Vickers Chest Markings

[Flying10uk]

I recently photographed these Vickers chests and I think it shows the front stencilling rather well.
With thanks to Tim From Cobbaton Combat Museum for giving permission to use photo.

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

Interesting for me in a nerdy sort of way because I never realised that the Vickers had been allocated a Nato stock number, C1/1005-99-961-9807. Obsolete in August 1968 but still in very limited use by Paratroopers in Aden/Radfan and Gurkhas in Borneo (until October). 1 RNZIR had some stored in the back of their big armoury in Central Malaya somewhere

[Flying10uk]

Could these chest be ex Canadian as the museum owner is interested in Canadian kit???

[Peter Laidler]

I think they came from the old RAOC collection at Donnington. But that in itself is another long sorry saga for another day as they say.........

[Gil Boyd]

Now as you grow up in service you hear from time to time sayings that originated within the Military.
Have these any credence, and was the same saying brought forward into WW2?:

"THE WHOLE NINE YARDS"

1. The length or amount of cloth used to make the belts to feed the Maxim or Vickers Machine Gun with rounds.
or
2. It originated with W.W.II aircraft and specifically the 50 calibre machine guns ammunition belts. The .50 calibre, both in heavy bombers and in fighter aircraft had 27 foot ammunition belts. It became a common phrase to say that a pilot or gunner "gave 'em the whole nine yards" when they had run out of ammunition.

[Peter Laidler]

Same as the car-honking sound dit dit di dit dit - dit dit. That started life in the trenches from the Vickers guns. Once they'd set up their interlocking arcs of fire with the next gun a few hundred yards down the line, they'd shoot that 'tune'. Next gun did the same and on it went. Some say it went down the whole 14 miles of front line

[Gil Boyd]

This is an interesting BBC short documentary on the machine gun, where its designers honestly thought it would save lives. Maxim an American, who changed his nationality to British, who then sold his MG to the Germans..........well we all know what happened from there!!

BBC iWonder - Did the machine-gun save lives in WW1?

Once you have watched the video by clicking on the blue square with black PLAY arrow where shown then scroll down some interesting stuff there.

[Peter Laidler]

I think that you're just saying this to get all the history aficionados/fiends/nerds going again Gil!

[Gil Boyd]

Peter,
Would I................ on a Sunday, after a bottle of red, on not mentioning the chest once either?

[Vincent]

Now as you grow up in service you hear from time to time sayings that originated within the Military.

Some sayings never leave a branch of the military and are forgotten over time. Like “Can I have your egg?” It’s a saying used by RAF bomber crews in WW2. If they returned from a night mission, they would have breakfast after the debriefing. Eggs were rationed and there was only one egg for each airman. Not that eggs had anything to do with the real meaning behind the saying.