4T Pads & Brackets

[Surpmil]

Very interesting photos those. Never seen anything like that before. Fits the pattern very nicely though.

[Peter Laidler]

RBG is definately Rose Brothers as this identical inspection stamp is found on the gun mounts in aircraft turrets, when we know they were made by Rose Brohers

[Roger Payne]

Peter, I really don't know about this, but wondered, as have others, if the RBG may be an early form of identification used by Rose Brothers, before the 'JG' & 'KD' markings were adopted. The few few RBG brackets I've seen did not have either of the other two initials on them. Also, we see, during the course of the war, manufacturers changing their marking schemes from logos or initials to factory codes allotted to them. For example, Singer marked early No4 rear sights 'SM' & the last two digits of the date, but then went over later to their approved marking of 'N67'. There are lots more examples, like Herbert Morris, 'HM Co' morphing into N49, & Sykes Ltd 'SL' into 'N74'. 'JG' & 'KD' I admit, aren't a government approved factory code, but they have no obvious identifying characteristics that would have aided the Germans, & so may have been considered acceptable. Or maybe even there was no requirement for RB to manufacturer mark them, only for the finished product to be acceptance marked....??

Have you formed any opinion about at what point in production these 'RBG2' brackets fall? (IIRC I think I may once have had one marked RBG4, but can't be absolutely certain as it's long since gone - maybe produced on production line number 4???). The serial number on my own example suggests an early H&H conversion, probably a B1941 rifle.