Brits in 1950s - uniform?

[SABOT]

There are a few on there plus don’t forget the good old Saladin as well👍

[Rich H]

I could...  or I could use the Die Waffenkammer Centurion that Jeff will send me.  Seeing as I built the master

Its being cast any time now.

[carlos marighela]

You could still have a Centurion, just look on Ebay for the Corgi Diecast Centurion MKIII, change the toy barrel and do a repaint....avoid the Dinky one though. 

Given that Rich has produced the master for a Centurion, that's going into production at JTFM, I doubt he's in much need of the Corgi version.

Use of '44 pattern webbing was universal amongst the Paras in the '50s. A field pack hides the additional cross straps at the rear which give it away and there are a number of makers of US water bottles which in 28mm stand in for the 44 pattern. If you hunt around for the old Wargames Factory survivors the sprues have a goodly number of SA 80s which would make handy basis for conversion. Actually I'd be prepared to part with mine if you want, I  have no real need for them.

I did read somewhere that the Paras were supposedly heavy users of the No 5 rifle, AKA, the Jungle Carbine and got a heavy allocation in 1945. There are a number of photos of 1 Airborne Div occupying Norway toting them. Must have been a shortlived phenomenon. I've seen thecodd one depicted in use by 6 Airborne in Palestine but nothing later in Cyprus or Suez.

[Rich H]

Awesome thanks!

My force will be a what if force toting EM-2s eventually!
Centurion and probably a 17pdr

[carlos marighela]

Awesome thanks!

My force will be a what if force toting EM-2s eventually!
Centurion and probably a 17pdr

17pdr? Nah, if you are going wotif, go for the 32pdr. A manly man's anti-tank gun!

By the by, the paras were using US M40 106mm RCLs in the 1950s.

Let me know if you want the SA 80s and I'll dig 'em out post Christmas.

[Arlequín]

My force will be a what if force toting EM-2s eventually!

If you're looking for a 'what-if' scenario for your 'what-if' force, why not go all the way and follow the one for WWIII laid out in this 1951 issue of Colliers?

Right timescale ('52-'54) for your previous models and your No.9 Rifle (EM-2) toting Brits. Many Soviet units were toting SMGs still, as well as wearing WWII style uniform (although WWII-style Soviets with AKs would be even better), while the U.S. was pretty much still the same as in 1945, a la the new Empress U.S. figures.

I've been procrastinating over it for a while, but lack of figures and vehicles was an issue. You're chipping away at the vehicles and even the figures are partly do-able. It's all the same tech level as Bolt Action (although I'd be going all to CoC if it was me).

[MartinR]

Late to the party, but from 1951...




The 'Commando Cap' shown on the Minifigs above, was almost universal head wear in Korea for the Army, as the helmet could be worn over it.

I love the caption on the first photo which emphasises the Bayonet!

[carlos marighela]

Bloody septics, they killed that rifle. Welched on the deal to buy the FAL, bought a piece of crap in the form of the M-14 only to ditch it a few, short years afterwards for a weapon with a smaller round but arguably considerably less efficient than the one for the EM-2. Wankers.

[commissarmoody]

Bloody septics, they killed that rifle. Welched on the deal to buy the FAL, bought a piece of crap in the form of the M-14 only to ditch it a few, short years afterwards for a weapon with a smaller round but arguably considerably less efficient than the one for the EM-2. Wankers.

Tell us how you really feel about it. 

[Arlequín]

I love the caption on the first photo which emphasises the Bayonet!

"They don't like it up 'em" could have been a mantra for the 20th Century British Army. Although having a business-like bayonet served the Scots Guards well at Tumbledown when the ammo ran out.

Bloody septics, they killed that rifle.

They killed the .280 round, but it was Winnie and the returning Conservatives who killed the EM-2 and the TARDEN. The EM-2 had actually been accepted for service in the British Army pre-production, but Winnie and co. overturned that decision.

The thing is NATO had standardised on .30-06 on inception in 1949, as most of them were being supplied by the U.S.; only a faction within Britain was pushing for a brand-new round. With large stocks of weapons and .303 ammo, HMG was not going to just throw them away.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

@Arlequin: that contradicts the narrative in the Osprey books (I will look up which ones).

[Arlequín]

History often contradicts the narrative of Osprey books.

There's plenty of contemporary primary source material out there on the net, as well as the core timeline itself as regards the adoption of the various calibres of NATO standard rounds.  

E.g. Hansard, 1st Feb 1954

[Ultravanillasmurf]

History often contradicts the narrative of Osprey books.

There's plenty of contemporary primary source material out there on the net, as well as the core timeline itself as regards the adoption of the various calibres of NATO standard rounds.  

E.g. Hansard, 1st Feb 1954

Osprey often contradicts itself as well ^__^.

Your description (probably echoed by Hansard, I have not read that) is echoed by the SA80 book. An alternative narrative is put forward in the FN FAL book.

[Arlequín]

It's worth a read when you have some time, although bear in mind what is not said as much as what is said. While a MP or even a PM would never actually lie, they might apparently 'mislead', something we've been reminded of more recently.

 

[Rich H]

If you're looking for a 'what-if' scenario for your 'what-if' force, why not go all the way and follow the one for WWIII laid out in this 1951 issue of Colliers?

Right timescale ('52-'54) for your previous models and your No.9 Rifle (EM-2) toting Brits. Many Soviet units were toting SMGs still, as well as wearing WWII style uniform (although WWII-style Soviets with AKs would be even better), while the U.S. was pretty much still the same as in 1945, a la the new Empress U.S. figures.

I've been procrastinating over it for a while, but lack of figures and vehicles was an issue. You're chipping away at the vehicles and even the figures are partly do-able. It's all the same tech level as Bolt Action (although I'd be going all to CoC if it was me).

Interesting will take a look.

Agreed on the CofC but BA is easier   I've got some sympathetic BA event organisers who let me run 'eccentric' lists in normal games.  Mostly because I don't take the piss and rarely win... 

I like the idea of a western Europe force too...