ferretfixer

I know EXACTLY where this one is! :-\ What a horrible & prentceious looking gun! These were marketed by Sterling for the Arab prince side of the market. They seem to like a lot of Gold things over there! :cool2: They were aimed at the Arab Royal BodyGuard side of the Market. If you do some research, you will sometimes see goldplated AK47's also used by Bodyguards. Check out the bayonet. I mentioned these in a previous post. Brit N0.5 has wood grips. Sterling COMERCIAL sales has Metal SLR versions.....:coffee:

The British army variant is the L34A1. It was NEVER issued with a wooden foregrip. The fore grip was marketed by Sterling as the 'Comercial' version. IE: ANY other end user EXCEPT the British Army. It is simply an accessory & is held onto the silencer jacket by a steel band & a retaining screw through the bottom of the grip. In actual fact, it provides more comfortable handhold on the Weapon in usage! THE REASON FOR FITTING IS THAT WITH PROLONGED USE, THE SILENCER CASING HEATS UP RAPIDLY! The Armys usage discouraged that sort of shooting. It was for tactical purposes. IE: Taking out sentrys Etc, so the user would not need to fire many rounds on a patrol. To that end, it was removed as another item that may endure damage & subsequent loss anyway & keep the smooth lines of the weapon for possible concealment.......:cool2: So, for export sales to foriegn nations military, & all of the Semi-Auto only versions. A wood grip was fitted. If you wish to remove this accessory, it is a simple matter. It then looks similar to a Brit army version.....:coffee:

Yes there is that point to it. BUT, the RB44 is a lot heavier, & going at speed & having to pull up quick nearly caused quite a few accidents im told! If they are a heavier & higher, well you can see the potential outcome im sure. As I say, a great shame, they are a nice looking vehicle. I cant state for sure, but didnt the GPO use a variant of these? If that is the case, perhaps looking into thier brake setup/ axle layout MAY be worth checking?

I belive the main problem was brakes. They would not pull up in a straight line when braking hard. There was a mod, but the problem persisted. Design fault at manufacture.They were cast from Service. Nice looking vehicle, but I would consider the safety angle. Mike (Ferretfixer)

Is anyone going to the Merton Lane Vintage Show at Canterbury this weekend? We will be there with the Ferrets & and a few other vehicles from our Unit. Come & say Hi & have a Chinwag. :-D Mike.:yay:

As per your statement above. Didnt you know. They arent' there to represent the wishes of the votors. No, No, No, we are here to keep them in a Job!..........:-D

Cultural & language difficulties. Perhaps they meant, 'where's the Bank Madam'?...........................:rofl:

Yes, I bought mine direct from Withams. You need to go & look yourself. You just would not belive how many they have! AS far as you can see into the distance, left & right. 3/4 Ton trailers with rear load doors! AVOID the Hydraulic ones if you can. The mechancical op version is simpiler & easy to maintain. In conversation with fellow SNCO R.E.M.E Mecahnics, they say there is NO difference in towing performance! The mechanical brakers are more reliable = less to go wrong! I have found the build quality of the widetracks absolute crap compared to the earlier narrowtrack variants. BUT, If you do one up & keep it maintained paintwise, they are a very usefull & most useable tool! The rear tailgate makes loading heavy akward loads a LOT easier! :-D shame the narrow tracks never had this feature. They were done like that to be amphibious. Though in practice, I never saw a trailer being 'sailed' accross any Rivers, ESPECIALY the fast flowing Rhine!!:shake:

Yeah, but no challenging hills there!...................:-D

I would have loved to have seen you get your former D.U.K.W up School Hill!.....................:rofl:

I worked with the Ghurkas on a few occasisons during my Service time. A more friendly, helpfull, honest, loyal bunch, you couldnt find anywhere else! Now as one of my 'Activities' as Branch Chairman of the British Legion. I have contact with a large proportion of the Ghurka community. My branch is one of THE most successfull in the country for bringing a postive conclusion to welfare cases. We handle a lot of Ghurka members cases. I for one, have a soft spot for these Kind, Fine & Proud people who upon occasions, put 'Citizens' of this country to shame! I am not getting Political, But (Fact) look at the Abdul Hamza situation. It makes a mockery of our system of so-called-fairness!!:argh: A known/ alledged preacher of Hate & violence towards our Nation & Values. Against Chaps who have put themselves on the line many times for a country which was originally not thier own. I know who I would rather have as a Neighbor! :iloveyou: RANT OVER! :-D Mike...... :coffee:

Hope he's not going to 'Greet' them with the Pistol!!! :shocked:

Yes, A Very Happy Birthday 'Bill Shakespeare'.........FROM: We few, We Happy few, we Band of Brothers!....... :yay:

Dont tell me, Corrine was Driving the Bike!!.... :rofl:

They DEFINATELY exist. I have a couple. I also served from 1974 to 1985. & only saw ONE in the begining of my service. They guy who had it would NOT sell it to me for any price! I really coveted that pouch, as I was a VM at the time. And as explained in an earlier thread, the inconvinience of carrying '58 around to vehicle to work on them in the field when broken down was a right pain. A belt with a twin mag pouch & the SMG alone would have been ideal. BUT, they were never about (Not even in surplus stores whilst on leave!) I have a suspicion that they were made for 'The Regiment' as the susspension loops at the rear are same as an S.A.S belt rig set of pouches. PERHAPS Neil can confirm this? :cool2: These days, these pouches are of a 'Collectable' status. (When you can find one!) :coffee:

When I restored mine. I cleaned all the crud from everything, stripped it to componant parts. And cleaned everything to bare metal. red oxide primeer & spary with deep bronze Green paint. Re-assemble & refit. the way the Tutrret now rotates is a joy to opperate! :yay: As Andy points out. Do NOT grease the ring or outside of the bearing wheels. it WILL attract Dirt & Muck. :nono:

A most interesting tale! I have never heard of that at all. It would NEVER have worked out anyway. The pure logistics level alone would have crippled keeping different weapons alongside 'Standard' issue items. There is always a Honeymoon period of changeover with any equipment. OP Granby was a typical example of that. Eventually, the spares situation would have rendered SLR's & SMG's redundant. When the Military buys in a new equipment. It also gets a 'spares package' for the next ten years (Approx) & adjusts the indent need as appropriate. Also, as you clearly state, the training problem of familiarity with equipment would have caused chaos! :argh: As the Services trim thier stores & outgoings to a minimum for cost level. The extra items deemed 'Not Standard Issue', would have been pulled sooner rather than later. And now with the Lovely Health & Safety executive 'Police' crawling over everything imaginable. They would have added to the weight of an argumant against keeping extra weapons/ equipment. :-( I know personally of a particular Civilian staff member at Donnington Stores Depot. Who, after trawling through weeks of NSN's to see what had not 'Moved' for a long time. Was then tasked with removing NSN numbered equipment for disposal/ distruction. seeing a number which had had no movement for MANY years (To be fair) saw it was a Weapon item & obviously as it had not been indented for. Was not needed. :nono: It was an L8 rifle. The original Troop Trials Rifles of a 7.62mm conversion of the old No.4 lee Enfield.(Two Hundered & fifty of them!) the trials were not a success & the weapons were returned & put into storage. Can you imagine the revenue that COULD have been recouped by the legal sale of the Rifles to the Shooting & collecting comunity? :shocked: All went for distruction & were cut up! :argh: Also seen Brand new out of the Wrapping SMG's being Guillotined for scrap in the workshop next door. Civvys were refurbishing old ones to new spec. It kept the staff in employment you see........:coffee: The old maxim, 'Saving Pennies & wasting thousands really did apply here! :??? Very sad indeed...........:-(

One on Ebay at over £300.......:sweat:

Yes I can understand the mess & cleaning aspect. :sweat: I was in the Met Police after I first left the Army. I was stationed at Norbury just up from Croydon. I had to 'Liase' a couple of times with the British Transport Police over suicides & accidents at the Station next to our copshop. We were invariably the first on the scene to see if 'First Aid' could be administered. But the usual routine was to secure the area for evidential purposes. I can attest that a Train can make a right mess of a Human Being! :-( There is something very saddening i think, when someone feels there is no place to go or no one to talk to in the depths of dispair. And they feel they have no option but to take thier own life. :-( The other side of the coin is. Some people think it also very selfish. Some poor Soul has to clean all that mess up to prevent the Public from being upset at all the 'Damage'! :argh: Keep up the good work. :yay:

No probs, These are ideal for a crew belt kit in an AFV. A couple of mags with an SMG is adequte for self defence in a Hurry! Much easier also when working on a vehicle. you dont have all the inconvienience of a full set of 58' with the associated weight & bulk getting in the way! These are a decendant of the '44 patt Webbing. they were identical but in the lighter shade of green web for the Sten. The '58 patt is identical but in the Dark green web & obviously dated with Postwar dates. :coffee:

yes there was. I have a couple of MInt unissued ones. One of them is THE original sealed pattern that ALL others were quality controlled from! NO, they are NOT for sale! :nono:

Does' that mean, one hand on the wheel & the other holding an SA80?.. :cool2:

So the 'New Boy' gets a hose & a Bass Broom then? :-( Not a nice job, I can empathise!........:coffee:

Mean looking machine! Is the green covered item a Milan Weapon station? What primary purpose is this vehicle? Load carrier, Infantry trans. Will there be an add on package kit for different roles? I assume this is for Afganistan only? Unless there is a an cover kit to go with it to protect troops / Equipment from rain? 58Mph Eh, I hope there is a load of shakeproof washers on all fixings!!! Thanks for sharing pics, Nice.

Does that mean, that after three kills you get a free Teaset. Like Green shield stamps gifts!.......................:rofl: