SMLE Cartridge Strippers (for a start)!

[Ogilwy]

Paul,

You might well be right! Time clouds the memory and it's a while ago that we were Corporals!

I distinctly remember that it was a stupid number ftom an operational perspective and made no sense at the time. I recall putting it down to HXP being a lesser manufacturer ( as opposed to RG who always led at the time).

I'll call you soon, need to talk!

Rod

[tocemma]

Bren magazines were ALWAYS filled with only 28 rounds. This was drummed into one and, in turn, one drummed it into others.

BTW, your magazine was faulty or incorrectly reassembled. I used Brens, both in .303 and 7.62, for donkeys and never came across that.

I agree, worn out and battered like me! It was entertaining though.

[MikB]

When we adopted a modified ZB27 and converted it to a rimmed .303 round, someone in a drawing office messed up the measurements and whilst it was envisaged as a 30 round magazine , it might take 29 at a push but reliability suffered badly.

Shouldn't necessarily blame the draughtsman. He might've been working under constraints imposed by accountants, for example to use up a particular material size they'd got unallocated stock of?

IME a design constraint based on non-technical considerations is far more probable than a calculation error.

Regards,

MikB

[Khaki]

A full 1915 Canadian cloth bandolier complete with (live) matching 1916 Canadian MkVII rounds,

for your viewing pleasure

khaki

[Stevie]

Official capacity was 28 rounds and all training manuals stressed this. When we adopted a modified ZB27 and converted it to a rimmed .303 round, someone in a drawing office messed up the measurements and whilst it was envisaged as a 30 round magazine , it might take 29 at a push but reliability suffered badly. When conversion eventually took place back to a rimless ( 7.62 nato) round, the magazine was re designed and the problem solved.

During my time in the Army we still loaded 7.62 Bren mags with 28 rds. To fill them to maximum capacity was inviting trouble with either a jam or weakening of the spring. The same went for the Sterling smg too. capacity 32 rds, load with 30 rds. As an aside, many of us 'squaddies' on the streets of NI in the 70's used the Bren mag on our SLR's.

[Ogilwy]

Stevie,

Remember the L4 mags although they would fit were designed to have gravity assisting the feed. On the SLR that was reversed and could lead to problems, however it did look the part!! Oh, and yes I did it as well, although in our job the 12" barreled 5 shot Browning Shotgun was the favourite!

Rod

[Beerhunter]

. As an aside, many of us 'squaddies' on the streets of NI in the 70's used the Bren mag on our SLR's.

Many years ago so did my Boss, one Orde Wingate.

[MikB]

Many years ago so did my Boss, one Orde Wingate.

Which Orde Wingate? The Orde Wingate never can have seen an SLR.

Regards,

MikB

[SiegeGunner]

His son, Orde Jonathan Wingate, presumably.

[Stevie]

Stevie,

Remember the L4 mags although they would fit were designed to have gravity assisting the feed. On the SLR that was reversed and could lead to problems, however it did look the part!! Oh, and yes I did it as well, although in our job the 12" barreled 5 shot Browning Shotgun was the favourite!

Rod

I've heard this myth of gravity feed repeated quite often. The usual cause of feed problems when using the L4 magazine on the SLR was weakened springs through loading to maximum capacity. I personally never had a problem when I came to use it.

[Beerhunter]

His son, Orde Jonathan Wingate, presumably.

Correct. Lovely bloke. Sadly no longer with us.

The official line on the interchangeability of L4 and L1A1 magazines was that one could use SLR magazines on Brens but not vice versa. In practice both was done with no reported ill effects.

[Khaki]

Aren't we getting a bit off topic ?

khaki

[notimetoulouse]

Thanks to everyone who replied, the amount of knowledge and experience in here is shockingly good!

[Chasemuseum]

Getting back to the original topic, ammunition was factory packed in different configurations to suit different users within a branch of service and different branches of service, all with various different packaging profiles from the first adoption of the black powder MkI .303 cartridge in 1888. Charger clips only start in 1902 with the SMLE series of rifles, although to confuse the issue, the naval landing party bandolier equipment P1901 is designed to carry ammunition in chargers.

Other threads have reviewed the different marks of charger with the MkI being superceded prior to the start of the war but not officially declared obsolete until just after the war. The MkI is relatively rare, the MkII being shown in the photos in this thread.

Chargers and cotton bandoliers appear not to have been controlled stores although they were certainly returned from training use and recycled. I have seen bandoliers with factory filling stamps cancelled and new stamps applied up to 4 times, with dates from WW1 through to the 1950s.

After the Australian Government scrapped the .303 manufacture line and the war reserves were exhausted, our Government purchased ammunition from India or Pakistan in the 1960s & 70s to supply our cadet system until that was shutdown in 1975. With the ammunition from India/Pakistan, I only ever saw it in cardboard cartons. We had to fill it into chargers and bandoliers we held in stock at the unit armoury. This was done at the range as we were not allowed to hold the ammunition at the school over night.

There used to be plenty of old ammunition about. At the rifle clubs, people had crates of MkVI in paper packets tied in string. Over the last 20 years since we have had much stricter laws, the old ammunition has been progressively disappearing as it is now illegal to have it in possession without the appropriately endorsed license. It is still routinely surrendered to police stations and sent of to be burned.

Cheers

RT