"Jungle Carbine" - Origin

[Beerhunter]

I inadvertently called my Rifle No.5 a Jungle Carbine on Sunday but it got me thinking. (Please forgive me if someone has been over all this ground before.)

We all know that "Jungle Carbine" was never an official designation but rather nickname. The first piece of evidence that it was simply a "lighter, handier" weapon than the No.4, rather than specifically designed for use in "the Jungle", is that all the early photos that I have seen, show No.5s in the hands of the Parachute Regiment.

So when does the term come from? I reckon Interarms or one of its ilk's adverts in Guns & Ammo or similar magazines. I well remember as a kid, lots of other made up nonsense that the Mail Order sellers used to print in order to make a certain gun more glamorous. Later, No.5s were certainly used in "The Jungle" but I suspect that even then they were still called Rifles, No.5 by their users.

Anyone care to add/change this? Maybe someone has some old gun magazines with adverts for Jungle Carbines" that they could share - especially the dates.

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