Some new things, lets play a guessing game

[nzl1a1collector]

The first Jig is for repairing/re riveting the locking spring thing on the Australian F1 BFA. In which I just happened to have one of the repaired BFA's in the collection and as you can see fits it perfectly. A BFA with good rivets won't fit onto the jig.

---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:13 PM ----------

The second one is as mentioned used for re-riveting the grips on a L1A1, L1A2, L1A3, L1A4, C1 Bayonets The plan for these is shown in the EMER's. I have a number of different variants of these, this one has been made using a cut in half I-beam as the base. Others I've seen are 2-piece welded together bases. Unfortunitly it didn't come with the corresponding punch.

---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:17 PM ----------

Something new.

Its about 5 inches long



---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:20 PM ----------

Hummmm I wonder what this is?

[mrclark303]

A couple of wild guess's Kev, is the top one something to do with TMH pivot holes?

Bottom one locking shoulder related perhaps?

[nzl1a1collector]

Top: hummmmm .......... warm

Bottom: cold.... sooooo very cold

[browningautorifle]

Bottom one is a bayonet scabbard mandrel for C1 or L1 bayonets.

[nzl1a1collector]

[Peter Laidler]

The bayonet grip tool was just sooooo over engineered. We had one in the A in U cupboard of course but generally speaking everyone had a set of home made top and bottom punches that you'd keep on your bench and use as and when. I note the words SA&MG SECT TRENTHAM. That'll be the ±Base Workshop Small Arms and Machine Gun Section at Trentham.

You're right about the BFA's all being black after a good dose of firing blanks. The crunchies had to hand them back clean after exercises but in getting them clean they'd be using the tyupical rifle cleaning kit such as old nails, sand paper, wire wool,wire/steel brushes that they use for cleaning barnacles off the bottom of ocean liners etc etc. So they'd come back into the armouries clean - but with very little yellow paint on them! The Arms storemen used to dunk them in petrol, dry them out and give them a spray with yellow road marking paint. Then every so often they'd all go into the main workshop to be bead blasted and repainted in hard yellow sunkorite. That'd last a couple of weeks and round we'd go again.

BFA's were a constant source of accidents. Some would just go flying off into orbit around the outer planets, some would do the same but hit the 'enemy' and others would disintegrate if someone loaded a live round by accident. Accidents WILL happen but they kept trying to improve the build and safety regime. I suggested that they ought to accept that, say, 10 crunchies or DS would be killed on each exercise due to being hit by blank assisted bullets etc etc. So just write them off as exercise losses.

[browningautorifle]

Then every so often they'd all go into the main workshop to be bead blasted and repainted in hard yellow sunkorite. That'd last a couple of weeks and round we'd go again.

I WISH ours were so well treated.

BFA's were a constant source of accidents. Some would just go flying off into orbit

We had instructions to fasten ours on tight, for a while a hose clamp was the medicine. Problem is, ours had to have a flexibility during use and without it they would break at the front of the locking spring at the bottom front. They wouldn't come off but extend forward and be useless. People just wouldn't accept that things that look good aren't always serviceable.

if someone loaded a live round by accident.

This usually happened when transition range was present, transition from blank to live. Then senior men would have to get their head on straight and keep supervision to a one man checking everything equally. Otherwise a weapon would be overlooked as everyone else thought someone else had checked and it would burst a muzzle from ball contacting a blank. I still can see a FH that was destroyed during a night attack. The man that had the accident was trying to remedy the failure to function and was firing singles at that point...

[Peter Laidler]

An accident waiting to happen that I recall the most was on a small exercise on an open field firing area and getting into an old trench and dropping a load of blank while reloading some of the magazines. Picked them up and realised that there were live rounds in my hands and I'd picked up a load of live from the floor of the trench. As I was one of the DS, I had to pick them up and keep them safe AND away from the blank that I also had. Blank and BFA's = trouble!

[browningautorifle]

Ours was different, it was a trial type of IVI ammo box, 40 rd. They were two 20s paper taped together. We loaded mags for a deliberate attack at night and even though it was sealed ammo from the ammo wing there was a ball round included. Must have been a repack of some sort. Recruits, under supervision...and used to handling ammo. Still it happened. The huge Ka-Powie happened a few feet to my left and took about 5 paces to be beside. I could see in the flare light the FH turned inverted and was open at the back. I broke it off and kept it.

Now...this is an ammo accident and as Peter and a few others will attest, the book is specific reference what happens next. Segregation of the ammo, rifle, witnesses, the exercise stops until ammo techs arrive to investigate...none of which happened. In the end, the ammo techs and weapon's techs decided that a dirty BFA was to blame and excessive gas. I've seen FNs with the gas plug turned upside down so all the gas went to the barrel just burp when a BFA was on. The pressure must have been fantastic...and no damage.

You should have been there Peter...weapon went to BLR for a new barrel. Bulged muzzle...nice... We never did see 40 rd boxes again.

[nzl1a1collector]

The Punch is for re-securing a loose Pistol Grip Bushing on the Bottom of the TMH.


Something else ......