1980s Ferret CES

[Peter4456]

My Ferret 2/3, 03 CC 42, served with 16th / 5th Lancers in 1983 /84.

 

I know they feature in the CES, but did Ferrets of the early to mid eighties actually carry a No 1 Mk 5 Flare Pistol and two ancient looking Thermos flasks?!

 

Also, when did the ANR (yellow faced) Clansman boxes begin to be fitted in Ferrets? I'd like to fit them but only if they were used at that time.

 

Over to you guys!

 

Peter

[john fox]

ANR stuff no way - far too recent for 1980's (Ferret would never have had ANR as its's more like early 00's kit). After all Clansman itself had only effectively been rolled out to all by early 1980's

 

flasks - on the cusp, crews also did their own thing

Edited June 25, 2009 by john fox

[REME 245]

I think the flasks went a long time ago.

 

I never saw them being in the LAD but I understand that the RWY still had Flare Pistols in their Armoury in to the 1990's. They were however never issued.

[AlienFTM]

In 1980 I commanded a Mark 1 Rebro in an Armd Recce Regt. We normally drove the Ferrets to the exercise area, but I do remember entraining, probably for Ex Spearpoint / Crusader 80 (actually the prologue, Ex Javelin) at Paderborn Nord sidings in September. Ferrets were a piece of cake to entrain, being so small, Unlike Saracen ACVs, six wheels, bitch to reverse and an inch clearance on either side of the flat. Sultan was a dream compared with Saracen.

 

Anyway, I guided on my driver, Dave, we chocked up got our kit for the journey and went to put the cover over the open commander's position. Dave had placed an issue flask full of hot coffee on the wing. I caught it and it fell and broke in the way glass flasks did. Damn. Dry journey to the 4 Armd Div area. So yes, they certainly still had a flask on the CES, but I also remember using our own flasks, bought from the NAAFI.

 

As for signal pistols. In Command Troop we had a lot of kit. I distinctly remember a Carl Gustav per ACV which we fired once. And I mean once. There were a dozen of us and we got one PRAC round each for the morning shoot. After lunch they discovered we only had eleven HEAT rounds for the afternoon's shoot so I ceded my go to let someone else have a bash. I didn't fancy being recognised as proficient and being dicked to carry one.

 

I am pretty sure there were Bren LMGs, for local defence like the Charlie Gs. In reality we didn't clutter up the ACVs and all this kit stayed locked up in camp. Every Friday we'd clean all the weapons. Everybody had an SMG to clean. The CO, Adjutant, RSM never turned up, so crews did their commanders' kit. This meant I never had a Charlie G or an LMG to clean, though we did have a three-oh Browning. My memory is screaming "YES we had a signal pistol on the Ferret CES, but cleaning was so trivial (especially since it never went out) that it has not left much of a mark on my memory.