L42 Loop Pattern/1907 pat sling

[chosenman]

Do any of you gents have any examples of the 1907 pattern sling used on the L42 which carries 70's or 80's marks?

I recently read an article which stated the 1907 pattern sling which was fitted to the L42 when it entered service was largely gone from the CES by the end of the 70's when by the wide green nylon sling had replaced it.

After reading this I have been turning the house upside down looking for a 1907 pattern sling which I have had for several years and is buried somewhere which has a ink stamped 2 81 on the strap and then under each claw it has a broad arrow with 9 81 stamped. I have always assumed the ink stamp is the US manufacturer's mark and the broad arrow mark and date is when the MOD accepted it which suggests that pattern of sling was still in service with the L42.

Your thoughts please, and when I find it I'll put some pics up.

Information

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[no4mk1t]

The markings on USGI M1907 slings can vary somewhat due to when the sling was made and who made it. Typical markings are as shown where "MRT" and the month and year of manufacture are ink stamped on the sling. MRT stand for Mildew Resistant Treatment and was applied to canvas web gear as well to retard rot in tropical climates.
There are also variations where the MRT is ink stamped and the date is struck/impressed into the leather, or the month is spelled out rather than using numerals.

[Peter Laidler]

I would tend to agree that the leather sling was seeing its last days in the mid to late 70's or so. If new stocks were obtained later they would have incorporated the usual Ordnance numbering system but they always retained the old US Ordnance part number (as did M1919 Browning parts). They were all getting old and tatty and being sent to the equipment repairers to be re-stitched or repaired in some way or another. Another problem was that they'd use 'dubbin' on them which just made them slimy and slippery when they were wet. Shall I go on about them………….

[chosenman]

Peter, did you ever see the leather sling with markings as late as the 80's on an L42?

[Peter Laidler]

They were all really shagged by then and I don't ever recall seeing late dated ones. The only variation I recall seeing was some with very dark/steel(?) hooks. What made them interesting was the very old dates. There was a 'dues-out' for a long time until the nylon ones came on stream. The VAOS price for the nylon slings in the early 80's was 113 pounds EACH! due to the cost of the specially made hooks and CLAMP, keeper, aircraft - or whatever it was called.

I might have mentioned it before but the nylon sling wasn't a whole bundle of fun either as it was slippery too and fell foul of the nylon burns palava after the Falklands. No doubt about it, the best was the later slightly thinner cotton one used later on the L42 and carried over onto the L96. There was mixed feelings about the change to cotton webbing. Not the actual material but the narrower width. But the old SASC O/C was on the trials team only had praise for it