Suez the weapons seized

[Gil Boyd]

If you view at particularly 1:30 onwards you see 2 PARA seizing thousands of Soviet weapons.
It is also interesting to see some of our variety of weapons used at the time:

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

I'd say that the amounts of Iraqi weapons captured during Gulf 1 were in excess of this although clearly that was only a small proportion It was a never ending process for the EOD ops to destroy them by burning/explosives. Where's the photos RoyW?

[Roy W]

I'll dig them out when I get a chance Pete.

[Gil Boyd]

Peter,
Its amazing when you see stock piles of siezed weapons, just what you were up against afterwards.
The Goose Green pile was similar for 2 PARA during the Falklands War. Luckily the Argentinian prisoners were used to pile them up, just before the booby trap meant for 2 PARA killed their own lads. Sad to see them survive the battle and not go home to their loved ones, because some Argentinian Officer thought he would get revenge.

[browningautorifle]

Lots of familiar stuff in there. Shows it's not really outdated until it goes into the smelter. We saw lots of stuff WAY older than that in Cyprus in the '70s. WW1 stuff was present...mind you, lots of it still applied in WW2 also.

[Frederick303]

Did the Suez crisis mark the last larger use of the No4 by regular British formations in combat? I do not seem to recall anything after where the British do not seem to a L1A1 rifles.

Excepting Malaysia, I assume there was use of the No 5 after 1957.

[Gil Boyd]

The Numbers 4 and 5 were there until the very end, which I believe was when the L1A1 was brought into to front line units in 54 ish and Australia in 59.
I am sure Peter/Tankie will be able to date the exact entry point for whichever unit

[Lee Enfield]

The Numbers 4 and 5 were there until the very end, which I believe was when the L1A1 was brought into to front line units in 54 ish and Australia in 59.
I am sure Peter/Tankie will be able to date the exact entry point for whichever unit

Ex1/Ex2 (FAL Canada) and X8E1/X8E2 (Br) FN-FAL trials rifles were ordered from FN in June (Ex1/Ex2) and December (X8E1/X8E2) 1953 respectively.

Deliveries (from FN) started in early 1954 (IIRC a few Ex1 rifles were recorded as having completed 5,000rds in firing trials in May1954).

The earliest production C1 rifles are dated 1956 (and likely shipped to units early in '57).

The earliest production L1 rifles are dated 1957.

[Peter Laidler]

I have in front of me a photo of a very young me, c.1968, inspecting a pile of No4 and 5 rifles, captioned on the rear '.... last No4 and 5 rifles being inspected prior to being withdrawn. Malaya 1968, from Signals and RCT (rear echelon troops). Never saw them in the front line after that. There you go, 1968. That year the last Vickers went from nearby Borneo and Aden too

[Frederick303]

1968. That would match the date of withdrawal of the No 4 from the RAF, I seem to recall the last recruit class to use the No4 was in Feb of 1968 .

I seem to recall the last territorial unit to use the No 4 was in 1966, or so Capt. Laidler indicated some time ago.



Thanks for the information, it does explain why the last year the No 4 was the rifle (SRb) to use in NRA matches was 1968, replaced by the TR category in 1969.