Type 2 paratrooper problem

[Patrick Chadwick]

Let's get back to the basics of gathering evidence: Do not ASSUME anything!

"... by what appears to be the 1940's version of red loctite. Color me surprised. And I don't know the service life of red loctite, but it seems to be less than 70 years..."

What makes anyone think that the remains are of a kind of Loctite? And what is Lockite? It is a trade name - hence my capitalization - not a chemical designation. Different types of adhesive are and were made under this trade name.

There was a reddish artificial resin available in the 1940s : resorcinol or phenol-resorcinol(?) - the artificial resin apparently used as an adhesive in the well-known reddish-colored K98k laminated wooden stocks. But do not assume that is the red stuff on this rifle either! So maybe I'm just muddying the waters.

As to the "time-bomb" potential - the military mind that invented the kamikaze concept would have been quite capable of producing rifles with a severely limited service life expectancy. More muddying of the waters, I know...

So although I agree with the critical comments already posted, and it looks to me like an evil piece of Bubbary, on technical or military-sociological grounds I cannot totally exclude the possibility that it was indeed so manufactured.

Which leaves the already presented and most valuable suggestion to clear up this matter: an X-ray examination of another paratrooper rifle. If another is found to be assembled in this manner, then one must reckon that either they were generally constructed in this way or that there is an unknown number of fakes floating around.

In either case it would be a matter of responsibility that those possessing them do not fire them AND do not pass them on without a proper warning AND that the hazard should be publicized. That is more important than any technological fantasies.