AlienFTM

During the late 70s - early 80s in BAOR, it seemed like every exercise a German civvy would pile into the back of a Chieftain whenever we were on exercise. In my experience they were usually at night and usually Merc drivers who thought they were bigger than anything else on the road. As a battlegrop Control Signaller, I was forever picking up Noduff* messages on the air about them. *Noduff: orig "No DF". A signalling term used on exercise to indicate that the following is a non-exercise (typically emergency) message with automatic priority and not to be used by opposing forces to direction-find their enemy. Classic: Exercise Spearpoint (1980) was to be the biggest deployment of armour since WW2 (three UK Armd Divs, plus 2 (US) Armored Div ("Hell on Wheels") to be deployed as rfts by Operation Reforger, deploying direct from bases in Texas by airlift. The exercise was so big that the whole of 3 Armd Div (whose role was entirely separate from the rest of BAOR and therefore not pertinent to the exercise) deployed as umpires. In order to ensure we umpires were on the ball from Day 1, we deployed a week early on Exercise Javelin, in which we dry-ran the entire exercise and dealt with all the potential problems. For instance even the new Clansman radios didn't give enough channels to allow sole use of all the required channels by a single net and where possible, conflicting nets on the same channel were deployed at opposite ends of the exercise area to prevent contention. One day, an umpire came up on the exercise command net with a Noduff message, reporting that he had seen a helicopter go down at a given grid location. Everything swung into action like clockwork. Then messages started going back up the line that nobody could find the crash site (German civvy ambulances were all over the area) and nobody else in the area could confirm having seen the helicopter go down. The whole thing dragged on forever. Eventually the GOC came on the air (you know when a half Colonel or above comes on the air: his presence is like that of Death, his voice sounding like coffin lids opening and closing (Terry Pratchett), he has a certain air about him). GOC was not at all happy. His exercise had ground to a halt due to outside forces which nobody could even find. The originator (himself a half Colonel) was told to verify the grid he'd given. When he did, GOC told him that he was standing at that location and there was no sign of a downed helicopter and the half Colonel might consider resigning his commission and why did he think this was the right location? "Because my Pink (exercise instruction sheet) says it happened and I was to send a Noduff message." Moral of the story: when you are sending a pretend Noduff, prefix it with the exercise name. What a glorious waste of a hot summer day.

I never knew that. When I did CVR(T) D&M training in 1976, I was told that the neutral turn was a "feature" (in the computer industry we call an undocumented feature a bug. Conversely, a properly-documented bug can be sold as a feature. But that's another story) of the Merritt-Brown gearbox design (or was it Merritt-Wilson - or was that a final drive design?) that went all the way back to the Great War and nobody could work out why: it just did. And the Merritt-Brown system was universal in all tanks. Of course, this word of mouth could be entirely flawed, urban myth, popular misconception or whatever. I suppose since the 432 wasn't a tank, technically my instructor wasn't wrong in this case. Did the 430 series have an unusual gearbox design then?

Is it me or does the chassis look extremely similar to that of a 25pdr?

Incredibly enough this same discussion is going on on the Army Rumour Service RAC forum (http://www.arrse.co.uk). An impeccable source (my best man, subsequently RSM of the Light Dragoons) assures me that in the Spring of 76 a Fox and a Scorpion were clandestinely brought into our camp in Omagh in ISO containers in order that 15/19H could carry out gunnery conversion from Chieftain to 30mm (Fox / Scimitar) and 76mm (Scorpion), since 15/19H had gone to Omagh from Fallingbostel as armour, but left Omagh as Recce. Drivers returned to the mainland to be retrained. This left the troop short of drivers and the sprog me, with a Group A car licence, to drive a section Landrover or a Mark 2 Ferret with no training other than "The gear change sequence is different: select the gear, hit the GCP(gear change pedal) and release: the gearbox will do everything else." With absolutely no concept of a preselective gearbox, it took a lot of getting used to.

I transferred out of the cavalry after seven years on Ferrets and CVR(T)s. At my new unit everybody had a hearing test and it transpired that I was 80% deaf in my right ear at high frequencies. A couple of years later, the test came around again and all was well. I have put this down to the following. Clansman (which we were issued about halfway through my time) allowed you to work on one set in the left ear and monitor another set in the right ear. With live I/C (no press to talk) selected (which was usually the case) the I/C also came through the right ear. On the move, the flow of air over the boom mike created a whistle, transmitted through the harness on the I/C to the right ear. ISTR live I/C was available on Larkspur, but I suspect it required an RSB2 Radio Systems Box, 2 set at the heart of the harness to provide the necessary Clansman-like facilities on a Larkspur harness, and wasn't available on the simple J2, two set junction box. When the Recce Regiments were due to get CVR(T) and the Army was due to get Clansman, Procurement told them they had to choose: the budget didn't stretch to both. So we got Scorpions in the Recce Regts in the early 70s and the Army didn't get Clansman until the end of the decade. Hence the hybrid harness on CVR(T) prior to the issue of Clansman. I believe that the whistle over live I/C is what caused my temporary semi-deafness and evidently it was reversible ("Pardon???"), even though during that posting I spent my exercise time manning the MRG radio on account of my RAC Control Signaller skills, and even though I had taken a pay cut to transfer and forsake the ConSig qualification (which grated). Because in the MRG we never used the radio on the move, even though it was inherently noisy HF, it didn't disturb my ears. If you DO go down the route of fitting a military radio, IMO you might want to consider an HF radio so that if I am right you ought to be able to tune in to medium wave broadcasts. In Cyprus in 76-77, the Force Reserve Squadron command net was VHF, but we being a Recce Regt, squadron command nets were HF and only half of the vehicles had a VHF "A" set (SR C42) with an I/C circuit. Section second vehicles had a short-range B47 for their VHF "B" set, which did not have an I/C circuit. So we had to equip half of our UNFICYP Ferrets with with an HF C13 "A" set to provide I/C and a B47 for comms. Since the C13 had to be switched on to provide I/C, crews tuned them to Voice of Peace (the Eastern Mediterranean's answer to Radio Caroline) and set the harness to monitor A and work I/C. Of course these days there are very few stations on MW and civilian VHF does not overlap the military band, so you may not have a lot of choice. And anyway, anybody whose radio skills are more current than mine might very well tell you I am talking rowlocks.

I don't know whether it's ever been done, but so long as the sight is zeroed, I don't see why it couldn't. That would mean that your mod could be argued as an unauthorised but not unrealistic field modification just like sticking a matchstick in the sear of an SLR to get full automatic. With iron sights it would involve firing a grouping, deriving the Mean Point of Impact, adjusting and repeating until the group MPI coincides with the aiming point (hopefully you can fire a tight-enough group consistently enough to achieve this. As cavalry (and as Regimental and Corps shooting team) I never used anything other than iron sights and Mark 1 Eyeball with small arms, but have a vision of boresighting the weapon like you would a 76mm. It isn't practical to fire five rounds of, say 76mm PRAC, derive a MPI, adjust sight and repeat until correct so this is what happened (with Scorpion). Insert a boresight into the barrel (there was a boresight for the 76 and another for the coax, but we only ever boresighted the 76). Have the gunner lay the gun onto an aiming mark at 600m. This tells the gunner where the sight is pointing. The commander looks through an eyepiece on the boresight which tells him where the gun is pointing and gives corrections to the gunner, who adjusts the sight. The gunner breaks the lay (aims off) and repeats the procedure until commander is happy that gun and sight coincide at 600m. The commander then rotates the boresight through 180 degrees about the gun's axis and repeats the whole process. This eliminates any theoretical distorting in either the gun barrel or the boresight: in practice there ought to be none and the gun is now pointing where the sight is. When this has been done, the gunner breaks the lay and this time the commander steers the gunner onto the aiming mark remotely like The Golden Shot ("Traverse very steady left ... ON. Elevate ... ON" and so on). When this is finished, the gunner ought to find the sight is pointing where the gun (and boresight) is. Boresighting complete, the weapon is ready to fire. There is a backup method. Boresights were on an issue scale of one per troop, carried by the Troop Sergeant (to whom it was issued). What happens if you are on ops and not with the Troop Sergeant? (Maybe his vehicle has been destroyed, the boresight is U/S or the troop has been split into sections.) If you look at the muzzle of a 76 (or a 120) you'll find four engraved lines in the end of the muzzle arranged in a cross. Secure two threads tightly across the muzzle and where they cross is the centre of the barrel along the axis. By removing the firing pin and looking down the barrel, it is possible to boresight the gun as before, though not as accurately as using a boresight. A 76 is what, maybe maybe something in excess of 6 feet long from breech to muzzle and I reckon it would be hard work focusing on both the thread 6 feet away and the aiming point 600m away. I shudder to imagine doing that with a 120. Maybe it's possible to boresight the weapon you describe? Maybe it's easier to fire groups. If you are zeroing, always remember to fire five warmers into the bank to bring the barrel up to temperature before starting, otherwise the change in barrel temperature will adversely affect the zeroing process by changing the flight path of rounds going downrange. It occurs to me that these days somebody could build a boresight with a laser light and adjust the sight to the laser beam. Not unreasonable since they make laser target indicators like that anyway.

lol In 1976 whilst conversion training to the Recce role, we always enjoyed driving from Tidworth to Stonehenge and parking up in a corner of the public car park in Scorpions (B Sqn) and Foxes (A Sqn), having a brew then swapping drivers and returning. The public ("the young ladies") also looked pleased to see us too. I don't think you can do that now as the area has been made tourist-friendly (and CVR(T) unfriendly ;o) .

http://www.ifbt.co.uk/sahagun.htm ... After what seemed like weeks of marching and counter-marching both Baird's and Moore's forces concentrated at Mayorga on December 20th and the following morning the first of Paget's two fine cavalry actions was fought. An enemy force of light cavalry, acting as a screen for the main French army, lay at Sahagun, just a tempting nine miles beyond the British piquets. The prospect of a daring surprise attack on the French cavalry was enough to warm the blood of many a freezing British trooper and long before dawn on the morning of December 21st Paget was in the saddle along with the 10th and 15th Hussars bound for Sahagun. The French cavalry commander, Debelle, had neglected to post any vedettes other than a guard on the main road. The guard was quickly surrounded and taken before it realised what was happening although one French trooper did manage to escape and rode hell for leather back to Sahagun to raise the alarm. Within minutes the place was a hive of activity as trumpets stirred the shivering French troopers into life. Paget immediately ordered General Slade to charge into the town with the 10th Hussars while he himself took the 15th Hussars and dashed round to the rear of the place in order to sever the French cavalry's escape route. Without waiting for the 10th Hussars, who had yet to appear, Paget formed his own troopers and with a cheer charged straight into the town. The two French regiments, the 8th Dragoons and 1st Provisional Chasseurs, were still in the act of forming and the sudden appearance of Paget's sabre-wielding troopers had an unsettling effect on them. Debelle had twice as many men as Paget but this counted for nothing as the 15th Hussars crashed into the chasseurs, hurling them backwards and causing the dragoons to turn and run. The British hussars quickly warmed to their task and hacked and hewed their way through the enemy ranks to leave thirteen officers - including two lieutenant colonels - and 157 men killed, wounded or taken prisoners at a cost to themselves of just fourteen casualties. ---ooo0ooo--- This action was immortalised as the Regimental Day of 15th Hussars and continued as such after the 1922 amalgamation through the lifespan of 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars and the 1992 amalgamation of 15/19H and 13/18H to become the Light Dragoons. There'll be a few sore heads in the LD today. ;o)

In the days of the Fizzy (FS1E) and the Bloop (B100P), they were mopeds by vitue of being under 50cc and having pedals (not that the pedals were a reasonable method of propulsion: they just got the vehicle into the moped bracket). That's why they changed the rules. A moped was all that was available to a 16-year-old. At 17 they could ride anything up to 250cc (and they were getting rather powerful. In Germany, bikes were insurance-rated on their horse power, so the engines in bikes exported there from Japan were less powerful than those exported to the UK. Thus my Yamaha XS20 put out the same power as the German equivalent XS400, which surprised an awful lot of Germans when I left them at the lights. Of course my ex-Para insurance broker didn't want to listen when I tried to correct him over the BHP of my UK-spec bike). Again, that's why they changed the rules.

Yes they did blacken the badge. It was common practice in all units. There were a number of RMP reinforcements on my NIRTT (Northern Ireland Reinforcement Training Team) course. Last day was spent on patrol in Belfast with a unit. The section commander was required to confirm that the reinforcement was fit to serve in NI; failure meant you'd be unfit to serve and probably returned to the mainland. RMPs attached to units for this test were given given blue berets to disguise the fact that they were RMP. As cavalry attached to Marines, I wasn't given a green beret. Note that camouflage chevrons were not yet on issue in 1976 (must have arrived very soon thereafter) and normal chevrons were all that was available): see previous pic. If worn at all on a combat jacket, they were often blacked out (presumably with black ink). I do recall the Lcpl in my troop who blacked has brand new stripe out with blue ink. As cavalry we had stripes on brassards to wear over overalls, but they could also be worn over combats. These would be useful in NI as you could entirely remove these aids to target ID. The Para Lcpl in the pic has done neither of these things, but then, being Para, he'd be wearing the maroon beret deliberately to let PIRA know they were in town and he'd be immortal. Maybe he hadn't yet learned the trick of disguising his stripe, or again he was (is?) immortal.

That is news to me. Did it happen after 1982 when I left? Like I said, I had never seen it done before, only been taught the principle.

... and it would make a good talking point at a display if anybody noticed. ;o)

IIRC the "field" that the helicopter would have landed on (and the Storch did land on) was in fact a substantial slope, which would have trashed any helicopter past or present and was the only thing which allowed the Storch to take off, as heavily laden as it was with literally a ski jump take off downhill. But I could be wrong - working from memory here.

I agree that shirt sleeve order was rare in NI. If somebody says it was stopped, I'll go along with that that. Note that when it was hot, we tended to wear Combat Jacket with nothing underneath: surprisingly cool. The 1984 pattern Combat Jacket (off topic I know) didn't even have a lining except over the shoulders: it was cool. If you are doing Para, it absolutely has to be a Denison. However, we NEVER ever wore combat trousers in my time except when on Guard. Including in NI to 1976. Lightweights only. That said, we weren't in West Belfast so the threat of petrol bombs etc was much less. Then again, I was attached to 42 Commando in West Belfast in Feb - March 76 and I don't remember wearing combats there either. You may be able to get hold of Trousers OG. Not significally different from Lightweights, but they had a wierd crossover built-in belt that buckled at the sides and IIRC had map pockets on BOTH thighs. Slightly fuller cut too IIRC. The material was slightly thicker than on Lightweights. It was always my understanding that they were designed for Paras. We were issued them in Cyprus with UNFICYP in 76-77 to give us more "lightweights" so we could have some on, some clean and some in the Dhobi. Also the GS shirt didn't come into service until very late (they were ready in the mid-80s but legend had it that the QMG refused to issue them until all KF shirts had been issued and returned. Because of issues with the KF shirt, as far as possible they were issued new for Basic Training and handed in hardly used at Transfer to the Reserve). I had never seen a GS Shirt when I left in 89. We were issued with something similar, possibly a Shirt OG to go with the Trousers OG in Cyprus. We didn't have to return the shirts at EOT and they were worn to destruction back in BAOR in preference to KF.

Second one when it's warm enough; third one when it isn't. Paras won't wear anything but beret unless they absolutely have to. And even then ... And inside a Pig ... Even in the cavalry, we never wore a helmet unless we had to (like they built the radio harness into the bonedome). The helmet has only become fashionable again in recent years because they are issuing ballistic helmets instead of steel.

I remember being told on my (76mm) Gunner Course how, during the recent Middle East war (must have been 1973) the Israelis had captured a lot of T62s - T62 being the then current Soviet MBT in Tank Regiments. They had offered one up the British Government who gladly accepted. The T62 was studied to death until everything about it was known, then they took it to a tank range to see how it stood up to a 120mm. I presume they fired at the front of the T62 since, as I subsequently learned, being an AFV Recognition instructor, we couldn't rely on non-frontal recognition features, because they'd always be coming towards us ... Anyway, one round down from a Chieftain and the T62 ... split in half. Big morale boost for the RAC: one hit, one kill, guaranteed.

Anyone ever seen the kinetic rope found on CVR(T) in action? It was elastic. The idea was to get the recovering vehicle as close to the bogged one as possible then race away. The kinetic rope tensed until it overcame the resistance of the bogged vehicle, which promptly popped out. That was the theory: never saw it in action cos we were professionals and didn't get bogged. Saw one or two rolled vehicles though. ;o)

As a trainee MP in 1975 I had to wear bleached white gaiters (Anklets if you prefer). Horrible things. After telling them where to stick them, taking discharge then re-enlisting in the cavalry as originally planned, I was issued with (IIRC) Puttees, Man's, 4", Short. Four inches wide and about four turns round the ankle over the top of the DMS Boot - depending on the thickness of your ankle, obviously. The tie was maybe 3/4" wide and went round the ankle another four times or so, then folded through 90 degrees and wrapped round itself where the tie met the main part of the puttee to secure it. The puttee was wrapped round the back, inside, front, outside of each leg - opposite directions on either ankle - with the triangular end to the main puttee finishing on the outside, facing backwards. ISTR that the line of stitching just inside the triangular end of the puttee was supposed to line up with something - must have been the stitching outside the laces on the DMS Boot. Gaiters were a real pain. I had the impression that contemporary puttees were a Royal Armoured Corps thing because of the dangers of wearing buckles in an A vehicle that might catch during an emergency exit, but I could be wrong (having read this thread). In NI, it was normal to be issued NI Patrol Boots, like DMS but higher, obviating the need for puttees. I arrived on my Omagh tour too late to be issued with NI boots (and gloves - which grated - something similar was issued a few years later as combat gloves) so I wore DMS and puttees. There were also jungle boots, like DMS but with more-breathable uppers and IIRC high-legged like NI Boots. In places like Cyprus it wasn't unusual to have DMS boots extended by a local cobbler by a couple of inches at very low cost, but since the boots only ever lasted me six months, I never saw the value. Such boots were tolerated in the field, in which case puttees were not required, but officially, DMS were the boots and puttees were worn as appropriate (not with No. 1, No. 2 or Barrack Dress). I acquired a pair of sheepskin-lined ex-Bundewehr Panzerstiefel (think Jackboots) for wear in my Ferret - nice and warm, thank you. My commander wore Helicopter Pilot Boots, very comfortable. Many of us bought US boots from a PX but their boots are typically much narrower than ours and I simply couldn't wear them. In Cyprus, I visited the cobbler in search of the ultimate motorcycle boots and noticed that he had samples of a DMS boot clone with extended ankles and a zip up the inside. Puttees became obsolete when Boots, Combat, High were introduced about 1983. On my Class 3 Scorpion Gunnery course at Catterick, 1976 was a COH from the Life Guards undergoing 76mm conversion training. I was drawn to his wierd and wonderful boots. He told me the LG were trialling a new combat boot. It had been in development for seven years and there was as yet no sign of their coming into service. When we lost more casualties to trench foot in the Falklands than to enemy fire, the DMS Boot was quickly sunset and after 14 years' development, Boots, CH were rushed into service. Disastrously. The tough ankle material could ruin your Achilles tendon. (I used to break in a new pair of DMS - every 6 months - by running 3 miles in them. Sorted. First time I was issued combat boots I ran three miles in them to break them in and I still have the scar tissue around the achilles tendons. And the boots were still tough as new boots.) The tongue and uppers were sealed to waterproof the boot. It also meant that unlike previous boots, the uppers didn't meet at the lace holes. They looked ramshackle from the front. The shape of the boot was such that the traditional straight laces didn't work (so Ghurkas couldn't tell you from Japs in the dark and slit your throat) and a wierd and wonderful lacing-up pattern was devised and announced in a Defence Council Instruction to ease the pressure on the front of the ankle. Those of us who overtightened the upper leg were unknowingly exposing ourselves to the risk of life-long shin splints as a result. (I was lucky - by then I was in a shiny-arsed role so didn't stress my legs.) The leather was so waterproof that you still got trench foot even in the dry, when the sweat from your feet couldn't escape. The sole was glued to the leather. But if you were pulling your boots off, it was easy to pull the sole off. Cue long queues for replacement boots until another DCI came out telling us how to pull our boots off. By the time I left in 89, Boots, Combat, Mark 2 were apparently being issued to the combat arms. I never saw them.

You don't own a Pig by any chance? ;o)

On-road, off-road - what's the difference in a Saracen? My first ever experience of driving a military vehicle (if you exclude the RMP motorcycle trials before I tole the RMP where they could stick their truncheons) was a few days after I arrived in Omagh on an IS tour. The drivers all having swanned off to Tidworth on conversion training to CVR(T) for our upcoming new recce role, there was a shortage in our troop. Having a Group A pre-existing my joining the Army, I was qualified to drive a Ferret (B licence) from Day 1, so one evening we took out the troop's Saracen (a rare occurrence) and I was to follow in a Ferret. We drove past an RUC station with an oil-drum and speed-ramp chicane in front of it to slow the traffic down. The Saracen in front went through flat out and having 6 wheels, it didn't there was no discernable effect on the vehicle's body. I kept my foot down in the Ferret, but became aware of an ever-increasing whine which I simply couldn't place. Then I realised that my commander had worked out that I was going to take the same line and speed through the chicane. The whining stopped when I hit the first speed ramp, to be replaced by a dull thud when we landed, other side of the chicane. That said, I do remember in 1977 as Squadron Leader's driver parking in a leaguer near Lulworth Ranges behind one of the ACVs. Couldn't help but notice that the Can sank much deeper into the mud than the Scorpions all around.

You could try Douglas Bader's documented stunt as recorded in Reach For The Sky (that is his official biography isn't it? Or have I got entirely the wrong book? Well it is early o'clock on a winter Monday morning yer knar.) I am sure we all know that having lost his right lag above the knee and his left leg below the knee, he was told he'd never walk without a stick, to which he replied that he'd never walk with a stick, then he had his local garage swap the accelerator and clutch on his MG so that he had a little throttle control with his left leg and could thump the clutch with his right. And when the mechanic delivered the modified car to him, his hair was white after trying to control this beast. Anyway, Bader had no intention of paying road tax and drove for years with the label off a Guiness bottle on the windscreen and nobody ever noticed. Course the problem lies in finding the old pattern Guiness label that went out in the 70s IIRC. The one that was a similar colour to the tax disc in the picture. That said, how tight was Bader, the only pilot ever on a 100% disability pension and 100% fighter pilot pay?

Pleased to report that as senior engineer at one of the biggest gold mining complexes in South America in the 1960s, my father (and I) went everywhere in a civilian Willys Jeep, ragtop. Battleship grey, VRN: FGM 41 (FGM = Frontino Gold Mines). It looked a lot better than this monstrosity.

In 1976 I arrived in NI as a reinforcement with a Group A licence pre-Army. As all the drivers were in Tidworth retraining on CVR(T) (the NI tour was a line between the regiment's old armoured role and its new recce role), I found myself volunteered to drive a Ferret (Mark 2) on the strength of my A licence. To this day, Ferret has been the best ride of my life, and I mean that most sincerely, folks. Wear warm gloves and socks in winter though.

My lasting memory of that timeline is IIRC one morning in late February Parliament were debating the need to replace Polaris weapon systems with Trident. We lay in bed listening to a report on BFBS radio. I think it was Lord Carrington who banged his fist on the desk (metaphorically) and demanded to know how, without a credible nuclear capability, we could stop any tinpot dictator invading one of our dependencies. Looking at the timeline, it is clear he had the Falklands in mind. It is sad to think that today we couldn't mobilise such a task force and we would have to turn Buenos Aries into a slag-covered smoking hole.

19th November 1942. My brother was born.