5645andym

I am sorting out my collection of bits and well known site. I came across this unusual belt, which I can not identify and wondered if, before I put on an auction site: (a) Can anyone identify it and (b) If it is rare, unusual or collectable would anyone like to make me a reasonable offer for it? The belt seems to be an assortment of 37 Ptn, 44 Ptn and 58 Ptn – the belt itself is made from a medium stiff webbing material, very like a 58 Ptn belt in feel and seems to have been dyed green, to a shade very like 58 Ptn, in manufacture. The holes set in the bottom edge are very 44 Ptn looking but the fittings are pure 37 Ptn! The belt end caps, belt loops and buckles are black anodised brass (37 Ptn again?) while the buckles for the braces look like the black anodised alloy found on later production 37 Ptn! Could this be an experimental type for trial prior to the introduction of 58 Ptn? Could it have been made post 1958 for a foreign contract for an ally who used a mix of 37 Ptn and 44 Ptn items? If anyone can let me know anything about this belt I would be grateful. If anyone would like to add it to thier collection please email me. Thanks

Old canvas, after being in store for a long time, will almost always leak like a sieve. I think it is due to the fibres drying out and shrinking, opening up gaps in the weave. Once wetted and allowed to dry the fibres retain a small amount of moisture and and swell so the weave tightens up and closes the gaps. We got our hands on some small tents last year which leaked like fury the first time out in the rain but were fine after that even in monsoon conditions. The next tent piece we got was washed down with a garden hose before we used it and it was fine in torrential rain. Next year all the tents will get a wash at the start of the year...

Would love to hear about barrel fitting please, just out of curiosity, if you have the time to post.

I was told that the reason the GSA was used with the 20 watt amp was not that the 1.2 m rod antenna on the 351 could not take the power but because there was a risk of radiation burns to the operator if the rod whipped around and touched his neck or head while on transmit. Mind you I also heard that the output from the amp could be run through a length of co-ax cable via (an already tuned) 4 watt SURF unit to the rod IF you really really had to use 20 watts while on the move . . . I never tried it but always wondered if it worked or if it burnt the SURF out?

Many thanks for the useful replies and for the tips on putting these tents up. We plan on using them for sleeping quarters for one or two persons at shows so they look like a good enough solution.

Thanks for the further info. The tents we have are identical to the one shown in the handbook above so until someone can put two with the different NSN's side by side to check it looks like there were two numbers for the one pattern. I wonder if that was purely for accounting purposes i.e. to make sure that units that needed command posts but not GP tents did not appear to have GP tents! We plan on using them for accomodation with two camp beds in each plus personal kit for which there is plenty of room. BTW they were £90 each which we thought was quite a fair price.

Thanks for the info. unfortunately there was nothing in the PDF's about these tents (although they were an interesting read). The two that we have are clearly marked as follows 8340-99-127-5554 TENT CANVAS COY CMD GD GP 7X9 PST CLN WO W78/CIC/47644 CB(CT) 24 1977 & COMMAND POST 7' X 9' 127-5554 SL32A 3437 MIL 1987 So it does look like these were intended for use as Command Posts! Re Gazzaw's comments - it makes sense that these tents would be intended for use by dismounted infantry at company level as they can, just about, be carried by one man for limited distances, can be put up in a few minutes and would provide shelter for a small comand group or a couple of signallers with manpack sets if they are sitting on the ground. But I agree that bashas would be as useful and far far lighter to carry! Since the two that we have picked up are dated 1977 & 1987 they must have been produced for at least 10 years if not more which is odd if no one ever wanted to use them - would they have been 'hijacked' for other uses perhaps as a Company Commander's personal tent for example!

We have just got our hands on two 7’ x 9’ tents for the next season and would appreciate any background info on them and their use. On is marked as a Tent, Company Command Post 7’x9’ and dated 1977 and the other is just marked Command Post 7 x 9 and dated 1987 They are ridge tents with four poles that fit into paired sleeves at each end and are 9’ wide across the door and 7’ deep to the back wall. Height is about 6’ to the ridge. My first question is did anyone ever use them as a Command Post? They seem a bit cramped as there is only just room to stand up directly under the ridge so I can’t see there being enough room for any command kit, ops table etc especially if a 9x9 were available! Also there are two guy ropes attached to each side – does anyone know if these are run out at 90 degrees to the tent or if they run at an angle fore and aft? Any info on their use or any background would be appreciated.

And the Lee Enfield is STILL in service (sort of), in the UK, with Cadet units, as the .22 in No 8 Rifle which has a modified No 4 action. . .

One further thought If you have an 8m mast kit and a 12 m mast you could push the mast up without extending the top section and the lowest section. The result would be a mast about 8m high with the centre guy attachments about 4 m high so it would be, in effect, an 8 m mast!

Not a definitive answer but here goes. . . I only ever used the 5.4 m lightweight and 8.2 m Push Up masts, not the 12 m type but I do not recall there being any excess guy left over on the 8.2 m once it was up sp probably not. For a more serious (and in depth) answer I have just bought a 12 m Racal mast and, from a separate source, a 12 m guying which looks to be for a Clark PU 12 mast for amateur radio use. As both Clark and Racal masts are the same height and have the same fixings I assume that the guying kits are the same except for minor details like the shape of the stakes etc! In my guying kit the upper guys are 14 ½ m long and the middle guys are 9 ¾ m long. Of course they will fit an 8 m mast although there will be a lot of slack to take up. With my mast I received a couple of odd Racal marked guys, still bagged and labled, which I think were for an 8 m mast (no issues there, the advert made it clear it did not have the complete kit and I ordered the full kit from the other dealer before picking the mast up). These two guys are marked as – Guy, Upper 10.75m and Guy, Middle 5.75m. Sketching on a piece of paper and assuming the guy radius is about 5 m for the 8 m mast and is 7 m for the 12 m mast the appropriate guy lengths should be : Radius middle guy upper guy 8 m mast 5m 5.5m 9.0m 12 m mast 7m 9.0m 14.0m Which fits with the measurements of the guys I have and suggests that the 10.75m upper and 5.75 middle guys are for an 8 m mast. If that is so then, no, the 8 m mast kit will not fit a 12 m mast although the 12 m mast kit will fit the 8 m mast with a lot of slack left over. The base plate & insulator are the same for both mast types as are the stakes. If you are planning on making your own guys and need more details or if you are interested in buying the 2 x middle and 2 x upper guys for the 8m mast PM me!

I went (for the first time ever) on Tuesday and the NOS late 68 Ptn trousers were still there, at least 20 pairs in size 5 and size 7. None in my size but as a consolation prize I found a pair of NOS early windproof trousers, in the 'pale' DPM, with the two cross over integral waist fastening belts. Only £15.00 NO I WILL NOT CONSIDER SELLING

If it works and you have a licence from OFCOM you can use it on amateur radio frequencies.

A Direct Current Charging Unit (DCCU) is used for charging the manpack batteries from the PRC351/2, PRC 320 & PRC 344 (and with a Slow 2 or Slow 6 charging tray the PRC 350 & PRC 349 as well). In the 24v FFR a 24 DCCU is used and in the 12v GS a 12v DCCU is used. The VHF radios are run out to the antenna through a Tuning Unit in the box under the antenna on the wing which can be fitted to both FFR & GS vehicles. The main difference between FFR & GS vehicles are that a 12v GS cannot run the 24v VRC 321/322 HF or VRC 353 VHF Radios and that the FFR has a separate battery supply from the vehicle for operating while the engine is off while the GS can only charge up batteries while the engine is running.

Short version is that a firearm is classed as "de-activated" if it can no longer discharge any shot, bullet or other missile AND that deactivation is intended to be permanent AND the firearm is incapable of being reactivated without specialist tools or skills. So in law no Certificate is actually needed but (and there is always a but) without an approved Proof House mark and the matching Certificate the police can not presume that it is de-activated and you may find that it is seised and you have to prove it is not "live" (and highly illegal). With the approved Proof House mark and the matching Cerificate the item will (under S.8 of the Firearms Amendment Act 1988) be presumed to be de-activated and so you should be ok if the police ever decide to raid your home after the neighbours phone to say they have seen guns in your living room... Best bet is to have the right paperwork and to keep it handy along with copies of the relevant bits of the Firarms Act, Guidence to Prosecutors etc!!!