ferretfixer

Early in Service, MKI's (Also with .30"'s) & MKI/II's were armed with a .303" Bren. Then later the 7.62mm LMGs,(L4A4) & finally the L7A2 (GPMG) :saluting:

The Sterling was in general, a standard issue for L/Cpl's & above. In Infantry Regt's, Most people used SLR's as thier primary weapon. The SMG was also issued to Signalers, drivers, NCO's (In general) Etc. It was a case of at least you were armed with something! Pistols were a different matter. Major's & above. RSM's were a personal choice of pistol or SMG. R.E.M.E ARV & bridging Tanks Drivers were also a strangely selected choice.Certain tasking levels for the R.M.P were also eligable . Although all arms were trained to use the Pistol, it was in MOST units a very small issue item. 6 in general. It vaired a lot, so it's difficult to pin down EXACTLY what was what! But the general rules listed above when encoutered, were true. Mike. :red:

Yes,it was a standard issue to all R.A.C units as space is always ata premuim in AFV's! :shocked:

Unbolt the Data plate, & underneath you will see a plate welded to the hull side. This IS the hull number. 23 BW is Base Workshops where this vehicle had a TOTAL overhaul & rebuild. :-)

If it was a genuine stop. it sounds like the'Officers' involved should have been done for Impersonating Police! (Wearing Uniforms) A couple of appropriate questions & a bit of common sense & Discretion should have been excercised here. That's IF it was a genuine stop & enquirey.:-X

Just as an 'Add On' information snippit for those members who may be interested, but dont know. The Army repair system goes like this in a chain of command: L.A.D = Unit Repair workshop. Get you home temporary repairs. Permanant repairs, unit inspections & routine repairs. Field Worshop = Large workshop, also deployable in times of war. A Wksp caperble of more major & difficult repairs. Major assembly replacement that spares were not held for at unit level. IE: Engines, transfer & Gearboxes, steering units Etc. This would alos cover all other equipments, Radio, Weapons, Etc. Base Workshop = Major overhauls & rebuilds, Total replacements Etc. Today, in some instances a Base Wksp can be the Civvy factory that actually manufactured a particular item. I also worked in one of these doing in Civvy Street doing refurbs & Major replacements on Small Arms. Sadly, these days, Worshops are run on a Comercial basis by SERCO (Thumbs in MANY pies!) Basicaly, a similar three tier system is ongoing. But you indent for forwarding a particula equipment with the defect & they get back to you with a job number & call the equipment forward. This pretty much has a standard price for the repair & the .M.O.D is billed accordingly. Another reason why the Services are always banging on about correct usage procedures & correct servicing. To prevent costly repairs. The usual, all about money. :red: A lot of servicing has gone out to tender contracts as they recon it's more economical?? :undecided: There is still a lot of 'Saving pennies & Wasting thousands though!!!:mad: Mike. :undecided:

Richard, From MY time in the Service, it was known as an L.A.D, with which you will know of Im sure. L.A.D = Light Aid Detachment, which is a small workshops that was attached to nearly every unit in the British Army. This may well be the Postwar Derivitive name for L.A.S? Just a practical thought....... Mike :-D

We used to say, 'If it fitted you straight off the shelf, you were deformed!' :-D

ALWAYS check out the easy fix solutions first. You dont want to simply replace the box (With all the associated hard work!) if it's a problem that can be fixed quickly & easily. You state that it's ok after it's warmed up'. This sounds like she's low on Oil. If it's been running & the oil has warmed up & is nice & 'runny'. Then it will drive the vanes in the flywheel a lot easier. With the filling plug at the 12'O'clock position. The oil level should be at the bottom of the filling hole. if it's not, the level may well be low due to leaking. You may need a new seal. If the level is low, then 'slippage' occurs & subsequent overheating of the fluid flywheel. This will damage your seal & it will leak worse! Try that, if the oil lvel is ok, & your still getting problems, check that your automatic band adjusters are functioning ok. Not the easiest job to get the insp cover off, but easier than removing the box! Cant remember what oil you use without refering to the manual. Im sure one of our members will have that info off the top of thier head! Good luck, & let us all know how you get on. Mike. :thumbsup:

how do you know they were from mars!...............................:-d

The Gear just about holds the world together in the Armed Forces! Mind you, it's only a matter of time before H&S get onto this stuff.............:embarrassed:

A load of these as shooters came on the market in the 80's. They were all ex East German Army releases. The DDR/ NVA used a lot of Ex Whermacht weapons when originally building up it's Police & Armed Forces after the War. In 'The good old days', we used to extend the barrel to 24", smooth bore out the rifling. And you could have it on production of a shotgun certificate! My, My, how things have changed! I used to have a massive collection of smoothbored MG's SMG's & Rifles like this. It was great for re-enacting. Also had some handguns with 24" barrels on, just for legalitys sake. At least they would still go bang! Ah, happy days...........................:cool2:

Rob, is that Richard Hunt? Mike

1/48th Scale is actually SMALLER that 1/35th. It works out that in kit scales, the LARGER the number. The SMALLER the model! Dont ask me why they do it like that!!!

It's not often praise is dished out guys. But you VERY soon know when something is wrong!........ There is something wrong when the Troops arent' complaining Sarnt' Major!....:cool2:

Badger is still alive & kicking! The stuart was a troop carrying variant. They made a dummy turret for it from sheet steel. I used to go to QM's quite a lot & knew most of the crew there. I picked up some amazing stuff over the years. It was amazing that they didnt know how rare some of the stuff they had was! :shocked:

Rotor Arm: Rub the edge of the brass distribution segment on the side of a tyre HARD. This will remove a lot of the corosion / build up without taking any metal away. The 'Posts' inside the dizzy cap, just scrape away the carbon build up CAREFULLY with a small screwdriver. You will find that 'Flakes' of carbon just fall off. I have done this to dozens of Ferrets in service when i worked on them to no detrimental effect. Mike.

Well, IMHO, a show is better than NO show! Well done Sir, I shall monitor progress for this show here. As Im sure a lot of other will also. There is good interest in this venue as long as it dosent' clash with other popular shows also. :tup::

Hey Al, sounds like a load of old 'Cobblers' to me.................................:-D

Who ate all the pies, who ate all the pies........................:-D

well there you go! Thats obviously a new addition to thier range! That has to be THE, only metal kit on the market! I have an RL from that supplier, the detail from such a small product is very good!

Hello Fred, A good deal of drivers did the MOD with regards to the heaters in the 70'2-80's. BUT, Ignorance was Bliss! They never really thought about Carbon Monoxide Fumes from the exhausts!! The Ferret is renowned for blowing exhaust pipes. This was a dillberate built in part of the design. The pipes were a loose fit when cold & movable. The idea was that as the engine got hot the pipes would expand & seal themselves. In practice, this was true when they had not been used a lot. BUT, after a couple of years of usage & getting hot/ cold/ hot/ cold. They would erode away sightly & the metal would also settle. This meant small leaks at the joints. So, if you think about it. Air being expelled through the rear vent & then being sucked through your 'heating' pipes. Would also suck the nasty fumes out & blow them into the fighting compartment!! :-X Health & Safety would absolutely FREAK today if you did that!! :-D DONT' do it today Ferretowners!!!!!!! :sweat:

Yeah, the rats chewing stufff dont help!....:-\

R.A.S.C had thier own cobblers then. Do you need a pair re-soleing / new horseshoes, & studding then? Mike.

Dave, if there's one thing i have learned in life. It's NEVER assume anything! :angel: Regards:Mike. :-D