Peter a ? involving stacking No.4 arms

[breakeyp]

The No.1 and Pattern 1914 have stacking swivels for locking together three rifles to form a stack that additional arms can be laid against.

Early No.4 rifles had stacking swivels but were phased out early in the program. How did they stack arms in the field? Through the slings like the M16?

Information

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[Daan Kemp]

You don't stack arms in the field, never, except when surrendering.

Under what conditions would you stack arms - it disarms the soldiers, makes arms inaccessible, allows the enemy to know precisely where to shoot, etc. Makes you an easy target. Linking slings makes it still more difficult to access arms quickly.

Quite acceptable for orderly warfare where volleys, marching in columns in battle, making camp at night with putting up tents and little threat of attack, firing one shot and reloading under orders only, etc, were the norm.

The nature of combat and conflict and warfare has changed in the last century to where immediate access to your firearm is essential for survival.

[David TS]

Don't know who Peter a is but I think the Commonwealth discontinued the practise.

Jim

I'm pretty sure 'Peter a ?' meant 'A question for Mr Laidler'

[Peter Laidler]

Never ever seen it done

[shadycon]

Looks like WWI. They still fought like they did in the 1800's. Stand up in battle and I will shoot you, end of day go back to camp and I'll leave you alone.

[breakeyp]

We stacked arms (M14s) in basic training outside while attending classes indoors. I don't remember doing it with M16s when they were finally issued to us in Panama.

[Roger Payne]

Do we know where the photo was taken? The ground is not cut up or badly shelled, there's no barbed wire or other battlefield detritus in evidence, so might it be a little behind the front line?

Judging by the Brodie helmets it must be 1916 or later - wasn't the order to omit fitting the piling swivel given in the LoC in 1916? (Again, correct me if my memory has got it wrong). No doubt the practice may have continued for a while after....

[5thBatt]

Do we know where the photo was taken? The ground is not cut up or badly shelled, there's no barbed wire or other battlefield detritus in evidence, so might it be a little behind the front line?

Judging by the Brodie helmets it must be 1916 or later - wasn't the order to omit fitting the piling swivel given in the LoC in 1916? (Again, correct me if my memory has got it wrong). No doubt the practice may have continued for a while after....

No such mention in the LoC, that is a myth, the only mention of piling swivels was they were to be omitted from rifles in certain rolls, there was a new narrow pattern introduced in the 1920s & it carried on being fitted to rifles till 1941

[Roger Payne]

Thanks for clarifying.

[Daan Kemp]

The photo could be of rest/mealtime/training anywhere in the world.