We appreciate that Cinders but all through our apprenticeships were were taught how to repair what we had before we just replaced with new. We sometimes learned the hard way, especially on active service, that sometimes you just had to make do and mend as the spares we wanted were hundreds of miles away and at the bottom of the blanket stackers food chain! The VM's had it the hardest with this repair before you replace thing but luckily, with the Bedfords, Whites and LandRovers of the era, with no electronic circuitry and magic they could work wonders with vehicles. Strangely, it was the NZVM's that were masters at get-you-home-repairs in all conditions.
Old fashioned I know....... But I used to look into the classified scrap bin (all weapon parts are now deemed to be classified scrap) and see parts that could easily be repaired by straightening or de-burring or assemblies that could be stripped and rebuilt, just tossed in the bin as scrap........ Not me I'm afraid!
This No5 saga - all over the technicalities of a backsight fix has driven me to distraction already............