One more “Tanks”…

Yep, they DO run…

Need some land plowed???

Centurion heading out to ‘play’…

And a series of rifles…

03, 03A3, M-1, M-1 Carbine, all with bayonets… Drool…

Edit- Thanks to Roger, the second one down is actually an Eddystone in .30.

US rifles

And stepping forward a generation- M-14 to the M-16 Β Note- NO forward assist… Vietnam issue weapons, along with a LAW, and machete…

M16 M14Two more versions of the M-16A1. Note the different flash hiders- Upper was Army, lower was apparently issued to the Air Force… And forward assist.

M16s

 

And since we’re talking Nam…

M60

And it’s NOT an airsoft… πŸ™‚

 

Comments

One more “Tanks”… — 20 Comments

  1. When I reported aboard my first ship, USS Hawkins, DD-873, the small weapons mix contained Garands, Thompsons, air cooled Browning machine guns, and maybe the BAR, but I do not recall seeing a BAR.

    Vivid mental picture of sailors with Tommy Guns cordoning off the pier for a special weapons transfer.

    When we modernized not too long after that, it was M-14 rifles, some or all had the happy switch, and the M-60. My pistol qualification was shot with a 45, but due to the luck of the draw, NOT, a Union Switch and Signal Company 45. That pistol was in the armory aboard the USS William R. Rush, DD-714, my last active duty ship. On the Rush I was an active duty sailor on a reserve can. Good duty as we were stationed in New York at Fort Schuyler.

    Insert here any number of “When I was in the Navy stories.” Some of these stories will actually contain various percentages of the truth, and all will be redacted to protect the identities of other people.

    Teasers are:
    When we hit the oiler.
    Meeting the ROK Navy when we transferred the ship.
    How to make the Supply Department flunk the annual supply inspection.
    Why the XO should not drive his moped off of the pier in Bermuda.
    But wait, there is more!

    John in Philly

  2. Tanks and artillery – you never can fully appreciate them until you’re on the receiving end.

  3. Second rifle down is not an O3A3, but is a US rifle of 1917 chambered in caliber .30 of 1906.
    AKA 1917 Enfield. The ears protecting the rear sight and the dogleg bolt are the giveaways. There are two 03-A3s, third down and fifth down

  4. re: the M16a1s….the bottom one is exactly the same as the one I was issued in USMC boot, 1984. Flash suppressor and all…

    • But I gotta say I preferred the M16A2 I was issued in my unit when I got there. Heavier barrel, better sights, rounded textured hand-guards, and solid lower portion of flash suppressor. Other than that, nothing fancy. No “tactical” slings, no rail attachments like today.

      Fired expert with it many times…

  5. Dang! That is exactly the same clip I have of the Centurion that I couldn’t post. Even the same chatter in the background. It’s as if you were standing right next to me.

    Thanks for posting it. The only thing missing is the smell of inefficiently burned diesel fuel.

  6. I actually had occasion to touch off a LAW several times. Interesting, but the whole time over there was interesting.
    The M-16 on top in the second pic is like the one I carried, with the vine catching suppressor.
    The Sgt in the last pic is wearing my Big Red One!!!!

  7. JOhn- LOL, really love to ‘hear’ those stories… πŸ™‚

    LL- No thanks…

    Roger- Gah… I just noticed that, thanks! I’ll correct the post! That’s why I was an airdale… Ours, not ours… Much simpler!! πŸ™‚

    Walter- Thanks!

    Wyo- Thanks!
    Prof- πŸ™‚ True, unburned diesel is a LOT like JP-1…

    WSF- It was!

    Craig- He was actually in the Big Red One in Nam…

  8. I was Army, and was issued both of those M16s at different times. The lower one with the enclosed flash suppressor was the later version. The only operational difference I found was that the newer one couldn’t be used to break the wire on a case of C rations. πŸ˜‰

  9. I was big red 1 in Iraq. (also 10th and 3rd due to cross attachment — strange story)

  10. Minor point, but that’s not an M14, it’s a Springfield Armory commercial M1A or the equivalent from another maker. Nothing against the M1A, I own two of them, but the M14 had a transfer bar under the operating rod which filled the hole seen on the starboard side of the rifle. All M14s had the transfer bar, the actual selector switch for full auto attached to the rear of the bar. Getting the transfer bar on and off was the only hard part of the M14s take it apart and put it together in [as I recall] 90 seconds drill, and a real bitch to do blindfolded. And yes, my first uniform had gold “US Army” on black tape, back when Dinosaurs [or at least Mastodons] walked the earth.

  11. I wasn’t gonna say anything about the Eddystone. Didn’t want to sound impertinent.

    We carried two LAW tubes per squad when we went hiking in the mountains. Nice way to take the fight to the fellas in a cave.

    Of course, being highly armed teenagers and 20 somethings, with little to no adult supervision, numerous jokes of “laying down the law” or “I fought the law, and the law won” were made immediately after lighting one those off.

    Ah yes, the M-60 the gun of Rambo. Are y’all gonna be mad if I say they were all gone by the time I went through OCS?

  12. Prof- That IS a tad strange…

    Dan- Apparently the USAF got them too.

    W. Fleetwood- He claimed it was a real M-14 that had been converted to semi-auto, but I’d tend to believe you over him (since he was a young guy).

    SPE- LOL, figures… And they are actually making a comeback as the M-37.

  13. That early “M16” isn’t an M16 at all but a Colt AR-15 model 602. They predate the type classification of even the XM16.

    An XM16E1 and/or and early M16A1 could have that partial fence lower; and the USAF got no-forward assist full-fence lowers later in their allocation of M16’s.

  14. Rick- You’re welcome.

    McThag- Thanks!

    Fargo- Oh yeah, if you’re into old bolties, that was a nice set!