Question for the Armourers

[Longshaor]

I know there's a general thread in here about the fitting of the bipod off the L7 GPMG to the L1A1, however I have a specific question about how this was done.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the L7 has a travel lock that engages the bipod when it's folded back against the underside of the weapon. Was this component fitted to the underside of the L1A1 handguard when the bipod was fitted?

Thanks in advance guys!

Information

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[tankhunter]

Longshoar, No, the retaining catch was NOT fitted as part of the 'Unofficial' Fitting of a GPMG L7 Bipod. Using plastic handguards, A hole was drilled & filed to an Oval in them. To accommodate the leg retaining plates, that were riveted to each leg. When the bipod was folded back, the two brackets were guided into the hole & the legs released. The Bipod leg springs would reassert their compressed energy, & push each leg outwards simultainiously. They would obviously stop expanding in an outwards direction. When the leg brackets contacted the outside of the hole, & the bipod would remain in the folded position, up against the bottom of the handguards. In practice, there was nothing to prevent the bipod form dropping down & opening, if the assembly was knocked, or the bipod squeezed. When holding the bipod assembly in your left hand in the carrying position in the Field. So normally, it was left in the down (Deployed) position! Only really folded up out of the way when storing in a vehicle or resting in the upright position when leaning against something. (Heinous crime!...You never stand a weapon upright unless in a rifle rack. it might fall over & damage something!) Exceptions are obviously: when in the 'Pile' Position (Purpose made stacking swivel on Enfield & other Bolt Action Rifles) Or in a a Bell tent, where you has a leather & canvas multi-looped strap to store Rifles upright in the Tent to save space.

The Bipod catch from the L7 was not able to be fitted to a rifle because. On the LMG it was retained in TWO 'Tracks' machined in the body & held in the gun with a Roll pin. This would NOT be possible at all with an L1A1 Rifle (Or FN Variant)

[Peter Laidler]

I'm pleased to hear/read that Tankie also suggests that the fitting of the GPMG Bipod was never an officially sanctioned modification. It was one of those 'things' that just sort of came about and was generally done as and when the need arose. I looked hard to find an EMER authority for such a modificatioon but coul never find one in either the modifications or Miscellaneous instructions EMER. Maybe it was what we call a locally authorised modification. But the fact is that it happened and did recieve some sort of semi official sanction.

What isn't well known is that once you DID modify a rifle in such a way, then the MPI of the group fired from the sandbagged rest differed wildly from the group fired with the rifle fired from the bipod. And even WORSE, the group fired from the bipod differed wildly from the group fired from the bipod when the old big heavy IIW night sight was fitted!

Talking of semi official sanction, the same semi-official sanction MUST have applied to the cleaning of SUIT and SUSAT sight lenses with scotchbrite pads or other abrasive kitchen cleaner too judging from the attrition rate of the lenses.......... Are they still cleaning them with scotchbrite/Jif cream/Old sand encrusted rags BP and Skippy?

[tankhunter]

Peter, The ONLY practical use that I could think of for using these Bipods on L1a1's. Was for observation purposes when the I.W.S (SS120/ Starlight) Scope was fitted. It made life a bit easier for the 'User', as when fitted to the weapon. You will recall only too well, how heavy the ensemble is!.........

[Peter Laidler]

Yep, they were in the watchtowers along the border in bandit country.........

[Longshaor]

So this isn't a configuration that would have seen use with the BAOR?

[Peter Laidler]

In a word, No! Certainly not so far as I am aware. The bipod was never sanctioned for use as far as the Small Arms School were concerned (confirmed today.....). The consensus there among the older Officers and NCO's who remember the L1A1 days is that the bipod was fitted to the L1A1's as a stop-gap temporary measure after the old L4 was taken out of service from the watchtowers and the like and replaced with the GPMG and the old RP-SS20 IIW night vision. However, the GPMG could only shoot auto and getting one shot off was particularly difficult because of the trigger mech geometry and front tripping lever thinggy that ensured that as you RELEASED the trigger, the sear was lowered even further until.......... Anyway I won't go into the mechanics of it all. But it was deemed that following an incident where a woman snatched a GPMG from a squaddie and ran off with it, it would be best if a single shot weapon was used initially.

God, this is a bit like Ben-Hur with politics........ Anyway, single shot it was and so the L4A9 Bren was introduced with the night vision bracket. Only that wasn't toooo successful either as it kept tipping over - and smashed the OG lens of the night vision scope. So the bipod rifle stayed on a bit by default. Don't ask me - or Tankie - to elaborate too much more as politics comes into play.

[Longshaor]

No need, Peter, you and Tankhunter have answered my questions!

[skiprat]

Just to muddy the waters a little bit more……. There was an official modification to fit the American M16 bipod (the smaller pressed steel spring loaded type)….

And there were some gpmg bipod modified L1A1’s in Berlin (could have been down to the odd armourer doing his own thing)

There was one in an artillery regiment.. that WAS down to an armourer doing his own thing

[Longshaor]

Yes, I saw the reference to the M16 bipod (designated M3, IIRC) in the EMERs. Always thought that was a bit flimsy even for the M16, much less an L1!