One for the old timers to remember

[spud]

Remember trying to clean this bloody thing

[ericthered]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

yes particularly in the field

[Pat Harley]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Always kept a spare,along with the rod,once I reached battalion and got in well with the armourers.I remember there were all kinds of supposedly magic ways to clean it from matches rubbed on it to vinegar,and that jelly stuff,can't remember the name,that was supposed to eat rust off cars.Smelled just like vinegar,and I suspect some clever bastard had thickened vinegar and made a fortune from car buffs.Anybody remember any more?

[Aussie Nick]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

7.62mm Enfield L1A1 Rifle Operation: - Gas single shots.

Some things the British Army, especially the Small Arms School Corps, almost all Junior Officers and Senior NCO’s in every Regiment in the British Army were loath to tell their Troops.

Like all piston engines which need a running in period, gas and return spring operated firearms also need a running in period for the carbon build up to take effect and to tighten the operation of the firearm to reach maximum operational performance before the ultimate build up of carbon creates the first stoppage.

In 3 Para shooting team during the Nineteen Sixties, we used to run a graph on each personal firearm, the number of shots that could be fired before the first stoppage occurred. The number of rounds that would be fired in each competition during the whole of the Shooting Match whether it was the South East District Shooting Match or even Bisley was a known factor. This allowed the firer to judge how many rounds he could fire during a training session and still remain within the limits of the rounds required for the competitions. WITHOUT CLEANING HIS FIREARM! They were returned to the weapons store each evening “DIRTY”. Each competition was entered with a dirty firearm but with the knowledge that it would operate to the max without getting a stoppage.

How many firearms were sent to workshops with pistons, gas plugs, various other parts which had been ruined by the excessive use of cleaning materials like emery cloth, brasso etc to please over exuberant SNCO’s during weapons inspections. Also how many of you remember the story told over and over again about the young Officer inspecting the barrel and declaring that there was a crack in the Barrel (Gas Port)

Of course firearms have to be cleaned every now and then, but as I recall most times if they were fired even just, twenty rounds (The Pantomime Started)
And yes the Gas Plug wasn’t easy to clean ! Also who else can remember using the Lee Enfield No 4 and having to pour boiling water through the barrel??????

[bob9739]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Remember trying to clean this bloody thing

Bit of silver foil from a fag packet used to help, still awkward to clean though !

[madhouse]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

The issued phospherous bronze brush done the trick backed up with a sharpened HB pencil.

[Don the Mod]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Always kept a spare,along with the rod,once I reached battalion and got in well with the armourers.I remember there were all kinds of supposedly magic ways to clean it from matches rubbed on it to vinegar,and that jelly stuff,can't remember the name,that was supposed to eat rust off cars.Smelled just like vinegar,and I suspect some clever bastard had thickened vinegar and made a fortune from car buffs.Anybody remember any more?

I remember coming up with the genius idea of using vinegar, the carbon just flew off the weapons and we cleaned them all in jig time. Next time we went to clean them they were manky with rust, I was made to clean them all, took me two days.

[Pat Harley]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Just remembered the name of the stuff,Genolite.This stuff had the same effect Don,if you didn't rinse it off.It supposedly eats rust off cars,and eats the carbon according to legend,but I wasnt impressed with the stuff,and if left on it rusted everything.Also stung like f.ck if you got it in a cut on your hands!The pouring of hot water down the .303 was to counter the effects of the corrosive primers used in some of the old ammunition,but really was unnecessary from before WW11,and was just carried on from habit on the orders of the good old SASC.

[stephenfrank]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Shit, I didn't realise you were supposed to clean them

[Pat Harley]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Was that your excuse for boots as well?

[stephenfrank]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Well I don't know, I was pretty busy doing other things, I just understood it was the armourers job to clean everyone's weapon.

[peter dearden]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

did not have that problem wit the .303

[Kit Karson]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

did not have that problem wit the .303

Ouch, remember firing a .303 as a thirteen year old, nearly broke me feckin shoulder!

[RAB]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Same here Kit, first fired one as a cadet at 14, that's what I am blaming my creaking shoulder on now.

[Kit Karson]

Re: One for the old timers to remember

Same here Kit, first fired one as a cadet at 14, that's what I am blaming my creaking shoulder on now.

Yep Rab, I joined ATC 55 squadron underage and went on a trip to RAF Macrihanish(prob wrong spelling-nearest spellcheck is shamanism?). anyway flew in a single prop job with a joystick and was allowed to play with it a bit. flew to a scottish island in a viscount and had a really great time