Canadian and Commonwealth Enfield Slings

[Cantom]

Today I received 4 NOS slings from New Zealand. One 1941, 2 1942, one blue RCAF, all C/|\ marked. New Zealand is a good source for cherry items like this...I don't see anything like this at gun shows.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/Slings003.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/Slings001.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/Slings002.jpg
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/Slings004.jpg

This is the sling on my 43 DCRA Long Branch. I think it's British...

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/cantom_2006/Slings.jpg

[GrantRCanada]

Nice slings! IIRC, a lot of NZ (and also Australian) web gear during WWII was Canadian-produced.

FWIW ... and you may already be aware of this ... the maker-mark ZL&T Ltd stands for Zephyr Looms and Textiles Limited, of Peterborough, Ontario, which was the largest Canadian manufacturer of web gear.

The other most commonly seen Canadian maker-mark on web gear is MS&U Ltd - Montreal Suspender and Umbrellas Limited.

Woods Manufacturing Company Limited was primarily a producer of canvas goods (like rifle action covers, gasmask bags, kit (duffle) bags, tents and such) and is still in business as Woods Canada Limited - likely our largest producer of tents, sleeping bags and such stuff, though materials like ripstop nylon are the norm nowadays, of course.

The MW&S Ltd mark is, indeed, British - as evidenced by the Broad Arrow standing alone - though I can't recall the full company name it represents ....