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Hey all,
I'm back with yet more SLR questions. These regard the No. 94 Energa grenade. How was this fired from the SLR? Was there a detachable grenade launching adaptor similar to the one used on the No. 4 rifle? And when was this strange bit of weaponry withdrawn from service?
Thanks!
There was an attachment very much like the number 4 launcher. It was fired using a special ballistite cartridge. I believe the cartridge was black to distinguish it from a regular blank. The launchers remained in Canadian service until the withdrawal of the FNs in the early 90s. I never saw one used mind you, I always thought they were something from the 60s and 70s. The ones in Canadian service had the British NSN
I am sure someone will post a better shot of one, and since I won't be home for a while here is the only photo I have. If you look in the glass case, and squint a little, you should be able to see the launcher on one of the FNs.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ield0001-1.jpg
Hey Stencollector, that's quite a gunpile there. How do you get around in that space??? Or do you just sit in the middle with a glass of scotch and look around you? You are on the right track with the grenade launcher. I was infantry and we used lots of them. They fit on the flash eliminator like a bayonet. They enclosed the flash eliminator and were ten inches long. Same size around as 303 launcher. Black with a fold up sight(that wasn't much use). I don't remember them being UK marked but they had the Canadian Arsenels mark on them. The cartridge was C33 balisite which was the powder used inside. It was a open mouth case like an empty and had a black ring at the open end. The end was slightly rounded in for hand feed and DO NOT mistake it for blank. I fired one to get rid of it with a BFA on and damaged my rifle enough to send it base line repair. I was only 17. I know better now. I was told the 5 round mags you encounter were for the C33 cartridges. We used the launcher until we handed in the F.N.s in 1986 or so. The grenade you speak of was never used by me or anyone I knew of.
They weren't UK marked, but the NSN for them was a British based NSN (99).I have seen a number of Cdn ones around, but have not seen the CAL mark on them. I'll have to keep an eye for one of those.
What years did you use the launchers in? What did you fire for a grenade? I have only heard of Energa grenades in ref to these launchers.
Re: the gun room, it has reached it's limit. I picked up a Vickers and tripod last summer (dewat), and had to leave them out in the shed. I may try to do a re-org in there this summer, but you can only get a square foot of stuff into a square foot of space. I am thinking racks up the walls, but even that won't get the tripod mounted guns off the floor.
Hey guys,
Thanks for the info! Has anybody seen one of the launchers for sale? Last place I know of that had one was Enterprise, but they seem to be OOB.
Cheers!
I've just written a big long note about these things and it's bloody well disappeared off the xxxxing xxxxx xxxxxx screen. So when I'm in the mood again, I'll re-xxxxx write it again!
The British had the energa grenades and launchers up until the end of the SLR but to be honest, I didn't ever see them after the late 60's - early 70's. I fired a live one at Warcop ranges but there were also chalk filled nose cones that you could fit to the practice grenades that you could fire on the sports field. At Houndstone Camp in Yeovil, there was a full size tank painted onto the end of an old hangar that was used to fire the dummy grenades against. The only problem was in these types of situation, it's all a bit of fun because the tank ain't hosing you down with its co-ax MG.
We had the old No4 energa launcher for years after the No4 was withdrawn and when the 'new' SLR launcher came on stream in the early 60's, the SLR launchers were put into the ample No4 launcher leather carrying pouch and the launchers were disposed of locally. That's why the pouches are harder to get hold of than the launchers. Some were available on Ebay a couple of years ago at £13 or so but long since gone by now!
Stencollector, I used the launchers from 74 to about 84. The batallion didn't issue them much and the training depot in Wainwright used them for training and exersise. I do remember the great long NSN on them but we didn't have to deal with that. The grenade we used was the HCC1A1 smoke and the M62 training or the M61 HE grenades. The M80 snoke would also fit but it was WP and very dangerous so we didn't issue in peace time. When the round grenades came in we stopped using them. We used mostly U.S. issued tailfin assemblies but through time had the CDN ones appear.The colour was different and the C designation denoted versus M. I remember using some that had an L designation and they were very dark green. Maybe Mr Laidler has some info on those. I just remember them being here. They sure had a lot of smack when they launched. We prefered to use them like a hand mortar than the hip position. I never used the energa grenades at all. The launchers show up occassionally but for collector prices due to comparative rarity.
The Grenade Launcher used by Canada, Australia New Zealand etc with their L1A1/C1 rifles were purchased from the UK. These were of course the L1A2 Grenade Launcher NSN 1005-99-960-0263.
The Launchers were basically removed from frontline service once 40mm grenade launchers and LAW type weapons became common place.
In New Zealand service the Grenade launcher continued in service with the Navy for line throwing up until the mid 2000's when finally the SLR was replaced as the ship's safety rifle by the Steyr AUG A1 rifle.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1A2GLDs1-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...un200801-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...un200802-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...un200803-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...un200804-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...un200805-1.jpg
From a gunshow display I did last year:-
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...w2009_10-1.jpg
Pic 1, That's the launcher, pic 3 #11 cartridge is the one we used and the tailfin assemblies were the ones I spoke of. I never did see the chrome drill cartridge however. I wouldn't mind one of those for my collection! We did however have M72s and grenade launchers at the same time. When we changed to the M67 round grenade and the V40 grenade they couldnt come up with effective tailfin assemblies so the launcher went the way of the do-do. The fuses burn time were also getting shorter so they weren't feasable.