AlienFTM

You can instantly rule out the first model Clansman radio bonedome with the velcro pull-out adjusters. The velcro lost its stick after about ten minutes and thereafter the two earpieces clamped themselves onto your head, leading to a dependency on painkillers.

Late spring about 1979. 15/19H got Clansman and would be guarding a river crossing over the Weser in the FTX in the autumn. Nobody knew how these newfangled sets would perform, so Command Troop decided to send out three Land Rovers and a Gazelle to set up and test comms over the distances involved. We got up at early o'clock and the three FFRs set off. It was a marvellous warm sunny day. Dave P was commanding Zulu 9er (the CO's rover, but the CO wasn't in it, hence the Zulu prefix), I was commanding Zulu 9A (the 2IC's rover, ditto) and Micky B was commanding Zulu 39er (empty C Sqn Leader's rover). The Regimental Signals Officer, Captain Web-Belt would fly into the area by Gazelle after the FFRs had trekked across to the exercise area. My driver was a young lad called Smudge (so you'll know he was Tpr Smith). He didn't like driving, so as well as manning the radio, I drove. I didn't mind driving at all, but I'd have preferred a Ferret. We got about halfway out to the area. Z9 when off in another direction. Micky B pulled up in Z39 in a village and we agreed to RV there on the way back, so we could take the scenic route (past a pub or two) back home. As we got ever closer to the Weser, it turned out that Smudge wasn't too hot at map reading either so there I was driving, headset on, map on the steering wheel. We were actually going to a slip way where the engineers would be putting in a bridge. Up went the 8m mast, we did everything we wanted and we headed back. RVed with Z39. Micky said, "Pick a frequency. We can monitor our net and have a chatter net to ourselves." I chose 48MHz exactly. NObody would choose an exact Megahertz boundary for an operational net, would they? We each tuned our second 353 to 48MHz and did a radio check. "Hello Zulu 39er this is Zulu 9 Alpha radio check over." "Zulu 39er ok over." "Zulu 9 Alpha okay out." End of. Then I let Smudge drive us home. All we had to do was follow Micky. Not long after setting off, the B set squawked. "Hello Tango 24 this is Tango 23 over." Now I had been callsign 24 in an RAC regiment (who used Tango as their primary arm indicator) so I sat up. Third Troop (B Sqn, hence 23) kept trying to get through to Fourth Troop, to no avail. The Control Signaller in me was pleased that T23 was doing everything so correctly, so I answered up to brighten his day. To yet another plaintive "Hello Tango 24 this is Tango 23 over" I replied, "Tango 24 send over." "Tango 23 where have you BEEN? I have trying to get you for ages." "Yes I know," I said to Smudge with a smile ... "errr Tango 24 I have been having transmit problems. All sorted now. Over" I began to get this feeling I was getting in over my head. "Tango 23," he went on with a sigh, but pleased that somebody was talking to him (the net was otherwise totally silent as I'd expected: for a combat team command net it was far. far too quiet), "Is Molar at your location? Over" "If only you but knew. Of course your SMQS is not with me. Why would he be?" Molar might have been the QM, but context suggested SQMS. Into the mike I replied. "Tango 24 no. Not seen over." At about this point I think Tango 23 was beginning to wonder when Tango 24 had acquired an operator with a Pitmatic accent and he started to get suspicious. "Tango 23 roger. Send LocStat over" Now I didn't have his codes and signals instructions cos I didn't really belong on his net, so I couldn't give him my Location State. Standard reply, "Tango 24 wait out." End of conversation until I got back to him. At this point Micky B clicked that it wasn't just Smudge and me having a conversation over the net. His driver lit up his tyres as he brought Z39 to a halt. We pulled up behind them. Micky ran back and stuck his head in my window. "WTF are you two up to?" "I set out to brighten a lonely RAC operator's day, but he is beyond help." "Pick another frequency." "60MHz. Surely we can't be unlucky and find another working net, on a 10Mhz boundary?" We retuned, radio checked and set off again. At this point a Gazelle flew overhead, quite low. Concerned that this was Captain Web-Belt out loooking for us, Mick had his driver turn up a tree-covered lane. At the end of it we found a pub. Parked up, swift half and enjoy the journey home. ---ooo0ooo--- July 1978, Ex Summer Sales, a CPX, Command Post eXercise in which command posts from battlegroup (regiment / battalion) HQ right up to Corps played a war for real while combat team (Company / Squadron, etc) HQs input fictitious data without real troops on the ground. Because the Squadron Forward HQs - FHQs - were only feeding data into the system, they didn't deploy the whole FHQ and set up in a wood, just a single FFR with a driver and an officer. At BGHQ, right at the bottom of the working stack, a CPX tended to be quiet unless we were actively involved, and so it was this particular morning. I was sat in a comfy folding chair next to the RSM's Ferret, 95 (his normal driver was away so I got volunteered - after all there was no need for the rebro Ferrets 98 and 98A so I had nothing better to do) having just finished breakfast, listening to the 3 Armd Div Command Net up and the BG Command Net down to the two notional Medium Recce Squadrons, B and C (A Sqn was Close Recce and detached to BGs). A voice squawked, evidently on the BG Command Net. "I'm a happy teddy bear." A reply came back, "I'm a happy teddy bear too." "Hello unknown stations this is 3. Stop acting up on the net. Out." Now it wasn't C Sqn Signals Sergeant's place (Hesh's voice was easily-enough recognised) to be bollicking people on the BG net, that was the right of the operator on stag in RHQ, ie us. But he was keen and a year or so later he was to take over as Regimental Signals Sergeant. But nobody said anything to him. Until ... If you have ever heard the voice of a combat unit's Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Officer on the net, you'll know that his voice is unmistakeable. The Colonel's unmistakeable voice came up on net. "OOooOOh he isn't a happy teddy bear, is he?" Oh how we all larfed. Well it WAS a CPX and we were all so bo-o-ored. It was probably about this time that Big Lou (the RSM) shouted, "Trooper Alien, I'll have a cup of coffee. And make sure you purify it." So after I'd made us a brew, I got his bottle of Famous Grouse (aka "Bird") out of the applique side bin and purified our drinks. It could be so civilised at war. As somebody's signature block states on Arrse, "The purpose of cavalry in wartime is to bring style and panache to what would otherwise be just an ugly brawl."

Beginning of The Eagle Has Landed. Michael Caine chins an SS officer who is abusing Jews heading for a death camp. In the background is a Stug 3 on a flat. Possibly not right for this layout, but change the Stug for a Sherman or whatever. In HO/OO it doesn't really matter whether a crowd between two trains is Jewish victims or Cockernee nippers being evacuated to Wales.

Typical example of the adage that it's easier to get forgiveness than permission.

No worries. I misinterpreted your first post as suggesting all 07FFs were Striker.

Exactly such a device existed to allow Scorpion to "fire" its 76 (courtesy of the linked .22) on an FMR when they were in service. Far too long ago to remember any details, but I do remember the IG (Instructor, Gunnery) sat on the turret roof would indicate to the commander what target he wanted to engage and while the commander went through the drills, the IG would adjust the .22 for range, because, being offset from the 76, if it were mounted coaxially, it would hit halfway up the FMR wall, so it was recalibrated for every action. Also allowed the IG to deliberately introduce error to, for example, force the gunner to "aim off for wind" and of course movement when engaging a mover. Actually, as a gunner, it could be quite amusing ... A bit more detail. Movers were black rubber blocks (as were all the targets) dragged around like a ski lift, usually on a triangular course so that you could engage a mover going straight across your arc, diagonally or straight toward. Reverse the motion of the ski lift and the reciprocal engagements were available. It was definitely a no-no to engage the mover as it went under a pylon, cos the .22 round might hit metal and ricochet. ... sorry. As a gunner. it could be quite amusing when the mover changed direction and the IG scuttled about on the roof of the turret right above your head amending the aim-off for the new direction of travel. FMR work wasn't something we got to do all that often and first couple of times, the IG had to remember which way to adjust.

... but we were still firing Three Oh from our Three Ohs on our Command Troop Ferrets and Saracens as late as 1982. Not that I doubt that the Three Oh was rechambered for 7.62, you understand. In fact I did know. Just we didn't get them during my time.

Whilst not daring to question your superior knowledge ...okay maybe I am. Are you absolutely certain that 07FFxx was exclusively Striker? My memory has it that the Spartan I was lent by our Surveillance Troop in 1981 was 07FFxx. A Scorpion and its commander both went BLR the same day. The Scorpion was to be Scorpoled the following week so it wasn't going to get a new major assy - engine, gearbox, final drive - I forget which had gone. The commander was medevaced and as designated spare commander, I stepped up. Surveillance Troop did not play that week, so I was given one of their Spartans. Only needed two to crew a Spartan so we didn't get a reinforcement, but that meant our section was some 16% under strength and made carrying out recce tasks quite exhausting. At that time we (the RAC Armoured Recce Regiments) were taking our GW support from the RA (in the case of 15/19H BG, J (Sidi Rezegh) Bty 3RHA - see the Bovy Striker), having relinquished organic GW support after the Otterburn firing of July 1976. We got it back some years later. Or a meringue?

Our UNFICYP Ferrets were gloss white. Well I remember having to paint mine for the medal parade at Nicosia Airport (and spilling the black while I was touching up the registration plate, leading to a late start in the NAAFI bar the night before the parade).

I have seen another thread with this name. If it wasn't on HMVF, it must have been on ARRSE. Drifted off into some weird stuff including IIRC ZB298. But lots of descriptions of Claribel as used in NI, especially some of the big sangars in Belfast.

Between 1976 and 1982 I only ever saw one 15/19H vehicle bearing a name, A Squadron's Saracen ACV in Tidworth (76-77) bore the name GARFORTH VC for Cherles Ernest Garforth, 15H: http://www.nottinghamshire-victoria-cross-memorial.org.uk/Garforth.html I understand that in the mid-80s the practice of naming vehicles became fashionable (maybe because 15/19H were by now on tanks not CVR(T) and in UKLF not BAOR, where the colour scheme was decidedly minimalist due to the ongoing Cold War).

Unless your name is MacAuslan (GMF's dirtiest soldier in the world). They find themselves going out on a night exercise in the desert and it all goes horribly wrong ... until MacAuslan announces that those two stars up there are Gasper and Bollux. turns out that he has been listening to the padre rambling on about the night sky and some of it has stuck. Surprise, surprise, MacAuslan saves the day.

That's KV2 in Romans, he meant. KV = Klimenti Voroshilov. In German books you'll see them listed as KW2, cos Voroshilov becomes Woroshilow, just as JS2 becomes IS2 depending on the language.

I dunno about the part longest in use, but in the RAC it was generally considered that the longest part name for its size was: Rack catch plunger release catch cam Apparently a 1/4" metal dowel, vital to the working of the Chieftain gun.

Stop me if I have told you this one before. (Out on VCPs in either West Tyrone (probably) or Fermanagh (possibly)). Cast: 24A: Troop Sergeant 4 Tp B Sqn (Terry, a Corporal) 24: Troop Leader ditto (Ralphy, a Staff Sergeant) Me: a New in Green Trooper fresh out of Catterick. Hello 24A this is 24 PUFO over. 24A wait out. How Terry, have we got any signals instructions? wtf do you want signals instructions for? I've received a codeword. wtf! We've never ever had a codeword on the whole tour. Well it sounded like a codeword: a word that doesn't exactly fit in context: a single word with no obvious meaning. Even if I knew what the codeword meant, I'd need to authenticate the transmission even if I did recognise Ralphy's voice on the other end. So what was the codeword then? PUFO. Okay lads, let's pack up and flit off (something like that anyway: mustn't swear in front of civvies).

Only if the station master had the bottle to stand up in court and admit what a James Hunt he was being.

You are worried about earthquakes and volcanoes and the end of the world? Do NOT read this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Extinction-Ray-Hammond/dp/0330485962/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299847249&sr=1-1 Set 50 years in the future, it could be perceived to be coming true without Man interfering with the weather.

It all gives me a warm feeling. Problem is that by the time I get to the Cold War bit that most floats my boat as it brings back the memories, the feet are tired. I like looking at the GW vehicles and guessing which one has been next to suddenly acquire a GW Troop 15/19H sticker. I blame an old buddy of mine who spent a lot of his career in GW Troop 15/19H and now works at the museum, but he has never admitted to it. I also get a particularly warm feeling when I see the cut-down Ferret instruction module. Don't know why, but for much of my time, I crewed Ferrets. Best ride I ever had.

About ten years ago three sergeant instructors in the Light Infantry came to the aid of a whole train. Pull up a sandbag ... Sunderland AFC were playing Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park that night. That morning, a goods train had derailed near Eastleigh and there were no trains between Southampton (my home) and Eastleigh. I drove to work in Winchester as usual and in the afternoon I parked up at Winchester station and caught the train up. (Actually I caught the train down when a member of staff pointed out that the down train would stop at Eastleigh and come back as the next up train that I was waiting for anyway.) I did the football and got back to Clapham Junction to catch a down train to Winchester. All the trains were still being diverted at Woking and taking the scenic route through West Sussex and the less scenic bit through Portsmouth to Southampton. It would have been fine (if slow) if I hadn't parked the car at Winchester. Eventually I got the last train to Winchester. I was surprised to find I wasn't the only Mackem on the train and chatted to these three LI sergeant instructors (they'd have been DLI if they'd served before 1968 when they took the backlash of Mad Mitch's whingeing that the Argylles couldn't be disbanded right after their exploits in Aden) from the Light Division Depot at Flowerdown (newly built in the 80s to replace Peninsula Barracks and now I believe the Infantry Training Centre) next door to Worthy Down, the depot whence I had transferred to the reserve in 1989, who had also been at the game. The train pulled into Basingstoke and the station announcer told us the train would terminate here and we could all get off and await buses. The buses would apparently be coming from Woking, that we hadn't long passed through. The station master had decided he had had enough for today and had closed the line on his own whim. We stood in the dark outside the station and waited ... and waited (in the middle of the night). After an hour, there was no sign of buses from Woking and our train was still sat there. I went for a recce and found the three sergeants giving the station master an interview without coffee or biscuits, up against his office wall. Apparently the train crew were still there and not happy that a couple of hundred passengers had just been dumped from their train. Suddenly the PA fired up and we were invited to continue our journey by train. It seems our three LI heroes had explained to the station master the virtues of common sense. I wasn't the only one to compliment them on their negotiating skills.

Obviously a commissar (note the red star). Don't let the Germans catch him. For those in Wolverhampton: Kipper tie? Yes please. Two sugars.

My uncle, a quiet, unassuming man, took to the grave the secret that his war involved driving his Bofors tractor up three D-Day invasion beaches in Sicily, Italy and Normandy. He was in 25 LAA Regt.

There was a lot of debate in the 70s and 80s about how much might be sent in clear. In 1976 the rule on the contact report was to send the enemy's grid in clear because if they were listening in and the grid was sent in code, they would glean an opening into today's codes. Then the early 80s it swapped on its head: combat codes are effectively one-time codes anyway, so there was little to learn by having a single grid reference, but if you sent their grid in clear, they'd know they were about to get the good news. There was an unwritten 30 Minute rule. If the information would be useless in 30 minutes, the information might be sent in clear. But you'd have to justify yourself to the Regimental Signals Sergeant, who'd come down on you with the weight of the Regimental Signals Officer and the Adjutant. (And the adjutant's appointment indicator wasn't Seagull for nothing: the sh** comes from above.)

Ditto. The fix was simple. Log out, try to log back in again and go through the "I forgot my password" procedure. Then, when invited to enter a new password, enter the old one.

From 1975. Though tbh I always preferred the term "Rover", but this could be confusing because the CO (and OCs) had an armoured rover which may technically not have been a Land Rover. In an Armd Recce Regt the OrBat gave the CO and OCs a Ferret as a rover, but the OCs took the SSMs' Land Rovers and the CO took the RSM's Land Rover and swapped. RSM and SSMs felt hard done by after a long career (normally longer than the OCs and at least as long as the CO) but rank had its privileges. This was universal in the Armoured Corps and I'll be surprised if it didn't also happen in the infantry and non-combat arms. I understand they all get Panthers now (in theory and in the RAC at least).

For a few years I played in a Medal of Honor / Call of Duty clan. I tried to instruct them in voice procedure but it went over their heads in the heat of battle. We used Teamspeak, but istr there was also Roger Wilco or something which claimed, as someone has hinted, at adding noise to the signal for authenticity. Load something like this onto a server, post the details here and we could have an hour's radio net chatter. Bags I instituting a fire mission. I went to a Light Dragoons Regimental Association weekend a couple of years ago, took great delight in the Command Troop display and listened intently to the radio traffic coming through the speakers. It was only when Zero asked Charlie Charlie for the third time whether anyone had seen Zero Bravo who seemed to have gone missing that I realised it was on a loop.