prevent vibration shaking the lever loose. All the above features were done because the weapon was in a ridged mounting coaxialy. This transfered vibration to the gun in usage & parts were shaken loose. so they were designed to prevent this. I had, when I had my Scorpion. PROBABLY the only L34 (Deact) in the country at the time. Manufactured by me at the Factory where I used to make GPMGS for the company. It was the real thing! When I sold the Tank, I sold the L43 privately to another collector who also had a Scorp. Mike. :coffee:

I go to, AND have been going to many shows, for many years. I have NEVER been to, or supported a show that charges EXHIBITORS! It costs a great deal to get some types of vehicle (IE:Armour, Heavies Etc) to a show. Sometimes covering great distances. The price of Petrol is extortionate, & the cost of restoration & spares is great also. The show organisers in general, get a great many 'Heads through the gate'. This means a good finacial renumeration. Out of that, they have insurance, Toilets, sometimes rubbish clearance providers, HOPEFULLY water facilities, cost of plaques Etc TO OUTLAY FOR. A show like W&P can factor all that outgoing expense into the planning stage. They have been going for years now as we all know. Indeed, a profit made is nice, & not begrudged by all, if FAIR. All the outgoing expenses are catered & planned for. The profit is absolutely HUGE! So, in that case, WHY, if after all the points I have made as an exhibitor, should I also have to bear the brunt of PAYING along with most other people to provide an exhibit to make a show? The amount of paying visitors should make a decent enough profit for the organisers. so WHY should the exhibitors have to contribute, when basically, it is THEM that makes the show! The point has been made already; NO EXHIBITS, = NO, SHOW! :coffee:

As well as this situation, & others. It must be borne in mind that The Road Traffic Act is valid at this venue when the show is opened. This in effect means that normal policies apply. IE: Vehicle Insurance, Driving Licence & the Lawfull applications thereof. (Under 18's driving vehicles Etc). The reason that you need to fullfil these LEGAL requirements is: Although the land is privately owned. When the Place is open QOUTE: 'Where the public have access by Payment, or otherwise'. Unqoute: It becomes a 'Public Place'. And to that end all Laws apply equaly for Road vehicle usage Etc. IF, The Boy's in Blue were to Enforce the Law. This could generate resentment & possibly recomendations to insert 'Rules' that may be unacceptable to some of the attendees & thier Families. It is upto the show organisers to enforce the rules where applicable. & if they cannot do that, then the last resort is the Law. (Sadly) this would be a great shame, as the atmosphere at W&P is generally friendly & relaxed. And it should remain safe! It will only be a matter of time before somone meets with a nasty accident, or worse! Just my own Two pennies worth..................................:coffee:

The Fox carried the L37 variant. This (As ALL GPMG variants) has the same body/ reciever. (Except of course, the engraved nomencleture for each weapon is different!) this had a barrel with NO foresight assembly & the Gas plug was TOTALLY different from the gound role L7A2. It was, however adjustable. BUT, only into one of three positions. All AFV's fitted with the L37 & MBT's with the L48. ALSO carried a 'Kit' which comprised of a Wooden then later plastic Butt assembly, a Bipod Assembly, & a Ground role Barrel WITH foresight assembly & NORMAL style gas plug. this was to enable the gun to be dismounted from the vehicle's rigid mounting & 'converted' into a Ground Role weapon. Just to complicate matters, the Scorpion carried a variant specific to that vehicle ONLY, called the L43. there is NO such thing as a hardened barrel. If it were so, it would split when firing! the breech blocks are hardened. But NEVER the barrels. (in ANY smallarm) ALL GPMG variant Barrels are stellite Chrome plated internally to prevent wear. :coffee:

The 432 would DEFINATELY carry an L7A2 STANDARD infantry pattern MG. It would NOT carry a tripod as a normal C.E.S item. There is only ONE standard Barrel for this version. A spare would be carried with a Ground Gunner in a bag. In the VERY early stages of this weapons career, it DID indeed have a heavy Barrel with two flutes machined into it. It was found to be of little benifit with the extra weigh to be carried by SF gun teams. So, an ordinary Barrel was substituted as it can be changed in seconds & then reused when cooled sufficiently. Mike.:coffee:

Opps! Sorry headmaster!...........:red: LOL!

Mark, if you cant take a joke. You shouldnt have bought one!.....:rofl: Mike

How does the paper 'Know' that the vehicles (Quote) 'That normally fight the Taliban'. Have a GREEN & BLACK Cammo paint finish for deployment in Afganistan.?...............:whistle:

I agree, BUT, you have to consider the M.O.D policy of. Once an equipment is obsolete it has no Tactical value. BUT, it can still serve a usefull purpose as a training aid. IE: A hard target. The M.O.D isnt really interested in restoring or maintaining running examples of obsolete vehicles. it,s primary purpose is training for the defense of the realm. If a vehicle becomes a hard target for training purposes, then it saves making or buying in something at extra cost. In CERTAIN quarters, there are people who are mostly helpfull in saving the odd rare example of anything here & there. but in general, if it's not of Tatcal value, it's scrap. this policy has changed a bit over the past few years in that th M.O.D has realised that if you SELL, something. Then it's pennies back in the coffers rather than just casting aside & writing stuff off. in these finacially challenging times, they are only too aware that some finacial returns go back into a hard pressed system for the purchase of more modern equipments! Hence the firmly established ,changed set up at Withams! :coffee: Mike

Crane operator NOT wearing an insipid yellow high viz vest? :shocked:

I saw 'One flew over the Cuckoos Nest' last night. Does that qualify? :rofl: MIKE

More like the shipping cost on top!.......:shocked:

I have TWO for sale if anyone is interested?.............:coffee: Cant remeber if they are for narrow, or widetrack though? Mike

Wow, I used to Own 01 FD 43 a couple of numbers up from this one. Mine was a true Scorpion though. Not converted into a Sabre. I sold it to International Repo Depot (Earl Tucker) in the US. Mike. :coffee:

The rule of thumb is, Generally: Pillboxes were contructed in a set of three. That way, you had interlocking arcs of fire. And each emplacement could cover it's neighbor.:-\ Mike

I have Adolf Hitlers other Goolie.....Honest Guv, of course it's genuine! Do you think the German Auctioneers would be interested?.....:rofl:

Nice pics! Blimey look at the size of thier Berets!!! :shocked: the last time I saw ones like that, they were called 2000 Ltr Water Tanks, Or cupola covers!!! :rofl: Mike

The other major drawback for the pack How, is, if you read the handbook (I have one) you may only tow it for 20 Miles MAXIMUM! (Stated clearly in the book) Why, I have no idea, I would have thought that the wheel bearings were up to the job of further milage! The Handbook shows how they were afixed to the flatbed of Bedford RL trucks for conveying to thier respective firing points. A lot were Choppered about, slung under Helicoptors. Very quick & efficient deployment method. (Unless you were getting shot at!) lovely gun, but with the limited milage, a major drawback I would have thought! Mike. :coffee:

I was at a local TA unit the other day, talking to a friend that is attached there. This a R.E.M.E workshops unit. I was informed that I should note the registration numbers of thier vehicles,as they were ALL going to be disposed of soon. The reason for this is, these vehicles are VERY low mileage & have seen little use! They are Bedford MJ's, BUT, I know Witham already have access to large stocks of War reserve already. They had the New replacement trailers there for the Wolf. This replaces the Sankey widetrack, which also is going to be entirely removed from service & replaced with this trailer. Whithams already have thousands of the sankeys, so many that the bad ones are being scrapped. usefull for spares IF you can nogotiate a sensible price from Sutherington! :coffee: Mike.

BEFORE this cold start device can be used. You MUST insert an aliuminium container inside the main housing. This contains Ether & aids starting in VERY cold conditions. I remember seeing them six on a card in Service. Apart from contacting anybody serving in the MT at the present time. I dont know where you could obtain them. The device will NOT work without one of these containers. :coffee: Mike

There is a 'Certain location' in London. Underneath a 'Particular Park', That I am NOT going to mention for security reasons! That has a VERY large underground complex of tunnels. in these tunnels, were kept the War Reserve stock of rifles for the London district area. There were hundreds of thousands of them, all kept 5 in a Box piled high on one side of the tunnels. i do not know if this is still the case, but i would imagine that it IS! :-\ As an aside, when the L85A1 came in to Service (SA80). thousands of L1A1 SLR Rifles were released onto the market.(Along with thier Bayonets) I have NEVER seen an Ex-British Army Sterling SMG (L2A3). All out there on the De-Act Circuit, are either Ex new Zealand. Or, Comercial versions sold to other Nations who have released them. The British version had a Modification which I can spot 15 feet away! NONE of ANY of the other versions in ANY other country had this Mod. I am FIRMLY of the opinion that MANY Ex Brit ones were refurbished & gone into preservation & War reserve stock. This is possibly why NONE have OFFICIALY been seen on the circuit for sale. This would also explain the scarcity of the No.5 Bayonets on the Market, & the resulting HIGH prices that they fetch! :coffee: MIKE.

Definately! Mike (Armourer)

I met one of these girls. she had two heads twelve, arms, & fifteen legs.....:-D