schliesser92

The two batteries of 29 Commando Light Regt RA were deployed in the Falklands. Initially not required (naval gunfire was used), they were heavily involved in the final battles near Port Stanley. I would imagine that they had their MT with them, or were choppered in as required. We had too few helicopters then, so moving the guns would have been by MT as the choppers had more urgent requirements. After the Argies surrendered, I would assume that we made use of their MT. They had a fair bit of kit on the islands.

Yes. Due to the vagueries of radio communication (climatic conditions, terrain etc) it may be necessary to put a relay station in somewhere. This is known in "steam radio" (I was radio-relay) circles as RADIO REBROADCAST. Additionally, in a command role, it may be necessary to maintain two separate radio nets. It all depends on the structure and role of the unit concerned.

When I was with 3 Div Signals,(1971-74), we were an airportable unit based in Carter Barracks, Bulford. At the time of 3 Div's reformation as an armoured division , I was with 1 Ard Div in Verden/Aller. Benbecula IS a UK posting. It was my first posting (632 Signal Troop) after completing trade training. It used to have detachments to St Kilda, which was, in a way, quite interesting. I put in my notice after 12, when they wanted me to go back to NI for two years. For safety reasons (my wife comes from Belfast) I declined and told them where they could shove it.

UK/PRC-353, UK/VRC-321 are the most common.

With 3 Div, in the airportable role the Aircon-B containers were fitted with running gear and towed to South Cerney/RAF Lynham - maybe that's why we had the plates fitted.

The only time I ever saw Abbots "in action" was in Catterick in 1971. They fired a 41-gun salute for the Queen's Birthday (the real one, in April).

I certainly didn't see chevrons, and I left BAOR in 1978, and the Army in 1980. In 3 Div Signals, we had the "Long Vehicle" plates fitted.(1971-74). It seems to be daft to paint the vehicles so as they can't be seen, and then put hi-viz kit on them so they can be seen! As far as I know, there are no excemtions for military vehicles as regards road safety and H&S. There was a thing in BAOR in the late 70s, whereby the old cross-country tyres on the Bedford RLs were withdrawn and replaced by more modern tyres after a fatal accident involving German civvies.

I remember seeing one of these at Catterick (the Fire Station is near the roundabout), in the late 60s/early 70s.

When they changed from Rubber to Nylon baton rounds, the newer ones tended to score where they hit the ground (these marks were rough and sharp!). there was an increase of republican women coming into hospital with internal injuries! Thereafter we found more spent rounds lying around after a riot.

There used to be rumours in NI in the early 1970s, especially amongst sympathisers to a particular republican grouping, that we used to hollow out the baton rounds, insert a pair of U2 batteries, and then double-charge them! I've never, ever, heard of this happening - apart from being dangerous, it messes up the ballistics! There was, however, the habit of firing the things at head-height against alleyway walls, so that they bounced all over the place - instead of firing them at the ground. I won't point any fingers at anyone, but I did see it happen once. Additionally, we hardly ever found spent rounds after a riot. Remembering that we had internment without trial at the time, we used to find them under the pillows of wives of detainees during house searches!

This example is in the helicopter museum in Bückeberg (Germany). I'm not sure if it's a restored original or a reproduction.

It was indeed a target tug. Several were used in the anti-aircraft range at Todendorf, replacing Hawker Sea Fury TT60 and TT61 in service until the late 1960s. One of them, at least, was seen with a small turbojet mounted above the fuselage to give extra power. I'm not sure how successful that was.

Wasn't this the engine from the Bristol Sycamore ? The only aero-engine I know fitted to a car was the Merlin. The "Beast" as it was known was last seen in a field in France.

I'm surprised that they haven't been converted into "Jeepneys" , the ubiquitous Philippines taxis!

The equipment used for sweeping radio frequencies (mainly the radio-control band and the codes used) was known as LILLIPUT and was operated by R Signals operators. I don't have any pics or detailed info - as it was extremely highly classified back then.

maybe he was watching the newsreels backwards! Or maybe he was confused by our propaganda, turning a retreat/evacuation into a sort of triumph. (which, of course, it was!)

I suppose several countries probably tried them out. I suspect that the unnamed benefactor was probably the UAE - quite a few arab countries had some of these vehicles. Incidentally, the Gendarmerie National has a nicely preserved AML-245 with H60-7 turret (the original version) somewhere.

I can't remember them in use by these countries, although Portugal did have (and still has some preserved) Panhard EBR-ETT in its inventory. That was the APC version of the EBR-75 armoured car - the one with two driving positions and the steel wheels in the middle that were dropped down to enhance cross-country capability.

That's the M3 APC, built on the same chassis. I think that the Irish Army were the only European users of this type. (I don't think that the French used them - only the AML)

Trust me to forget the Eland! Actually, Mark, they were a licence build (to overcome the UN arms embargo, which the French, as usual, ignored!), with eventually some updates and improvements. The AML/M3 series was widely exported to the Middle East and Africa, especially to Francophone countries.

Panhard AML-245, which appeared in the following guises - H60-7 turret (60mm BL mortar + 2x 7.62mm MG) H60-12 turret (60mm BL mortar + 12.7mm HMG) H60-20 turret (60mm BL mortar + 20mm DTAT cannon) HS30 turret (30mm Hispano-Suiza cannon) NA2 turret (Nord Aviation ATGW turret for various missiles) F90F1 turret (somewhat larger with a 90mm main gun) There was also an air-defence version with 2x30mm cannon. Later the BL mortar was deleted from the H60-20 version and it became known as the AML20. Some were fitted with ENTAC ATGW mounted on the rear of the turret. The chassis was also the basis for the Panhard M3 APCs.

That was probably Marchwood, and the LST an LSL. I did a North Sea crossing from Marchwood to Rendsburg (Germany) in the LSL Sir Lancelot in a Force 8 gale (1973) . Never again!

They're generally used as emergency tenders. I've only seen some used as "pumps" in Austria. They don't have a tank, they just pump directly from a hydrant.(Known as a "TSF")

Back in 1967 , whilst living in Gloucester, I visited the museum at Staverton. They had a couple of Mossies there that were used in "633 Squadron". I was given to understand that only 3 flying Mossies were used, the rest being non-flyable or replicas. Whatever happened to the Staverton collection?

have you tried one of the ANZAC sites? I remember seeing pics of one used by the New Zealanders , who used quite a few. All I have is a "decal" illustration for a construction kit. Roger