ferretfixer

Neil, A common paractice with MOST units in the field, with centralised catering. Must have been a standard instruction from the ACCs training school! Nothing got wasted in the Field, food wise. suplemented with 20% fresh rations (Veg) it was quiet palitable as I remember.............. I shudder to think of some of the things that quite possibly MAY have gone into 'All in'. But it never did us any harm I guess?.................:0

Id quite forgotten aboutb the blue plastic salt dispensers! VERY usefull, even for shows today. Keeps the salt nice & dry if you add half a dozen grains of DRY rice into them. (Absorbs any moisture that MAY get in & prevent the salt clogging into lumps!)

It wouldnt be the same, it's not in Tins!.......................Lol! Ah.....Nostalgia, it isnt what it used to be!.......................

As for the side effect of compo- it was said that a week or more on compo bunged you up for a week afterwards - and then the world fell out of your back side!! Neil, Bottom fallen out of your world, then take Alka-Seltza, & let the World fall out of your Bottom!........

You always knew when the compo was Old & Out of date. You still found AZTEC sweetie bars in them! (Appologies to the younger members of the forum who werent born in the seventies!...)

Draws, Cellular I was issued three pairs of these as standard issue when I joined in the late seventies! NEARLY everyone who was issued them, almost ALL never wore them!!!!!!! I mean, who would be seen dead wearing a pair of these?........... We found them to be exceptionaly good for cleaning window glass on Bull nights!.............

You have to bear in mind, that in those days. When you 'got into the Mess' (Warrant Officers & Sergeants) things got a lot easier for you. LOTs of evening 'Do's' & Regimental Dinners. Coupled with the fact that a lot of SNCOs did not do BFTs (basic fitness tests) on an annual basis. As the Snco who was ticking off the names of the qualifiying personel who ran in over the line in the specified time. Might WELL have done 'some' snco's a 'Favour' by entering thier name on the list & ticking it off!..... IE: YOU have passed this years annual qualification SGT so & so. Wink Wink! & to that end, the old waistline swelled a bit, & trousers in BIGGER sizes were on issue. It was not uncommon for a real Fat Bas.....er Large bloke. Who shall we say, excelled at Bugling for his Regiment. & won LOTs of bugling competions, & brought honour to his Regiment. To 'Pass' his fitness tests each year without even running at all!!!! I have observed some VERY large & Portly chaps in some regiments when I served. (It is NOT common these days, in the fitness & leaness mad Army that exists now) So the manufacturing of very large sizes today is rare & is a special order bassis for whatever reason may exist. Also, think of the cost saving in NOT having a lot of large sized clothing on the shelves that will probably never get issued!

Andy, Wellcome aboard! took you long enough Mate!...... Mike (Tankie from Milsurps)

Armed Forces Town Centre Display On 30th June it is Armed Forces Day in Ashford (Kent) Town centre. This is being Organised by The Royal British Legion & will be an Important & Prodigious Event. There is Media coverage of this Occasion from the Local Paper & also TV. There will be many stands on show including: The Legion (Obviously!) The Ghurka Veterans, British Army, Cadets, Help 4 Hero's, The Kohima Band from 3 PWRR, The Air Cadets Band, The Riders Branch of the RBL, & MANY More besides! We would VERY much like some Ex Military Vehicles for static display to support this Hig Profile event please. The vehicle size needed would be approx of the following classes: Jeep, Ferret, Dingo, Bedford MW, Champ, Etc. Or ANYTHING of that approx size. Trucks would be a little on the big size & take up too much car space allocated. About half a dozen examples across the board would be perfect! If YOU would like to support this event & have a great day out. Please either PM me with what you are able to offer. Or contact me with your phone contact number . We NEED to know As soon as possible numbers & vehicles available. so we are able to bid for space for you all. Thank you VERY Much for your kind cooperation in Advance. Mike.

More his n' hers vehicles then Mark? LOL I was told once that the R.A.F fitted an overdrive as standard to a lot of thier lightweights. I dont know how true that is. But I saw one once, & the O/Drive was a lever on the SIDE of the gearbox to engage it. Nice looking vehilces there!

NOT for Ferret as far as I know. I have NEVER even seen this item before in service. I worked on a Lot of Ferrets in the Army, & consider myself fairly well aquainted with all Ferret related equipment. using Logic, the Ferret is really cramped enough as it is when full laden in the Combat role. Adding equipment such as this, would not be practical, Or indeed fit on/in the vehicle's stowage facilities with all the other C.E.S & Personal gear on board! Sorry, but I dont think it is for a Ferret.

No Tony, the clue is in the WORDS, 'SIDE', & 'SIDE PANELS' Mate! They are visible in one of the photo's..........:rolleyes:

Question: I have always wondered what the approx 4" dia holes are on each side the the side panels are for on rapier trailers. There are Two to each side. Doe's anyone know what their purpose is at all? Just curious!..................:wow:

Alien, It was to do with Ballistic range differencials. The L37 had a Three position Gas Regulator. The L43 had a FIXED version. That adjusted itself with heat expansion. The L43 had a REMOVABLE Flash hider held in place with a thin circlip. It LOOKED almost identical to the L7A2 LMG Ground role variant. but was DIFFERENT.

Rob, With all that scafold pole turning. You will end up with Arm Muscles like Whatney's Beer Barrels Mate!.....

ILLEGAL at this moment in time!!!! However.........It's in the pipeline to Pass Deact Barrels at London in the future (DONT know when!) Birmingham has already done it & opened the door. Only a matter of time I guess?............. Brens have been done already & ZB26's. Once London fall in line, ANY Barrel can in THEORY be passed when deactivated to Spec & then Certified. Trying to get a definative answer from the london Proof master is like trying to get Petrol Tax reduced by the Goverment!...:mad:

Sincere Condolences Mate!.............:angel:

Got caught out myself on the old forwarding the clock an hour. Completely forgot to do it before I went to bed & should have changed ALL the clocks in the house. Got up the next day to attand a Militaria Fair in a local village hall. I had been donated a stall for My British Legion Wares. Thought I would attend a Car Bootfair as it's right on my Doorstep, so to speak, first. Got to the Bootfair & though to myself, 'There's an Awful LOT of people here for 7am in the Morning!' looked around, bought some Military items & went on to my venue approx 8am. Got to the hall & saw that it was full up & all stalls laid out. 'Blimey'! i thought, 'They got up at the crack of dawn, why?' Then the organiser asked me If I had forgotten to put my clocks forward an hour.............. Red face & 'Bugger' was the word of the Morning!..........

Yes, this is the Correct shape of flash hider that you need. Note, NO foresite Block, which is CORRECT for a turret mounted/Internaly Mounted GPMG Variant. Notice also, that the gas regulator know is a different shape to the Ground role (LMG) variant. it is ALSO fitted with a Buffer Housing, rather than a Butt assembly used in the ground role. As I Mentioned previously.

TOTALY WRONG shape Flash hider for the variant you need Im afraid. It SHOULD have a 'Cone' Shaped version for the L37, which was what was utilised in the Ferret & Fox.

BUFFER HOUSING: Is the Unit that replaces the Butt assembly on a 'Normal' LMG class GPMG. It is also used when the Gun is mounted on the L4A1 Buffered Tripod in the sustained fire role. Carried in the C2 Sight case when not in use in the infantry role. When fitted to AFV Mounted variants, the buffer housing is used on the follwing: L37, L48, L43, L8A1, Ect.

The Gpmg used in a ferret is an L37 if fitted in the rotating Turret. (No Butt & short Buffer housing) A MKI Or MKI/2 fitted with the extrernal mounts will take the standard L7A2 Infantry Ground role variant. Any problems or queeries, PM me.

It should Really be' Fuity' then!...........

Try Bob Flemming of Flemming associates (I am NOT connected to this dealer)

use metal polish, & take it off when dry with a soft natural bristle brush. (Avoids scratching) It will get into EVERY nook & cranny, & remove the polish. If you dont want the brass to go dull, Clear LAQUER them afterwards. Taking care NOT to have touched the polished surfaces & have left a fingerprint. Excellent way of doing Brass shellcases on the shelf, & avoids contstant weekly polishing!.........