BIFFO Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 I have been given these two clips, measure about 3cm x 2cm,they are suposed to be ww1,any member know what they are, thanks biff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Upton Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 They look to be disintegrating links for machine gun ammunition belts - don't think they're WW1 though (although they were used to some extent by the British that I know of). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 Dear Biffo, They are sections of a machine gun ammunition feed belt. The cartridges slip into the curved sections and literally form the 'hinges'. The single side sits into the double forked side on the next clip and so on. Most First World War machine guns ( as opposed to automatic rifles like the Lewis or BAR -which had magazines ) used canvas belts with pockets in them. I could well be wrong- but I think this sort of belt was a Second World War innovation- they are still used today on weapons like the GPMG. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Henschke Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 It looks exactly like the disintegrating link used for 7.62mm machine guns. The link used for the old GPMG M60. The M240B and the FN MAG link (still in use) are identical. Very hard to tell without a scale, though. 5.56mm link is similar. Chris Henschke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 I agree with Chris, those are 7.62mm links for the GPMG dating at their earliest from the 1960s. Disintegrating links were used mainly in aircraft in WW1. The British used three types, the Mark I and II which were practically identical and the Mark III which was a Prideaux design. This is the Mark II Prideaux There were also non-disintegrating belts tried for land service but they were not successful. This is the Sangster belt. Regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 24 May , 2008 Share Posted 24 May , 2008 The canvas belt was a problem, especially if it got wet when they could swell then shrink causing a variety of problems. There was a tendency to drag dirt into the gun mechanism. Metal belts were designed in 1914 and orders for four belts per gun were placed in early 1915. Very few actually seem to have reached the front line - they were discontinued in June 1916. There was a shortage of webbing belts - the Germans supplied their troops with 40 belts per gun abut despite recommendations by Plummer that the BEF should apply the same scale Whitehall set it at 16 belts per gun (the bean counters are always with us). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted 24 May , 2008 Author Share Posted 24 May , 2008 AGAIN a big thank you members of gwf,just goes to show the knowledge here well worth subscribing !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Blonde Posted 25 May , 2008 Share Posted 25 May , 2008 Possibly even American Browning .5 Heavy Machine gun links, circa WW2 to the present day. Connaught Stranger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted 25 May , 2008 Share Posted 25 May , 2008 No, they are too small for .50 Br. links. Here is a comparison, GPMG on the left, .50 Br. on the right. Regards TonyE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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