L42A1 Condition Question.

[Peter Laidler]

I was discussing this very thing with the former AIA, senior South-West examiner a week or so ago. He had under his wing the Marine sniper wing and the Army sniper wing at Warminster. And we maintain that there were no new stocks of cheek-rests ordered during the life of the rifle. They were all in dire patched condition as many new owners can testify! If there were new ones or stocks, then they were already in Ordnance. We don't think new handguards were ordered after the rifles were introduced either* because this fact was an instance brought up by the wing at Warminster in their serviceability report. Fore-ends seemed to be available but dear o' dear they all needed repairs before you could fit them.

As for handguards, they were always dues-out! The snipers would pull down and backwards on the slings during the course and crack the sling band in the handguard (reading from old papers now.....) which would loosen the band which then pulled even further rearwards, damaging the fore-end. With no steel inserts as used on the No4 type to support the much thinner L42 handguard they were a total recipe for failure. Which they did unfailingly, time after time!!!!!

*there might have been some extras ordered but while we did see new stocks early on (both ribbed and un-ribbed), the later ones available were poorly converted No8 handguards. And they were worse than anything!