pistols/ hand guns

[ExSarge]

Sarge— That 1911 was a great pistol. You know, the last US government contarct for 1911's was in 1945. All the .45 Colts used after that date were made in WW2. Even today, the MEUSOC .45's are built on WW2 frames and slides at the armament shop in Quantico. Pretty amazing.

I had forgotten that! I remember in the early 70's my unit received a number of replacement refurbished M1911A1's. Each one came in its own foil wrapped bag. At the time I had just finished a two week unit armourer’s course and was assisting the unit armourer. In my excitement, remember I was a young PVT at the time, I ripped open one of these bags and was promptly covered in preservative lubricant. That was one set of fatigues that I never got clean again! Each pistol also came with one of the original russet leather holsters with leg tie down strap. They were in excellent condition but apparently had been in store since 1917 according to the packaging.

 

[Red 6]

In 85, when I was in the Blackhorse, we turned in our 113s and ITV's for transition on the Bradleys. I was in a scout platoon and we had six tracks— 3 113's and 3 ITV's. So, we had to wrap the .50 cal machine guns and M60's in cosmolene to prep them for turn-in. This other Soldier and I got stuck with cleaning and prepping them for long-term storage. They had to go in these big foil sacks about the size of a body bag. I think I still have some of that cosmolene under my finger nails.

It's funny, at work, whenever we clean weapons, everybody wears rubber gloves. But, in the Army we never used any sort of hand protection. On the Bradley, you use GMD on the 25mm chain gun. (Grease, Molybdenum Disulfide). We used to slather that stuff on by hand withour wearing anything on our hands. A couple of years ago, I was in the basement at work and some maintenance guys were working on the steam plant. I saw they had a five gallon can of GMD and were wearing thick rubber gloves, aprons and dust masks. I asked them how come they had all that stuff on. One of them told me, "That Moly-B is bad stuff—causes all sorts of cancer." I thought, "Oh great, just another good Army story..."

 

[Fishbone Jones]

MSDS for Grease, Molybdenum Disulfide
http://www.setonresourcecenter.com/msds/docs/wcd0001a/wcd01a47.htm

Your co-worker was right. Document for pension purposes

 

[Red 6]

Thanks for the intel, recceguy. I know there are a bunch of you here that are 25mm-guys. Do you still use GMD?

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I'm not lucky enough to have worked with the 25, but I've used the grease for various things throughout my career. Used to use about 10 gallons of the stuff when we greased a Centurian, and I mean the tank, not the rank!! Used to just scoop it out of the drum, by hand, and into the grease gun. Was going to use it for my M14, but maybe I'll try something else now. Got some in the garage that'll get special treatment from now on.

 

[ExSarge]

Jeez, you guys keep pulling up memories from my past. The first weapon I was issued in Basic training was an M-14. In the 82nd Abn, in the 70's each rifle company was assigned two M-14's as company sniper weapons. But then again we still had 3.5" rocket launchers as our AT weapons! For those not familiar with it, the 3.5 was a Korean War vintage copy of the original bazooka. We used to say you could tell who your platoon sergeant was p***ed at by who got assigned as the AT gunner. They were inaccurate, temperamental pieces of junk with no penetrating power and one hell of a back blast signature!

 

[GAP]

Jeez, you guys keep pulling up memories from my past. The first weapon I was issued in Basic training was an M-14. In the 82nd Abn, in the 70's each rifle company was assigned two M-14's as company sniper weapons.

Did you ever get over your M-1 thumb?

 

[ExSarge]

I never got caught with that one! Rest assured it was just good luck and not good planning

I did manage to help blow one up! My battalion spent one summer supporting ROTC cadet training. I and another two Pvt’s were given the detail of playing aggressors on an ambush scenario. We had to “ambush” the cadet patrol and “die” when they assaulted thru the ambush. To play the part we were issued M-14’s without blank adapters, which meant of course that each round had to be chambered manually. Well, we had a lot of down time between patrols, and as every NCO knows a private is most dangerous when left with nothing to do. We decided that we could get the weapons to self load if we increased the powder charge in the blanks. We emptied the powder out of a half dozen (give or take) blanks and packed it into one. When the weapon was fired the bolt blew out, the stock cracked and the guy firing it broke his nose! We of course adopted the universal excuse when questioned “Don’t know what happened sarge, it just fell apart!” After that incident our First argent referred to us as the three “G’s”, gangrene, garlic and goat s**t. I was Gangrene!

 

[Red 6]

Did you ever get over your M-1 thumb?

I don't think you could get M1 thumb with an M14. The magazine on the M14 loads from the bottom. You get M1 thumb loading the 8 round clip and the bolt slams forward on your thumb.

 

[GAP]

I don't think you could get M1 thumb with an M14. The magazine on the M14 loads from the bottom. You get M1 thumb loading the 8 round clip and the bolt slams forward on your thumb.

correct, and you had better get that thumb out of there before that bolt catches it !!  ;D  God that hurts

 

[ExSarge]

You can get it if you load the magazine (while in the weapon) from a charger clip. The force needed will almost always unseat the bolt causing it to slam forward!

 

[GAP]

You can get it if you load the magazine (while in the weapon) from a charger clip. The force needed will almost always unseat the bolt causing it to slam forward!

Why do that? It's super easy to slap out a mag, never used a charging clip(M14). I guess it's got it's advantages, just never exposed to it.

 

[ExSarge]

The only time I had to do it was in basic. Obviously they were familiarizing new recruits with the weapon, but if one happened to get their thumb caught, as some did, that was just a bonus! 

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Jeez, you guys keep pulling up memories from my past. The first weapon I was issued in Basic training was an M-14. In the 82nd Abn, in the 70's each rifle company was assigned two M-14's as company sniper weapons. But then again we still had 3.5" rocket launchers as our AT weapons! For those not familiar with it, the 3.5 was a Korean War vintage copy of the original bazooka. We used to say you could tell who your platoon sergeant was p***ed at by who got assigned as the AT gunner. They were inaccurate, temperamental pieces of junk with no penetrating power and one hell of a back blast signature!

My unit got to fire some of the last ammo for the 3.5” The rockets kind of wobbled through the air and we found that people would let the tube dip while firing causing the rocket to explode into the ground fairly close to the firing position. Glad I got a chance to compare them to the LAW and Carl G.

 

[1feral1]

Going off track here a tad, but I could not resist, when the 3.5 was brought up.....

At MILCON 1980 at Dundurn, 8 FES and 21 FER (in those days they were called that) fired the last 3.5" HE Korean War dated ammo the CF had in the system (CFAD Dundurn - even Angus did not have any), near Pimple Hill.

Six launchers fired all bloody day long. No misfires. I fired the ole M20A1 'Super bazooka' no fewer than 6 times that day, hitting the targets all but once.

Targets? Freshly parked Ferrets which were driven out to the range, parked where they would be shot, and when they did get hit, they burned like buggery, full of oil, and whatever left over fuel was on board.

There was a dirty great big giant hockey sock full of HE rds, and we bogged the Duece in sand (the ole M135's before the days of the MLVWs), and two of had to crossload a whole truckload of it by hand. It was as hot as helll too!

Ah, those were the days.

Wes

 

[ExSarge]

Wes, what ranges were you firing at? I seem to remember that you pretty near had to screw that thing in someones ear before you were guaranteed a hit!

 

[1feral1]

From memory 100-250metres. Ferret scout cars.

That was the summer of 1980. Hard to believe 26 yrs ago earlier this month.

It was electrically fired. Remove a cover on the side of the bomb, load it, placing the protruding wires  into in a clamp type thing near the end of the 'stove pipe'.

It had shaped charge, and flew through the air like a fence post. Blew the living crap out of those four or five Ferrets.

What I did like about that beast was the tubes unlocked and could be carried broken down, and assembled in seconds.

Back in my Militia days with the Regina Rifles (Up The Johns), we used to fire what the Pl Comd, the then LT DJ Hendrickson (killed in a skiing accident in BC, Dec 1985) called 'sand bombs' out of the 3.5's, which was a blue warhead, like a giant ball rd whizzing through the air. Seemed we got more 'TPTs' than HE in the mid-late 1970s, but it was always nice to see the HE go off.

Many time off of Survey Point at Dundurn, there would be some old cars to shoot.

Those were the days.


Wes

 

[TCBF]

"Your co-worker was right. Document for pension purposes"

- I've got so many Army chemicals lining up to kill me now, the bloody Molly Die will just have to wait it's darn turn!

- And yes, as the American 'Apachie chain gun tech' told us at KAF in 2002 "That's it! Coat the sucker so thick y'all can't see the bicycle chain!"

- Fired the 3.5" RL at the Mt. MacKay Range in Thunder Bay in Sep 72 and Sep 73.  Cement heads only.  Half the city heard the launches. 

 

[Loachman]

My unit got to fire some of the last ammo for the 3.5” The rockets kind of wobbled through the air and we found that people would let the tube dip while firing causing the rocket to explode into the ground fairly close to the firing position. Glad I got a chance to compare them to the LAW and Carl G.

We had some in 4 RCR in the early seventies, like any other res Infantry unit, but always fired Carl Gustafs borrowed from 1 RCR. Somebody found some 1954 HEAT rounds in 1975 or 1976 so we fired them in Ipperwash in November of whichever year it was. With the cold temperatures and old ammo, the first guy to fire got unburnt propellant chunks blown into his face with one penetrating through his lower lip. Everybody following wore a balaclava with a piece of corrugated cardboard covering the disengaged eye and that solved that problem. Yes, several rounds were dumped into the frozen ground about 20 m or so in front of the firer. Others went skipping merrily downrange without exploding as they had to hit a solid target pretty much square on in order to detonate. We had one guy sitting up on top of the timber ammo bay with a pair of binos watching to see where they ended up. Only one or two ever actually hit the poor old Shermans before the day's practice was halted prematurely when a newguy loader rammed a round halfway up the tube - the RSO realized that something was not quite right when he saw buddy's left arm buried up to the elbow. The weapon was set aside and firing stopped while the wpn tech in London was called. He showed up three hours later and ended up blowing the whole thing up - all we ever found was the front cone badly mangled and devoid of paint.

The rest of the ammo was returned as it was not considered worthwhile carrying on.