The Adventurer's Gear Thread

[cookie]

Aussie Military Jackets

I'll stick these here for historical reasons...

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=26086

 

[Yorker]

I just joined here just so I could post these for this thread- IIRC these were 1930's era, British troops in what is now either Pakistan or Afghanistan the old North-West Frontier...

Matt

 

[Mike K.]

Yorker - Welcome to the Fedora Lounge...and to the best thread in the lounge!
Those are some great photos and just the stuff we love to see here on the adventure gear thread. I love the look of those pith helmets! Man, that cork must be at least an inch thick.

 

[J.A. Daub]

the .303 and Bell

I have just finished reading this thread over the last few days and thought that I could add a little bit of info. Early on the Metford and Enfield were mentioned and the differences between the two were wondered about. The Metford used a shallow segmental rifling form designed for black powder, when the switch was made to cordite (which burns much,much hotter) it was found that bore erosion was happening at only a few thousand rounds. The decision was made to use a deeper form of rifling at the Enfield Armoury and that was that.

As for Bell, if I recall, his first name was actually Walter, and for all of his fame with the .275 Rigby (aka 7x57 Mauser) he actually shot over half of his bag of 1100 elephant with the .303 using the original 215gr "full patch" round.

P.S. -if you are looking for a photo of Bell, I know that there is one of him, later in life, in the book Safari Rifles by Craig Boddington. He looks quite dashing actually.

 

[carebear]

I just joined here just so I could post these for this thread- IIRC these were 1930's era, British troops in what is now either Pakistan or Afghanistan the old North-West Frontier...

Matt

Note the optical rangefinder, those MG's are set up for indirect fire.

 

[Rooster]

Note the optical rangefinder, those MG's are set up for indirect fire.

Yep, I meant to comment on that range finder yesterday, that and the fact that they have their sights ajusted WWWAAAAYYYY up there for lobbing bullets in from a great distance. A real "heads up" style of shooting a MG. Nice pictures, thanks for posting.

 

[Story]

Welcome, York.
You might appreciate this freebie:
The Story of the Guides,
by G. J. Younghusband
QUEEN'S OWN CORPS OF GUIDES
AUTHOR OF "EIGHTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON A BURMESE TAT"
"INDIAN FRONTIER WARFARE," "THE RELIEF OF CHITRAL"
"THE PHILIPPINES AND ROUND ABOUT," ETC., ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1908
www.gutenberg.org/files/16808/16808-h/16808-h.htm

nb:the fellow on the extreme right looks to be in danger of losing his turban.

 

[Yorker]

Yep that is back when machine gunnery was still an art like artillery fire. It has become a lost art.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Thanks for posting these very interesting photographs. Let us see what we can construe from them. The terrain and uniforms definitely point towards the North-West Frontier. The sola topis would indicate a later date than the Waziri campaign of the early 1920s (Wolseley helmets were worn then) so either the Mohd campaign of 1935 or the Wazir campaign of 1936-37 would suggest itself. The webbing is '08 pattern, but that isn't a surprise as '37 pattern wouldn't have made its presence felt by that time.

It is noticeable that non of the soldiers are Indian, which suggests that they are not a machine gun company of an infantry battalion. I suspect that this is backed up by the rangefinders in use. It is hard to see in monochrome, but I think I see the arm-of-service stripe of the Royal Artillery. The extreme range at which the sights are set and the fact that the observers appear to be looking downhill would suggest that we have a MG piquet of a Royal Artillery unit covering either an advance or retreat, possibly of infantry or a field gun company, in the valley below. This was a standard tactic.

There was considerable debate in the Journal of the Royal Artillery of the value of the Vickers gun in these NWF campaigns - they were felt by some to limit mobility without delivering really effective fire support.
See http://king-emperor.com/article4.htm. for a very informed article.

Alan

I just joined here just so I could post these for this thread- IIRC these were 1930's era, British troops in what is now either Pakistan or Afghanistan the old North-West Frontier...

Matt

 

[Yorker]

Here is the info from the fellow I got the scans from:

While researching my fathers army service {Kings Own Liverpool Regiment 1933-1947} I came across some of his old photo`s. Thought you might be interested.

The first two were taken at Landi Kotel. North West Frontier 1935

Interesting shots, though where is the ammo?? :eusa_doh:

here is another of his pics, 1937

 

[Mojave Jack]

I just joined here just so I could post these for this thread- IIRC these were 1930's era, British troops in what is now either Pakistan or Afghanistan the old North-West Frontier...

Matt

Matt, what a splendid first post! You've certainly made some friends here, right off the bat. Outstanding photos! Welcome to you, too, J.A. Daub. I can see you'll fit in well here.

Matthew and Alan, always the keen observers! I always pick up something new from your comments. :cheers1:

Kinda puts my intended post to shame, but here it is anyway: my new Akubra slouch.

That's the bash it came with. Not too bad, but a tall crown. I may rebash it to the typical fore-and-aft bash so that it sheds rain a bit better and sits a bit lower. It's an Akubra Superfine Quality, made for Eddie Bauer. Nice felt, though a little worn. The little brass square for holding up the side has pulled a little chunk of felt out, and the clasp on the crown is pretty loose. The pug is pretty old and soiled, but cleaned up decently. This will be a great field hat that I won't worry about putting through it's paces. The best part? $10 on the 'bay. I was the only bidder!

 

[Yorker]

I've always been interested in this stuff and stumbled across this forum via this topic when researching something on Google a few weeks ago, I think it took me 4 days of on and off reading to make my way through this whole thread! Some very interesting stuff here!

I need a good hat like that. My problem is that I have a size 8 head and it is nearly impossible to find a decent hat to fit! One of the links from this thread led me to a hat place that had Akubras in rather large sizes so I may have to try one out. :eusa_clap

 

[carebear]

Good eye on the ammo, Matt.

A great book on an early 20th Century adventurer (and machine-gunner) who left his US state militia unit to join the Canadian Army (to get into the war sooner, don't you know :eusa_doh: ).

"A Rifleman Went To War"

- Capt. H.W. McBride

If you are interested in WWI, marksmanship, fieldcraft/sniping or machine gunnery this is a great resource.

You really get a sense of what kind of a man he was and the differences between then and now in terms of how and what folks thought.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Another good (but general) read on campaigns on the NWF is 'The Savage Frontier:a History of the Anglo-Afghan Wars' by DS Richards (McMillan 1990). Light reading, but fascinating.

I used to visit the area and many people tell stories of the 20s and 30s campaigns that are handed down in the families (in Western culture I often find an aversion to learning of the exploits of one's parents) and will some times produce an memento - SMLEs were common among the older men until recently.

Some where I have some photos of Afridi and Waziri tribesmen that I took in 2000. They were going to market, but are equipped like a rifle company!

Alan

 

[carebear]

Another good (but general) read on campaigns on the NWF is 'The Savage Frontier:a History of the Anglo-Afghan Wars' by DS Richards (McMillan 1990). Light reading, but fascinating.

I used to visit the area and many people tell stories of the 20s and 30s campaigns that are handed down in the families (in Western culture I often find an aversion to learning of the exploits of one's parents) and will some times produce an memento - SMLEs were common among the older men until recently.

Some where I have some photos of Afridi and Waziri tribesmen that I took in 2000. They were going to market, but are equipped like a rifle company!

Alan

My kind of shoppers.

 

[Mark G]

Mojave's new Akubra

Nice find Jack! I'd leave the crown as it is for a while. You might find that once you get used to it, the lower crowns are the ones that look odd. You also have the extra advantage of having more insulation space above your head with more room for the vents to work.

 

[Yorker]

Welcome, York.
You might appreciate this freebie:
The Story of the Guides,
by G. J. Younghusband
QUEEN'S OWN CORPS OF GUIDES
AUTHOR OF "EIGHTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON A BURMESE TAT"
"INDIAN FRONTIER WARFARE," "THE RELIEF OF CHITRAL"
"THE PHILIPPINES AND ROUND ABOUT," ETC., ETC.

Story-
Thanks for that! I forwarded that to a friend of mine who is currently serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, I think he may find it interesting!!

 

[Mojave Jack]

Nice find Jack! I'd leave the crown as it is for a while. You might find that once you get used to it, the lower crowns are the ones that look odd. You also have the extra advantage of having more insulation space above your head with more room for the vents to work.

Thanks, Mark! Actually, I rebashed it last night, but I kept the high crown. I just put in a center dent with a slight pinch in the front, similar to Mike K.'s Riverina, and sort of like this Purdey.

I'll post pics tonight, but I like it better already. The felt is very nice, and it rebashed beautifully. I thought I was going to have some trouble with the pinch in the front, but with a spray bottle and a little steam the creases came right out.

Ironically, I had just won this hat on the 'bay when another thread turned me on to the Riverina for $40 from Outback Outlet. I liked Mike's so much at the QM that I grabbed one while I could. I should see it in the next few days. Man, my wife is gonna kill me!

 

[AlanC]

^Nice EB Akubra (nice Purdey, too).

I'm wrestling with the pug on my Mike K. inspired Riverina now, myself. I've had the thing for weeks. It took me awhile to find the right twill tape, now with a trip staring me in the face I want to take it with me. Pics should be forthcoming as soon as I get this pugaree down.

 

[Mojave Jack]

^Nice EB Akubra (nice Purdey, too).

I'm wrestling with the pug on my Mike K. inspired Riverina now, myself. I've had the thing for weeks. It took me awhile to find the right twill tape, now with a trip staring me in the face I want to take it with me. Pics should be forthcoming as soon as I get this pugaree down.

I'll be wrestling with my first attempt at a hand folded pug myself, very soon! I think I'll try my hand at Mike's twill tape method first, at least until I get the process down. Then I may try Mark's muslin method, which he had great success with on his handmade hat.

The pug that came on this Akubra has a lot of wear, but it actually made it look really good! The pug on my other slouch is way too clean and neat. I like this beat up one.