20 rounder pic and group

[Hal O'Peridol]

Regarding the jeep.... it definitely is a jeep. If you look closely you can make out the rounded bumperettes, and the back seat. Looking at the windshield, there is no center bar, suggesting this is a one piece windshield. This jeep is more than likely an M38 jeep in the timeframe of no earlier than 1950. The M38 was manufactured from 1950 to 1955, with 1955 production going (3880 pieces) for export.

Here is a pic that might help, while not a straight on from the rear one, it shows the spare, back seat and windshield.

[Gav]

I'm going with a training area in the North of Australia in the late 50's, certainly prior to 1962.

The boys are wearing putties and KD both replaced by the GP boot and Greens in the early 60's in the Regular Army. Both soldiers appear to have rank slides on their shoulders, so fairly senior to be firing a rifle grenade as part of daily life.

an early L1A1 SLR in the back ground,

an Austin 'Champ' car maybe??,

and could it be a rare Australian 7.62 trials SMLE fitted with the 20 box of the early SLR, all part of some comparison rifle grenade practise or trial.

[Cottage Hill Bill]

I'm going with that being an SLR mag, as you can see the .303 20-round has a noticeable curve.

[Warren]

Also, with the angle of the rifle and the sight plane, I wonder what they shooting at. The distance is probably less than 40 feet. The blast would damned near be fatal to the shooter.
A staged picture for sure !!!

[Thunderbox]

Looks to me like a standard rifle with a standard magazine.

Judging by the rising ground in the back of the picture, they're probably lobbing the grenades down into a ravine - hence the low angle.

I think thats just a pile of grenade boxes from which the grenade has been taken. Its therefore probably a grenade firing "stand" or firing point for a demo or training circuit. hence why a visiting senior officer is having a go and getting his photo taken.

[Peter Laidler]

I say that the 'magazine' is the clip board of the bloke behind it. You can see his hands holding the top of it!

Interesting you judge the range at 40 feet or so Warren. We had a look at it at work and if it's using ballastite with an energa type grenade, then using an energa grenade and launcher as a sort of ball park guide, at that angle we recon 100 yards......... ish! Mind you, we can't see the front of the grenade. It could be hollow charge or flat topped as in smoke or illuminating.

That's a point............... could it be high angle illum to illuminate a night target for the mortars? Just a thought as you don't need sights for illum or smoke

[RJW NZ]

Interesting, I didn't realize how much of interest there is in that photo. My question is, if that officer is holding a clipboard, then whats in the enfield, a single shot with no magazine?
ps If that link to facebook was a problem , the name of the enfield group there is ; Lee Enfield Collectors Group, a simple search will bring them up. It seems to be the largest one on facebook, at least, the largest I could find, with 850 members.

[Gav]

I say that the 'magazine' is the clip board of the bloke behind it. You can see his hands holding the top of it!

I still can't see that,

If the "clip board' is with the chap in the background it appears to be at the same focal distance as the rifle. The Officer at the back is out of focus and looks to me to simply have his hands folded across his front.

And the object seems to have the 3 straight ribs of a SLR type mag running its full length with a shadow at its top where it enters the rifle.


By the way, nice rifle Cottage Hill Bill.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

My guesses:

The rifle in the near background is an X8 (trials FAL / pre L1A1)

That launcher is one of the obscure Australian post WW2 spigot launchers for the No 1 rifle. One version locked on using the handle end of a bayonet and an adapter plate to line the spigot up with the bore (more-or-less) The other version, (for which I cannot quickly find an illustration, Apart from the above photo), clamped onto the slots in the nose-cap, not unlike the 2 1/2 inch cup discharger job.

As for the vehicle; I suspect a "Jeep" variant, but with a late / "unofficial" canopy fitted.

My two bob's worth.

[Peter Laidler]

We think that the magazine is too wide to be an SLR or FN magazine if you compare it relative to the rifle and without propmt, the Australian Army training Warrant Officer here says that it looked like the clip board. He doesn't recognise the place either, even remotely as Canungra or Ingleburn or any of the other big training areas

On second thoughts Warren, we've all overruled yesterdays opinion and think that it's the low end of the Energa range - 50 yards - so you get the cigar!

Interesting photo for the comments point of view alone..................

Has anyone got one of those spigot launcher things? The mechanics of it are simple enough but the forces applied by butt-ending the spigot to the barrel and...... and.......... I'd like to see the maths behind it because gas under pressure will ALWAYS seek the line of least resistance and with that spigot, something WILL give! Only my opinion

By pure coincidence and Aust Army Major (Ross) has just been in too and he can't identify the place either