Royal Australian Regiment M60

[Peter Laidler]

I know it's going well off the subject but you DO remember the funny and odd ball things and while someones death is never - what's the word I'm looking for - it soon gets pushed to the back of the brain. It's a squaddies way of getting on with it and the sooner it's done, the sooner we're out of the bloody place. One thing that I'll never forget is pre Christmas 1967 in Australia when all the Christmas duties were being divvied up. The OC/ Adjutant/RSM/CSM's decided that all the nasho's (the NS men), singlies (the single blokes) would be doing them while the rest of the blokes, the regulars and the married blokes buggered off home! But you only remember the good laughs and good blokes - and never forget....., the good advice

[Woodsy]

Kiwis in Vietnam also used the M60, even though our issue MG was the L7 (MAG). The reason was to maintain compatability with the US troops which would ensure a good supply of maintenance parts. The NZ Army put their M60's up for tender in the late 1980's. They were mostly in their transit chests with spare barrel and I bought one at the time (about NZ$1200 as I recall). The guns were all in used but serviceable condition. Only a small number stayed with collectors in NZ, the majority being exported to UK for deactivation or to the US as parts kits. A good mate of mine was an M60 gunner and used to enjoy the nostalgia of shooting mine on odd occasions. I had a few mates who served in Vietnam and the could be divided into two groups, those who were traumatised by the experience and didn't talk about it, and those who loved every minute of it. A couple of them have died of cancer (Agent Orange) but I am meeting up with my M60 mate this weekend for a reunion shoot. I have attached a picture of me running a few blanks through my gun at an air show a few years ago.Attachment 81613

[Peter Laidler]

There's a thing......... I don't remember ever seeing an M60 BFA barrel.

I do remember the gas system that I'd never seen before and at the time, nobody could truly or honestly explain, even at Bandiana! Of course, it's a cupped piston system that operates at a constant volume. As I understand it now, it was a competitor to the GPMG system. In short - and anyone in the universe feel free to correct me - the GPMG had enough clicks on the gas regulator to accommodate any 762 factory ammo from virtually anywhere under any depressive or oppressive climatic condition in the world. The M60 achieved the same result in that the piston cup would only accept a set amount of gas, sufficient to operate the gun before it blocked off the supply.

Good job I'm not teaching this as to be honest, I never REALLY understood the GPMG system until I was told that I was to teach it the following morning to an advanced GPMG SF course. That brought on the pains............. So I cut two shot-out barrels up and brought the gas regulator assemblies on the barrels home and sectionalised them. Phew................

[browningautorifle]

I have attached a picture of me running a few blanks through my gun at an air show a few years ago

Those black plastic blanks with the aluminum base...

I don't remember ever seeing an M60 BFA barrel.

The one I was issued used a live barrel and the BFA, I just forget exactly what it looked like, I think it was the standard US issue for M60.

[Woodsy]

I removed the flash hider from my spare barrel and bored it out from the rear, then made a stainless steel BFA that was a push fit in the bore for about 2" with a 3mm blind hole. I drilled 4 holes around the head which intersected the 3mm hole and lined up with the slots in the flash hider. When the flash hider was refitted it held the head of the BFA beteewn the barrel and the shoulder in the flash hider. That meant my spare barrel could always be converted back for ball ammo, and there was no direct muzzle emissions for safety in re-enacting. The black plastic blanks were Aussie manufacture.

[browningautorifle]

The black plastic blanks were Aussie manufacture.

They were what we had...long story attached to that too.

[RT Ellis]

I thought some of you would enjoy the original color version of this image and the caption information provided on the back. This imaged scanned at the National Archives and Record Administration, Archives II, College Park, MD., visual records section.

[Peter Laidler]

2RAR....., blimey, there's a Battalion that you never really heard a lot about. By '70 they too must have been heavily diluted with young Nashos....... He's certainly not a young Nasho though. I wonder where he is now......, retired and having a well deserved rest hopefully Notice the little sewn on 'rising sun'; on the gunners shirt sleeve. They also had a little rounded brass 'Australia' on the epaulets - but not on ops of course

Just as an afterthought, how did those plastic blanks fare with machine guns? I don't ever remember the poms having them but do recall seeing them on the training areas. How were they when chambered in a red hot MG barrel?

[browningautorifle]

how did those plastic blanks fare with machine guns

Funny you'd ask...I know you've heard of double feed before. How about 5? I had a problem with the gun not cycling and it would fire, fail to cycle the action so bolt forward. I'd cock the gun and fire...same thing. I finally dropped the butt, opened the cover and looked in at the mess created. I cleared the feedway and pulled the barrel out to find 5 fired, smashed rounds all jammed together in the chamber. I don't recall having too much trouble with them sticking because of the open bolt, but the SLRs reported things when they got the rifles good and hot. They didn't seem to like lots of wet either, not that there's any in Canungra. They were nice to carry though. I'm sure others mileage may vary...

[Aussie48]

Strange the things one keeps I found a few boxes of the blanks in one of my trunks on a clean out only yesterday, all nice and snug in the cardboard boxes with the red ribbon still tied around them.

Dick