LE No. 5 in .308, issued to any Armed Forces?

[villiers]

I know it´s not going to be easy, but there must have been one or two units somewhere in the world that were issued with the No. 5, .308 kit rifles. If some proof can be found, I could, maybe some day shoot my No. 5 competitively. How about Africa, or the Trucial States? I´d be grateful for even the slightest hint at where I could possibly look.

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

David Howroyd told me that while Sterling made one or two to assess the viability, there were no takers

[Brit plumber]

Read through this thread and come to your own conclusions. Someone certainly think there was a conversion in service overseas.

Odd jungle carbine from Argentina, chambered in .308

[villiers]

Thanks Plumber, I did see that one. Pity how that site hardly ever seems to produce anything to go on.

[Beerhunter]

I know it´s not going to be easy, but there must have been one or two units somewhere in the world that were issued with the No. 5, .308 kit rifles.

Not in the British Army, I'm afraid. If you think about it why would we? We had enough L1A1 SLRs to equip everyone.

For that matter why would any other army? Bolt-action rifles were wildly out of date by the time NATO moved to 7.62mm round plus Mikhail Timofeevich's product was becoming more pervasive.

BTW, when a jungle rifle was needed for the Gurkhas in Borneo we bought AR15s.

[Simon P]

There were a few floating around in the 1980s just presumed they were commercial conversions possibly from companies like Charnwood

The Argentinian one in the picture is fitted with a standard rifle sight by the look of it

[Mk VII]

A number of private individuals have had one done over the years because they wanted one, but that is all, I believe.

[blurrededge]

I have a Sterling 7.62 carbine conversion. The story I was told by the previous owner was that it was aquired when the Sterling factory closed, apparently there were around five converted by them and sold off.
Mine is built on a 43 Maltby No 4 reciever and also looks like it was at one time fitted with a reciever hung trigger by Sterling and then removed, the rifle may have been used as some kind of works gun to try out modifications on.
The previous owner who was often at Sterlings (being in the trade) said that to his knowledge there were never more than a few carbines assembled in the factory and no kits sold.

[villiers]

B*gger! So I´ll just have to tell them some cock & bull story about it being issued to some kind of African or Arab irregulars in times gone by.