P38A You wouldn't believe it....now with necrophilia? What the...

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Exactly, who would design a weapon to test then swap all the bits for cheap crap prior to operational delivery? Only our MoD.

MK1 SA80:
Swapped Brit 30 rnd mag for cheap US surplus (gold under the crap paint that rubbed off when you cleaned the mags) 25 round M16 mag = weak springs that couldn't lift 30 rnds, this also caused double round feeds & jams in the chamber with double feed that you couldn't clear, Susat's that fogged up, barrels that bent if you used a bayonet, butt plates that fell off, dust covers that snapped off and then the chamber/working parts got filled with snow that then froze solid or muddy crap that solidified, supplied incorrect spec oil (probably left over from WW1), utter crap 1st gen grenade launcher that nearly smashed your eye socket in when the funny sight was fitted, firing pins that snapped on the SA80 and the LSW, bayonets with wire cutters designed in (good idea) but in reality the lug snapped off, the utterly incomprehensible official way to attach the sling and finally the magazine release catch had no protection so you always hit it and the magazine fell off.

LSW:
Most of the above plus the inability to carry it horizontal like the GPMG as some idiot put the front sling swivel in the shortened stock. so the sling dug into your neck and the muzzle pointed just in front of your boots. We used to put a grenade ring into the end of the stock so we could put the sling through it and it stayed almost horizontal. Same problem with the mag release catch (no cover for it) so patrolling along then CLANG clatter clatter (or thud if on grass) - mag on the floor 30 rounds all over the place.
weak return spring so it wouldn't fully lock home - puzzled rifle men when it was an unknown IA because the parts looked forward and locked. Did the MoD replace the spring? Nope - they brought in the "forward assist" :rolleyes:

MK2:
Incorrect oil delivered again, uprated mags this time, still got double round jams in the breech. We had to stamp on the new cocking handle to unjam them. Dodgy but it worked.
Still it was a bit better than the MK1.

Never saw the LSW again after MK2 SA80 introduced - guess it must have been mothballed - it was utterly crap except as a target rifle.

That's enough of that now as it's all ancient history :D:cool:
 
Exactly, who would design a weapon to test then swap all the bits for cheap crap prior to operational delivery? Only our MoD.

MK1 SA80:
Swapped Brit 30 rnd mag for cheap US surplus (gold under the crap paint that rubbed off when you cleaned the mags) 25 round M16 mag = weak springs that couldn't lift 30 rnds, this also caused double round feeds & jams in the chamber with double feed that you couldn't clear, Susat's that fogged up, barrels that bent if you used a bayonet, butt plates that fell off, dust covers that snapped off and then the chamber/working parts got filled with snow that then froze solid or muddy crap that solidified, supplied incorrect spec oil (probably left over from WW1), utter crap 1st gen grenade launcher that nearly smashed your eye socket in when the funny sight was fitted, firing pins that snapped on the SA80 and the LSW, bayonets with wire cutters designed in (good idea) but in reality the lug snapped off, the utterly incomprehensible official way to attach the sling and finally the magazine release catch had no protection so you always hit it and the magazine fell off.

LSW:
Most of the above plus the inability to carry it horizontal like the GPMG as some idiot put the front sling swivel in the shortened stock. so the sling dug into your neck and the muzzle pointed just in front of your boots. We used to put a grenade ring into the end of the stock so we could put the sling through it and it stayed almost horizontal. Same problem with the mag release catch (no cover for it) so patrolling along then CLANG clatter clatter (or thud if on grass) - mag on the floor 30 rounds all over the place.
weak return spring so it wouldn't fully lock home - puzzled rifle men when it was an unknown IA because the parts looked forward and locked. Did the MoD replace the spring? Nope - they brought in the "forward assist" :rolleyes:

MK2:
Incorrect oil delivered again, uprated mags this time, still got double round jams in the breech. We had to stamp on the new cocking handle to unjam them. Dodgy but it worked.
Still it was a bit better than the MK1.

Never saw the LSW again after MK2 SA80 introduced - guess it must have been mothballed - it was utterly crap except as a target rifle.

That's enough of that now as it's all ancient history :D:cool:
Thanks for that..I absolutely pi#### myself reading that, only coz I can relate to everything there. I forgot about the mag release catch that would let go. Excellent tactic on a CTR.. Thanks again made my day..
 
I never experienced the A1 but did hear all these stories about it. However an added instruction is a lot cheaper than a refit of springs,I also read that the 'forward assist' isn't necessary on the A2 but was so drilled into culture that it was kept in the Weapons Handling Instructions after the A2 was introduced.
 
Exactly, who would design a weapon to test then swap all the bits for cheap crap prior to operational delivery? Only our MoD.

MK1 SA80:
Swapped Brit 30 rnd mag for cheap US surplus (gold under the crap paint that rubbed off when you cleaned the mags) 25 round M16 mag = weak springs that couldn't lift 30 rnds, this also caused double round feeds & jams in the chamber with double feed that you couldn't clear, Susat's that fogged up, barrels that bent if you used a bayonet, butt plates that fell off, dust covers that snapped off and then the chamber/working parts got filled with snow that then froze solid or muddy crap that solidified, supplied incorrect spec oil (probably left over from WW1), utter crap 1st gen grenade launcher that nearly smashed your eye socket in when the funny sight was fitted, firing pins that snapped on the SA80 and the LSW, bayonets with wire cutters designed in (good idea) but in reality the lug snapped off, the utterly incomprehensible official way to attach the sling and finally the magazine release catch had no protection so you always hit it and the magazine fell off.

LSW:
Most of the above plus the inability to carry it horizontal like the GPMG as some idiot put the front sling swivel in the shortened stock. so the sling dug into your neck and the muzzle pointed just in front of your boots. We used to put a grenade ring into the end of the stock so we could put the sling through it and it stayed almost horizontal. Same problem with the mag release catch (no cover for it) so patrolling along then CLANG clatter clatter (or thud if on grass) - mag on the floor 30 rounds all over the place.
weak return spring so it wouldn't fully lock home - puzzled rifle men when it was an unknown IA because the parts looked forward and locked. Did the MoD replace the spring? Nope - they brought in the "forward assist" :rolleyes:

MK2:
Incorrect oil delivered again, uprated mags this time, still got double round jams in the breech. We had to stamp on the new cocking handle to unjam them. Dodgy but it worked.
Still it was a bit better than the MK1.

Never saw the LSW again after MK2 SA80 introduced - guess it must have been mothballed - it was utterly crap except as a target rifle.

That's enough of that now as it's all ancient history :D:cool:
Well the faceless morons in the MOD weren't putting their arses on the line were they? Talking of history, my son text me yesterday reminding me it was 28 years to the day of the start of the ground offensive phase of Dessert Storm. The start also of my 7 month nightmare , he was 18 yr old and attached to the US Marines and then to the 1st armoured Division, better being with them than in line of sight I guess.:eek:
 
Well the faceless morons in the MOD weren't putting their arses on the line were they? Talking of history, my son text me yesterday reminding me it was 28 years to the day of the start of the ground offensive phase of Dessert Storm. The start also of my 7 month nightmare , he was 18 yr old and attached to the US Marines and then to the 1st armoured Division, better being with them than in line of sight I guess.:eek:
The first time we used the MK1 in anger..!! first lesson was to ditch the antique oil and robbed every pencil we could lay our hands on. The bloody things still played up all through..
 
I never experienced the A1 but did hear all these stories about it. However an added instruction is a lot cheaper than a refit of springs,I also read that the 'forward assist' isn't necessary on the A2 but was so drilled into culture that it was kept in the Weapons Handling Instructions after the A2 was introduced.

True enough, when I did my Junior Command Course every single one of us (about 35 of us) failed the weapons handling test due to never being told about the "forward assist" in Commando units. We were all stunned until he said you all failed on the lack of forward assist. 35 utterly blank faces looked back at him. He asked if any of us knew about it... more blank faces. Only the Para Sergeant that assessed us knew about it :D:D:D.

But the question is if the weapon passed the trials successfully, what happened to the original spring and original 30 round magazines? I bet somewhere at the back of an unlabelled warehouse / ISO container they will all be there in a crate..... hahahaha. You know it will be like the Indiana Jones warehouse.
 
True enough, when I did my Junior Command Course every single one of us (about 35 of us) failed the weapons handling test due to never being told about the "forward assist" in Commando units. We were all stunned until he said you all failed on the lack of forward assist. 35 utterly blank faces looked back at him. He asked if any of us knew about it... more blank faces. Only the Para Sergeant that assessed us knew about it :D:D:D.

But the question is if the weapon passed the trials successfully, what happened to the original spring and original 30 round magazines? I bet somewhere at the back of an unlabelled warehouse / ISO container they will all be there in a crate..... hahahaha. You know it will be like the Indiana Jones warehouse.

I bet they painted a yellow stripe down the middle of them and sent them out to every armory in the UK as drill magazines. "With a magazine with a penny depressor fitted, LOAD!"
 
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Yeah I remember a short spell in the field with NERF gun...now shut up with guns!! Get your own bloody thread??:eek::p;)
Anyhow.... I started loading rads back into the bus and connecting mods and thermostats and so on...
Just need to wait for belt, pulley and water pump pennies..
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new nissens loaded with a nice big fan.
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diesel train intercooler first down to he whole!!
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into the breech..
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copper jizz everywhere..
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nearly finished loading stuff in!
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all rads in the hole!!
 
Do you have the little plastic baffles that sit in the small holes by your spots? I cannot we how you remove them.
Which baffles @EntropyUK, unless something has been removed in the past? I don't know about??:eek:

They can all keep warm together. What's with the wire wrap in 1st pic ?
Upto the red wrap is the length of wire supplied by the manufacturer.. all 300mm of it:rolleyes:

p38 you either get a good one or a world of crap.
ive a great one.
so do I, it's grrrrrrrrrreeeeeeat!:cool::p
 
They clip to the sides pointing front to back. I should have taken a photo when I fitted mine. Mine came without any. Wammers picked up on it at some stage. Suspect they snap pretty easily, especially if you don't know they are there.

ESR2450 and ESR2451. They are there to force ram air through the rad instead of around the sides of it.
 
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