While in its formative stages, the SAS 'acquired' of a large quantity of .303
Vickers 'K' aircraft guns, and used them in twin mounts front and rear (apparently
they were appreciated for their rapid rate of fire and the comparative efficiency
of having drum magazines as opposed the the Bren's 30 rd (28rd) box mag). I have
also seen aircraft .50 Brownings mounted up front (with the addition of spade
grips); needless to say, the Vickers K's were preferred for several reasons: (1)
the twin package was lighter and had far less recoil than the .50, allowing a
lighter mount and easier handling within the confines of the jeep, (2), tremendous
rate of fire, and (3), far more ammunition could be carried for the weight.
In both cases, the mount was a heavy steel post let in through a hole in the bonnet
immediately in front of the dash on the passenger's side, and bolted or welded to
the vehicle frame below. Tim, it does sound like the hole you have is too far to
the left.
Incidently, the .50 never made a good 'jeep MG', as its ferocious recoil tended to
rip out any mount which could be fashioned for it, or otherwise shake the vehicle
to pieces. 'Rat Patrol' is NOT where it's at!
Gun mounts on the rear of the SAS jeeps were equally 'fly-by-night'. Once the stock
of Vickers K's started to wane, you see Brens installed on cut-down anti-aircraft
tripod mounts (on either end).
Don't forget, these jeeps were used in southern France as well by the detachment of
SAS who parachuted in and worked with the Maquis. Basically, anything goes. if
you're seriously interested in recreating an SAS jeep, there's a wealth of written
and pictorial documentation available to follow; start with a vehicle which is
missing lots of bits (like the windshield), DON'T buy the bits, and just go to town
on the body as per the photos, and buy LOTS of jerricans and Pattern 37 kit!
I've always wanted to do this, but I've yet to find the right jeep...
Geoff
Brian & Robin Mead wrote:
> One of the models I got was Tamiya's "British Special Air Service Jeep" Tamiya
> Model number 33. It has twin vickers machine guns mounted about where you say.
> As best as I can tell from the photo, it was a post about 1 1/2" to 2" secured
> with a bracket to the dash. The good part is that they also show photos of the
> real thing. They had either a 50 cal. or the twin vickers in the photos. (the
> photos are credited to the Military War Museum)
>
>
> At 09:39 PM 2/19/98 -0000, tcb wrote:
>
> >Does anyone know if the Bren LMG was fitted on a mount to a GWP/MB by the
> >British army during WW2 - If so - how? I used to have a round hole cut
> >(since repaired - let the rain in a bit) in the top of my GPW bulkhead, just
> >to the left of the glove box and the right of the parking brake - It has
> >been suggested that a gun mount would have stuck out of this - but I feel
> >that this is too far toward the drivers side to be effective for the
> >passenger.
===
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