Enfield1940

"One evening as an LDV, some German soldiers I did see, they ran like hell, but they couldn't catch me...":D

I think that's a P1914 as it has a butt disc and I think I can just make out the end of the volley site dial bolt - neither of which were found on the M1917. The 'LDV' armbands must make it a fairly early picture.

Home Guard weapons varied over time. At the very beginning it was mostly civilian firearms such as shotguns and hunting rifles. The first service weapons to be generally issued were .303 Enfield Pattern 1914 rifles from reserves followed by lend lease US .30-06 Model 1917 rifles. (Sometimes designated the 'P17' in British service) The US rifles had red bands painted around them to denote they didn't take standard .303 ammunition. As the war progressed, the Home Guard started to get more up to date weapons such as the Sten SMG. Of course, by this time the realistic chance of a German invasion had passed. Oh, and Noel Coward penned a satirical tune on the Home Guard called 'Would you please oblige us with a Bren gun?' Many years later, it was performed by the Dad's Army cast for a Christmas special.

The early-ish DPM sniper smock I got at Beltring last year was a bit dusty and smelly. I put it in the washing machine on the wool cycle + with some handwash detergent and it came out clean and unfaded.

The MkIII type rearsight was probably either fitted when assembled as the manufacturer using up leftover earlier spec parts, or it was fitted in a post-manufacture rebuild at some point. I'd probably go with the latter as it's 1917 dated. Has the windage adjustable part been pinned in place? My 1913 Enfield MkIII has a pinned windage adjustable rearsight.

If we're benchmarking current P1960 smock prices... a friend of mine paid £40 for a near mint Size 3 last year from a dealer at Detling. However, I got a faded but solid Size 5 earlier in the year for £15. I'm hoping to acquire a DPM P1960 smock at some point. I spotted one at Stoneleigh on Sunday, but sadly someone else was already wearing it... (And it was too small for them as well... grumble... mutter...)

Apart from tropical / jungle areas where you may have been issued latter production '44 Pattern webbing. E.g. Borneo. Both '44 Pattern and '58 Pattern were concurrent until the introduction of PLCE.

Interesting coincidence: I took delivery of a 'MW&S Ltd 1974' marked pouch yesterday. It had been poorly listed on eBay and I got it for £20 all in along with various PLCE items. Annoyingly the left hand tab won't do up.

A friend of mine recently picked up one of these for me at the Chatham militaria fair for a fiver. Will shortly be added to my P1960 smock.

There's also a correct way to attach the sling::-) http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?60499-How-do-you-attach-this-sling

The 1914 Pattern leather slings were a temporary expedient at the beginning of WWI to increase production. The webbing sling was first issued in 1901 and was issued before, during and after WWI. Lots of info here: http://www.karkeeweb.com/patterns/no_pattern/weapons/slings.html Original WWI dated webbing slings are scarce and expensive. Unlike the WWII version they are usually marked on the brass ends rather than on the webbing. Any khaki sling without prominent post-WWI markings would be a perfectly good stand in.

I wonder if anyone could identify the unit marking on the back of this WWII British officer haversack I've just acquired? I believe the 'A tp.' marking means 'A Troop', but what about the '10-1' marking? 10th Regiment, 1st Battalion? And what is the significance of the 2 yellow bands on the sides of the RA flash? Thanks, Mark

It appears to be plain vanilla Gurkha Kukri. Not AFAIK ever a standard issue RAF item, although possibly a member of the RAF stationed in a tropical area might have acquired one?

Quick question: when was the design of temperate DPM finalised and was it part of the development of the 1968 Pattern clothing or a separate project? Thanks, Mark

A quick Google suggests there's a demand for them in USAnia, so l'd suggest listing it on eBay appropriately. Probably also worth calculating the shipping price in advance as well.

Czech VZ-52 semi-automatic rifle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vz._52_rifle As to why there'd be a spare one at a UK car boot sale..?

Not 100% certain, but it looks like a WWII German 7.92x57mm training/drill round to me: http://www.ima-usa.com/mg-34-rare-model-s-7-92-x-57-mm-training-cartridge-german-ww2.html

Thanks. I've never seen a picture of the rear of one before, so that's my knowledge increased by 50%.

Scroll down to post 7 on this page: http://iacmc.forumotion.com/t5308-90-pattern-plce-olive There's no shortage of the DPM ones for sale, but I've yet to get a sniff of an olive one.

I'd like to add one of these to my PLCE collection, but other than the one in the 'Modern British Webbing Equipment' book and one picture I've found on the web they seem to be non-existent. Were they a trials item or something?:confused:

Circa £40-70 depending on condition and whether it has a British P1907/P1913 scabbard or a US M1917 scabbard. Any pictures?

You could do a lot worse than invest in a copy of 'The Lee-Enfield' by Ian Skennerton - it's pretty much the bible on Lee-Enfields. http://www.skennerton.com/rifles.html You might also want to use Militaria 2012 as an opportunity to see in the flesh what is typically for sale (good and bad...) before looking to purchase at Beltring in July where the biggest quantity of dealers are likely to be.

Sounds like the DPM print on my James Smith made P1968 smock. I managed to get a matching hood for it off eBay, although that wasn't James Smith made.

The post-1916 model is the MkIII* - where the long range 'volley' sights and the magazine cut-off have been deleted to speed production. (And various other smaller details) Do LOTS of reading on the subject before you part with your hard earned. A lot of the 'WWI dated' SMLE's on the deact market have been recently assembled from parts and merely happen to have a WWI dated receiver. Having said that, the majority of WWI SMLE's will have been rebuilt to some extent after the war. I'm afraid it's not as simple as pointing you at a specific dealer or two. You need to read up and then look at lots of guns to find ones that are relatively original.

I'd like to get a postwar 'made in white' P37 belt, brace and brace attachment. I already have a white P37 holster and pistol ammunition pouch - both MECo made and 1950's dated IIRC.