[Nimrod48]

Originally Posted by MoMo

Yes, Folgore,

British schoolboys in the 1950s had many of these satchels in use as schoolbags. There was so much war surplus about that you could outfit yourself as a British soldier for very little cash!

Another favourite war-surplus item was the Balaklava. There were thousands of kids who had these in winter. I don't recall ever having one, but they sure looked warm!

In those days you could also buy a 'de-activated' Lee-Enfield .303 rifle from " Exchange and Mart" for about £30! ( a lot of cash for the 1950s )

MoMo

Talking of E & M MoMo I seem to remember circa 1967/69 seeing genuine Irvine flying jackets for approx £10 & genuine Gestapo leather coats for £30, the Irvine jackets were very popular with the motor cycle fraternity.

[MoMo]

Thanks for reminding me, Nimrod. Yes, I lusted after one of those flying jackets but by the time I grew to the right size, they had all bitten the trail and had passed into the realm of history.

When I was a student, I did get a brand-new black Civil Defence greatcoat from the Army and Navy Store. This lasted for five years and saw me through the years of student poverty. It was also the warmest coat which money could buy and kept me from freezing in winter.

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

Whats the point of that? Such a waste of a great firearm.
- Shawn

About as much point as diecast . (For display of course .)

[MoMo]

Shawn 507

You're just not allowed to buy firearms which have a military application in this country. Buying a gun is a complicated business here. Shotguns may be bought ( after the applicant for a shotgun licence has been investigated ). Handguns may be bought under exceptional circumstances, but you have to keep them under specific conditions.

The result of all this legislation is that while Americans are being shot at a rate of hundreds per day, only a few people are shot here every week ( as a result of street crime imports from God knows where! )

Who can we blame for this? Start with Moses ( Chuck Heston ) who wants to give a gun to everyone who can breathe. " It's their right to shoot holes in people, if they want to!"....and...." A gun is just a tool ! " So are you, Mr Heston!

[timbo]

[timbo]

I would put this one forward as a candidate for the worst bit of kit.

Would not have liked to go up against anything in this. Thank god the BEF left most of them in France after Dunkirk.

[Shawn 507]

Originally Posted by MoMo

You're just not allowed to buy firearms which have a military application in this country. Buying a gun is a complicated business here. Shotguns may be bought ( after the applicant for a shotgun licence has been investigated ). Handguns may be bought under exceptional circumstances, but you have to keep them under specific conditions.

The result of all this legislation is that while Americans are being shot at a rate of hundreds per day, only a few people are shot here every week ( as a result of street crime imports from God knows where! )

Who can we blame for this? Start with Moses ( Chuck Heston ) who wants to give a gun to everyone who can breathe. " It's their right to shoot holes in people, if they want to!"....and...." A gun is just a tool ! " So are you, Mr Heston!

I'm not even going there. Save to say its BS!! I've been around them all my life and noone I know has shot or been shot by one.
- Shawn

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by timbo

I

This is what they use to plow our sidewalks with in the winter...

[MoMo]

C'mon, Skunky, it's a Cromwell what ain't ate its Wheatie Flakes!

This is what they use to plow our sidewalks with in the winter...

[MoMo]

What about this for the worst company machine-gun of WW?


The Type 99, light machine gun, the final entry in the series. It is identical in appearance to the Type 96, but fired the larger 7.7 mm round.

Length	105cm
Weight	9 kg
Calibre	6.5 mm
Magazine	30 round box
Muzzle Velocity	730 metres per second
Rate of Fire	550 rpm

The Type 96 was preceded in service by the Type 11 which was responsible for a great many of the problems in the Type 96.The Type 11 used the five round rifle clip as the basis for its feed system. Six clips were placed on a side mounted 'hopper' and fed into the chamber minus the metal strip. This approach was supposed the make the weapon easier to maintain by its attendant rifleman, but it caused no end of problems. Chief among these was the need to oil each round against the effects of dust and dirt from the exposed mechanism. In fact, the debris simply mixed with the oil to create an even worse gunge. This flaw was only eliminated by using an even less powerful 6.5 mm round, which negated the envisioned co-operation with the rifleman who used the standard munitions.
The Type 96 appeared in 1936. It abandoned the hopper for a straightforward thirty round box magazine and introduced a barrel change. However, it retained the low powered 6.5 mm round and the oiling mechanism, but this latter device was at least improved upon. It overtook but never replaced the Type 11 in service.
As with the Arisaka Bolt Action Rifles a revised version of the Type 96 appeared to fire the 7.7 mm round. The Type 99 needed no lubrication device and was statistically similar to the Type 96, though probably a little heavier. All these weapons could fit the standard infantry bayonet for 'close assault' use.