More finds from the British army dump

[RRPG]

Hi all

Just sharing some more finds from the British army dump site myself and my group have been digging. The landowner is a great guy and understands why we ask to dig on his land, despite the fact he thinks most of it is rusty crap!

These represent some of the more unusual finds from the dump site, along with some items we're sick of the sights of.........like the Sten parts, of which there are literally hundreds strewn throughout the dump site.

Of interest are the 303 inspection rounds and 30cal drill. Vickers muzzle booster.... Vickers tripod elevation wheel...... trigger gauges. ...... barrel brushes...... Vickers barrel protector..... PIAT rear sights...... PIAT sears and triggers (pic with the red background) .... BESA trigger...... BESA 15mm ammo boxes...... Browning Mk 1 water chests ........ Butt plates from numerous rifles...... Remains of stocks from Mk 5 Sten .... Mk 1 Sten stock and flash hider ...... Sten trigger covers...... Lee-Enfield water bottles......

The list goes on and on.

Hope you like the finds.

RRPG

Information

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[WarPig1976]

Hopefully said owner doesn't realize the amount of scrap brass he has under his field. Today it's at $1.71 U.S per lb.

[RRPG]

SHHHHHH! Don't tell him!

[Peter Laidler]

Looks like the huge mass dumping that took place when the Ordnance depot part of Knook Camp closed down in the early 60's to move to somewhere else and the Infantry part went to Battlesbury. They came over and asked if we wanted zillions of bits of Bren woodwork - that turned out to be Boys rifle pistol and rear hand grips! So into the ground they went too!

Incidentally, the spoon billed Mk1 Sten 'muzzle depressor' (last picture) was described as '…..a complete frill, if not a total fraud which served no useful purpose and shall be deleted from production at the first opportunity…..'. So they were only used on the first, early production and afterwards were deleted from production or cut-off. To test whether a Sten REALLY needed a muzzle depressor we did a scientific experiment. We took my little 12 year old boy Robert and let him fire so much ammunition on automatic/bursts (that he was fed-up by the end of the day) through two tethered Stens to see whether a little 12 year old needed a muzzle depressor. He didn't. On that scientific basis, after a days jolly using up the time-expired spare ammunition, we agreed with the 1941 Ordnance Board and Newtons 3rd law of motion and concluded that if a 12 year old didn't need a muzzle depressor, then nor did a grown 12 stone man!

[Gil Boyd]

Won't be long before someone brings up that old chest nut about 25 Spitfires being buried in the jungle still in their crates since WW2

[browningautorifle]

Maybe he has them right there Gil? Out in that dump?

[RRPG]

Thanks Peter. Very interesting Shame I can't go digging at Knook camp!

Gil - Someone contacted two years ago and told me he knew where there were 40 Merlin engines buried in Birmingham. After replying with a modicum of scepticism, (only thinly veiled), I found it no surprise at all that he replied stating he would dig them up himself and didn't need our help after all. Curiously, I have seen nothing on the news about the engines being recovered so I presume he is still in the planning stage.

[browningautorifle]

40 Merlin engines buried

I'm not too sure how good anything would be though. The Browning .303 gun they recovered worked passably, but I'd rather have a new 0 time engine out of a crate. I'm sure RRPG, you've seen the footage of the (BMW) I think it was that was dug up complete...doubt they'll just change the plugs and add fuel and kick it once to start...your stuff if way more realistic. I find most of that stuff to be balloon juice anywayzzz.

[Gil Boyd]

Jim,
To be fair mate, 70 odd years on, they have survived miraculously, what type of soil were they in, or was it just sand?

[browningautorifle]

what type of soil were they in, or was it just sand?

Couldn't say. The motorcycle either, it was forest floor. I was just looking at pics of a Stormovic that was brought up from a lake bottom and is now flying...