Thread: Field modifying service weapons

From the Osprey MACV SOG book.

"There were distinct advantages to using AKs; they reinforced the impression that an RT seen from a distance was NVA/VC, and ammunition and magazines taken from enemy dead could be used. In a chance encounter with the enemy, the sound of AK shots would not necessarily cause a reaction among other enemy in the area. Additionally, the AK was a very effective and reliable weapon, with good penetration through foliage.

Another Soviet-designed weapon used by some RTs was the RPD light machine gun. This 14.5lb bipod-mounted weapon was one of the lightest machine guns in use. It fired the same ammunition as the AK and used a 100- round belt in a drum magazine. Some had the barrel cut back to the gas tube and the bipod removed, reducing its 40.8in. length by about 8in. and knocking off a few pounds of weight. The shortened RPD provided an RT with considerable firepower while weighing about 11lb less than an M60 machine gun."







Rhodesian SAS with slightly modified RPDs.







John Fletcher of the Selous Scouts with one of armourer Phil Morgan's famous chopped RPDs.

Probably the most successful action out of that shitty episode in history

@hamish9701 That was interesting watch & it was good to see the Modifications Capt Ron fought for being mentioned & then him realizing how much difference they made.Looks like he loved shooting the Stoner as much as l did & you can see what l meant about the recoil control & balance making it the best LMG l have ever fired.

Capt Ron always said getting the magazines redesigned so they centrally balanced the Stoner, saved lives because even wounded the SEALs could stay in the fight, being able to even use it one handed,it was something he was proud of, because he had to fight both the REMF's & Stoners team at first to fet it done.

The short fluted barreled 63A? with the improved gas tube was in his opinion the perfect LMG for their needs & you can see in the group pics many chose it for its light weight & Accurate fire power .The Stoner would keep on working even when caked in mangrove mud ,all they would do is crank the gas port open with a bullet .It was not unusual for the majority of a patrol to carry a Stoner as it was as accurate as a rifle with the firepower of a heavy MG.

That guy in the video made a mistake though ,the 150 Rnd Drum mags were preferred & they made their own carriers for them ,each SEAL carried 3 & a hundred round belt ,what they would do is have the Drum with the complete ammo tray connected & when time for a reload they simply pushed the detente pins & snapped the complete unit on.They showed me pics of the drum mas that had bullet & shrapnel damage that saved the wearer.even when resupplied with belts when they could they reloaded the Drums with them .

Capt Ron was also responsible for the "Tupperware "box mags ,again designed to keep the gun properly balanced & multi purpose ,but also small & strong enough to be loaded into the large 7-62 tin ammo cases & dropped from height by the Seawolves choppers & even in fire fights all they had to do on resupply was open the ammo can & snap on .

While Capt Ron was Platoon Commander of SEAL Team 2 (ST2) ,with his weapons experience , the military came up with a typical REMF idea. ST2 would be tasked with trying to prove /disapprove the reliability problems the Army etc were having with new AR15 in combat conditions,so in other words the Brass wanted to put their lives on the line taking a problematic rifle into extreme combat .So what they would do is carry their chosen weapons into combat & after pick up by the Brown Water Navy they would dunk muddy water,buckets of salty mangrove mud etc on the AR's while they used up unused ammo in the boats on the trip back to base .They even buried them in mangrove mud for a week & after a field strip clean had the good to go .So in the posed "official" pics you see them with AR's in much better condition than the guns they were actually using.

Capt Ron was a hard task master & with his weapons expertise & from the UDT background of having weapons reliable enough to function after exiting Submarines at depth , made sure all his guys kept their weapons in proper working order & what they found with proper cleaning the Ar's were as reliable as any other gun they had & they ended talking them on a lot of missions later,but the CAR-15 was stilled the preferred option for their needs .

Capt Ron also showed the Special Weapons guys & Stoner team the proper care of the Stoner in the field & how they had to run wet,which lead to them being given bigger plastic disposable satchels of lube,that were torn open with your teeth & designed for one handed use.These were designed to fit in the top of those "Tupperware" 150 Rnd magazines so even in remote air supply drops the guys had everything they needed in one hit ,again following Capt Rons preferred multi use systems .

Looking forward to seeing what that guy shows of the Swedish K,l had never even heard of them before meeting the guys & they are a great gun to shoot .

The Charlton rifle was a NZ modification of the SMLE correct?

Originally Posted by Dicko

The Charlton rifle was a NZ modification of the SMLE correct?

Yeah the Charlton LMG was originally designed off a SMLE but the short production run was made up of modifying old army stock Lee-Metfords, I think that’s right but my memory isn’t too great. Kiwi ingenuity at its finest

Originally Posted by bunji

@hamish9701 That was interesting watch & it was good to see the Modifications Capt Ron fought for being mentioned & then him realizing how much difference they made.Looks like he loved shooting the Stoner as much as l did & you can see what l meant about the recoil control & balance making it the best LMG l have ever fired.

Capt Ron always said getting the magazines redesigned so they centrally balanced the Stoner, saved lives because even wounded the SEALs could stay in the fight, being able to even use it one handed,it was something he was proud of, because he had to fight both the REMF's & Stoners team at first to fet it done.

The short fluted barreled 63A? with the improved gas tube was in his opinion the perfect LMG for their needs & you can see in the group pics many chose it for its light weight & Accurate fire power .The Stoner would keep on working even when caked in mangrove mud ,all they would do is crank the gas port open with a bullet .It was not unusual for the majority of a patrol to carry a Stoner as it was as accurate as a rifle with the firepower of a heavy MG.

That guy in the video made a mistake though ,the 150 Rnd Drum mags were preferred & they made their own carriers for them ,each SEAL carried 3 & a hundred round belt ,what they would do is have the Drum with the complete ammo tray connected & when time for a reload they simply pushed the detente pins & snapped the complete unit on.They showed me pics of the drum mas that had bullet & shrapnel damage that saved the wearer.even when resupplied with belts when they could they reloaded the Drums with them .

Capt Ron was also responsible for the "Tupperware "box mags ,again designed to keep the gun properly balanced & multi purpose ,but also small & strong enough to be loaded into the large 7-62 tin ammo cases & dropped from height by the Seawolves choppers & even in fire fights all they had to do on resupply was open the ammo can & snap on .

While Capt Ron was Platoon Commander of SEAL Team 2 (ST2) ,with his weapons experience , the military came up with a typical REMF idea. ST2 would be tasked with trying to prove /disapprove the reliability problems the Army etc were having with new AR15 in combat conditions,so in other words the Brass wanted to put their lives on the line taking a problematic rifle into extreme combat .So what they would do is carry their chosen weapons into combat & after pick up by the Brown Water Navy they would dunk muddy water,buckets of salty mangrove mud etc on the AR's while they used up unused ammo in the boats on the trip back to base .They even buried them in mangrove mud for a week & after a field strip clean had the good to go .So in the posed "official" pics you see them with AR's in much better condition than the guns they were actually using.

Capt Ron was a hard task master & with his weapons expertise & from the UDT background of having weapons reliable enough to function after exiting Submarines at depth , made sure all his guys kept their weapons in proper working order & what they found with proper cleaning the Ar's were as reliable as any other gun they had & they ended talking them on a lot of missions later,but the CAR-15 was stilled the preferred option for their needs .

Capt Ron also showed the Special Weapons guys & Stoner team the proper care of the Stoner in the field & how they had to run wet,which lead to them being given bigger plastic disposable satchels of lube,that were torn open with your teeth & designed for one handed use.These were designed to fit in the top of those "Tupperware" 150 Rnd magazines so even in remote air supply drops the guys had everything they needed in one hit ,again following Capt Rons preferred multi use systems .

Looking forward to seeing what that guy shows of the Swedish K,l had never even heard of them before meeting the guys & they are a great gun to shoot .

Yeah absolutely, looks incredibly smooth. Fantastic weapon, I wonder why its use wasn’t more widespread?

" Fantastic weapon, I wonder why its use wasn’t more widespread? "



@ hamish9701 It was built like a racehorse & Big Army wanted Elephants to survive their inbuilt idiot factor ,it was all proven completely wrong of course, the SEALs used them for "everyday"use right up to the end of the 80's & some say late 90's with 2 saved from decommission in the 90's for High Value target (HVT) operations only, such was the trust in them over other systems & they performed through all the well known SEALs exploits right up to them .

I remember reading about the SLR "bitch gun" from a few different sources. Apparently also referred to as a "break gun" as it was used to break contact through superior firepower if the SAS patrol was engaged when they weren't planning to be, as they were always outnumbered if they weren't the ones doing the ambushing. Allegedly they had a brief friendly fire incident with an American SF unit due to mistaken identity on both sides. After they worked out what was going on and the dust settled, an American officer came over an demand led to see how they were carrying an M2 with them in such thick Bush. Turns out several short barreled 308s on full auto at close range sounds a bit like a .50 ��