UK Workshop made assault ladder and breaking tool.

[tombear]

I've been trying to think of a way of not sounding like a complete Walt and not come up with a way so please forgive me and be gentle.

I'm getting rid of my collection so have been digging things out, some of which I didn't even know I had.

Normally I'd only touch Issue kit but in these two case I actaully bought them to use, being tools of sorts. They were cheap and fulfilled perceived rolls.

About 20 years back, maybe 25 I was looking for a escape ladder i could keep in the bottom of a wardrobe on the first floor. I was going to Johnsons O Leeds a big warehouse army surplus place on the edge of Leeds quite often and for not very much I aquired a workshop made sectional ladder.







Thats just 12 sections with the end pieces and is about 12 foot high,



In all there's 21 sections, a top and a bottom end piece, 20 pegs ( I suspect there should be one more or one of the sections is a spare ) and one double peg. So it can be made about 20 foot long. Its made from thick aluminium. A peg and a sectio weigh just unde 2lb.

Here,s a pic of the various components with two sections of the oblong bits.



My question is, does anyone recognise it as a type commonly made? It neatly fits into one of those wooden bottomed issue canvas shopping bag things, I used to store it in one of those but now use that for tools.

Johnsons used to get lots of ratty smocks and trials kits like the Centreforge stove ( which I also had one of for a while) that were in battered boxes with Hereford addresses on them, the staff at the shop used to imply everything was SAS kit (There's the Walt bit ) .

When we moved I replaced it with one of those bar and chain roll up escape ladders. So any thoughts on that one?

The other thing I acquired for a few quid was a breaching tool I thought would be useful in the car, to smash the glass or lever a door open if we had another bad crash. Again no markings but very well made.











It can be opened with one hand, pull down the switch at the bottom of the slot, flick your wrist and it locks firmly open, To close pull the knurled cap up and the blade folds down. It feels military rather than any rescue service. I stopped carrying it in the car when a mate pointed out its practically a war pick!

Anyroad does anyone recognise the type, which unit workshop was making them, anything really?

ATB

Tom

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[Aragorn243]

That breaching tool looks pretty cool. Makes me think of my sister in law who has a fear of crossing bridges in her car and has to have a window breaking tool with her at all times.

[Roy W]

The tool looks like a miniature Halligan Bar, a common piece of equipment in an MOE (Method of Entry) kit. Probably made up locally for MOE teams to carry, ideal for flimsy doors or small windows perhaps? Looks to be well made. Certainly the sort of thing that 'them' would use.

[Surpmil]

"Walt", now there' s a term you don't hear anymore.

You must be pretty far out in the sticks: the Walts are out of the closet and now holding large pride events: they call it "re-enacting".

I guess I'll make some enemies there, but you know what they say: "if you can't a joke you shouldn't have pretended to join!"

[tombear]

Oh aye, nowt but moors here and anxious sheep. If you see some one in DPM they are probably off poaching.

Thankfully I've always been too fat and bookish to be tempted to play dress up, mind It don't stop some, on the interweb I've seen five foot, twenty stone waffen SS and 60 year old Glider troops. Each to their own. I've been sniffing webbing for 40 years who am I to comment?

Actually I could do with a SAS fan boy to pop up to tell me if the ladder and tool are kosher, just curious more than owt else.

I found another mystery item, this time in the collection, a mass of green straps and buckles which I've labelled. "KC 8140 Stretchers, harness, manifold". The KC prefix means nowt to me. Looks 1940s or 50s. Anybody have a idea what it is precisely. It looks like something that could hold a man onto a stretcher when carried over difficult terrain, or a bit of all fresco bondage, I've no idea. Sadly my go to man for webbing died at the end of last year.

ATB

Tom

[Gil Boyd]

With some assurance I think the last item is in fact a "Hooly bar" which many MOE teams had issued as the then new double glazed units appeared.

So that dates it correctly IMHO around 70/80's and the kit is thereby likely to have come from an MOD/POLICE clearing house, to make way for new battery powered cutters/crushers/expanders which evolved as technology advanced in MOE IMHO.

[Surpmil]

Oh aye, nowt but moors here and anxious sheep. If you see some one in DPM they are probably off poaching.

Thankfully I've always been too fat and bookish to be tempted to play dress up, mind It don't stop some, on the interweb I've seen five foot, twenty stone waffen SS and 60 year old Glider troops. Each to their own. I've been sniffing webbing for 40 years who am I to comment?

Actually I could do with a SAS fan boy to pop up to tell me if the ladder and tool are kosher, just curious more than owt else.

I found another mystery item, this time in the collection, a mass of green straps and buckles which I've labelled. "KC 8140 Stretchers, harness, manifold". The KC prefix means nowt to me. Looks 1940s or 50s. Anybody have a idea what it is precisely. It looks like something that could hold a man onto a stretcher when carried over difficult terrain, or a bit of all fresco bondage, I've no idea. Sadly my go to man for webbing died at the end of last year.

ATB

Tom

As for the ladder, someone put some work into it, but would it stand up to a few hundred pounds of soldier; not sure I'm convinced of that.