sa80 bayonet

[skiprat]

The only fake SA80 bayonet item I have seen is the early hook attachment for the "original" scabbard.
I have a couple of early bayonets with a serial number and was looking for an early scabbard....... If I am looking so will others ..that is why the hook has been reproduced. And is probably easier to make than the later replaceable cutting bit type.

I can see no reason for reproducing frogs as there are soooo many available.

[bigduke6]

I can see no reason for reproducing frogs as there are soooo many available.

Bought a few last year on a car boot sale, bloke had bags of surplus gear..... some of the frogs were mint but plain green no camo etc.

[Flying10uk]

It's probably worth mentioning for the benefit of any-one who doesn't know that Remploy Ltd who seem to have made all the Frogs which I have seen were a U.K. Government owned company set up in the late 1940s to provide employment for disabled people. This company closed it's doors a few years ago but in it's heyday I believe that it had several factories across the U.K.. The other military item that I have noted to have been made by them is a Roll for holding the cleaning kit for the GPMG.

[Peter Laidler]

And a lot of other webbing too including GPMG slings..........

[tankhunter]

AND Armoury Wooden Rifle racks for the SA80's...........

[Peter Laidler]

Those special and very expensive Armoury rack things were another of those left hand v right hand things that seemed to come from, well....., nobody really seemed to know! Responsible for a lot of peripheral damage to the rifles. Against much argument AGAINST them, they were just foisted on the units...... Again, at great expense!

The expense of the initial buy and then the expense of rebuilding the armouries to take them.

Units, Regiments and Brigade Commanders all suggested just lowering the original top rail by 14" or so (the rail used to accommodate/locate the barrel of the L1A1, Brens/L4's, GPMG's etc etc and No4's and No1's since the turn of the century), the new rifles could be stored vertically against the walls as before, taking up less space per rifle than the new racks. But it seems as though a commercial finger was in the pie. Better say no more......... BUT...... suggestions as to how to modify them came through 'others' who were told that as the design came from elsewwhere modifications were not permitted.

Anyone got a picture of one of the racks? Tankie, Skippy? There were hundreds surplus to requirements and joke was that someone mistook the order for instead of 1 per 10 rifles, it was 10 per 1 rifle!

At one unit under my wing at Bxxxxxx, the original TA centre still had their racks from when the centre was re-built in 1920. With large top rail cut-outs for (presumably) Lewis guns and also, alongside the rifle cut-outs were openings where each rifle bayonet and scabbard was held. These were still used for rifles and bayonets right up until the end of the L1A1's.

[tankhunter]

Pete, I used to own one of these horrible racks at one time. But along with a LOT of other stuff (Pretty much everything I owned then) it was 'Stolen' by my Ex Wife of the time. During the 'Protracted' Divorce Proceedings!

I never bothered replacing it. They DO come up now & again on 'That' Auction site however.

Made from 1/2" thick wooden Ply. They are strong, but a bit fiddily to insert the steel security Cross Bar at times!

[Peter Laidler]

The 'lock-up-ability' was another supposed feature of the SA80 rack frames. But as was pointed out, the huge lock went through a hollow flattened thin steel tube! And in any case, in the same Armouries, that were already secure to a coded/restricted standard, hundreds of SMG's were chained through an easily removable trigger guard! Daft or what? The rack things really were a farce. But you've got to smile

Sorry to go off at a tangent

[Flying10uk]

I guess it makes sense Remploy Ltd making gun racks because they also, I believe, at one time made furniture and obviously the two things required similar skills to make. I remember that in the cadets the rifle bolts were removed from the live weapons and stored in a locked ammunition tin bolted to the floor and in a separate room to where the rifles were stored.

[Peter Laidler]

Remploy.......... made all the desks in my local junior school!