WesWorld

The standard light MG is the Vickers-Berthier, the 'K' being a modified version for the RAF but in WW this term has become unoffical designator for the whole familiy. The British BAR is the Vickers-Berthier, but upside down!

I doubt the Bren will ever be built in WW, why would the Brits need the Czechs to design them a gun when I've a perfectly servicable MG already?


B is for B ritish Ales...

*runs away from angry druken Belgian mob*

Hmmmm. Not sure historically why the Bren was chosen over the V-B, apparently the Bren was a bit more ready for adoption than the V-B since the V-B was adopted later by the Indian army.

Now I'm puzzled, though: is the British army looking at both an LMG and an automatic rifle per section (squad in US terminology)? There's not much difference in weight between the V-B and the proposed weapon, so if that's the idea, why not just issue two V-B's per section?

The simple alternative is to issue the Vickers K gun in its historical land based type as used by the LRDG. Adds a shoulder stock and changes the trigger from the push buttons. Magazine remains a 47 or 97 round drum. Its fairly light, reliable and available. Higher rate of fire means you can shoot off more rounds down range quickly.

Not likely to be a good choice: no provision for rapid barrel change (which the high rate of fire needs), no lighter than the Bren/V-B once the shoulder stock is fitted and its given a trigger and bipod, etc. It could be done, but it wouldn't be a good idea.

From July 1936 Machine Gun Battalions will be formed as part of Regiments. The Middlesex Regiment (six battalions), The Manchester Regiment (five battalions), The Cheshire Regiment (five battalions), The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (five battalions) and the Princess Louise’s Kensington Regiment (two battalions). Each battalion has four companies with 12 Vickers .303in MMG per company in three MMG platoons.

The War Office annouces two major procurement tenders for equipment.

Tender I
For an automatic pistol for use by tank crews and RAF pilots and aircrews in confined spaces. Calibre is left to the manufacturer but the pistol should be lightweight, easy to stow, have a magazine capacity of at least five rounds and have good safety catches.

Tender II
For a lightweight mortar for platoon use. The mortar must have a calibre of 2in, be light enough to be carried by one man, to have a removable baseplate, easy to use sights, be capable of firing HE and smoke rounds, capable of being mounted to a vehicle and be easy to manufacture in large numbers.

Tenders close August 30th 1936.

The Belgians will proffer the following two weapons :

Semi-auto pistol

9mm Browning P-35 Grand puissance (Browning hi-power)
caliber : 9x19 parabellum
action : single action, short recoil semi-automatic
Length : 197mm
Weight : 1.06kg loaded
magazine : 13 + 1
MV : 350m/s
ROF : 40/min

Light mortar

Lance Grenade de 50mm DBT
Light Mortar
Projectile : 0.76kg
MV : 75m/s
Range : 100-585m
Weight : 7.8kg
ROF : 20rpm
not sure on the removability of the baseplate, but expect that could be arranged

Quoted

Originally posted by howard
Deepen the plate stand ribs, and where the pivot ball goes in, design a C shaped collar clamp to lock over the receiver socket to hold the socket foot in place. I don't know why it wasn't done originally; but that was one of the end user mods suggested and done. You might also want to idiot proof the barrel to receive the bomb-fins down so that the server doesn't blow up the mortar team.

H.

Hmm, sounds good, mortars been in service a couple of years, long enough for some improvements.

The Browning HP has been chosen as the Pistol, Automatic No.1.

The mortar selection is for a Vickers design.
Ordnance ML 2in Mortar No.1 Mk I, a small light mortar for platoon or squad use for illumination and infantry support. The 2.25lb bomb can be fired to 500 yards and the mortar can be carried by one man, features a detachable base plate and weighs 9lbs. It can be fired almost horizontally in emergency situations. The ammunition is loaded into three tubes, each of which holds three bombs and this pack is carried by the second crew man. The Mk II features a larger base plate and more advanced sights and is used with the Carrier Mortar No.1 Mk II.