Is this a mortar tube or a bangalore torp?
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Todjaeger
Potstirrer
Hard to say without additional information. One of the first things which came to mind though was the possibility of the tube being the barrel of a recoilless rifle, possibly a US M67 90 mm which would have had a weight of 17 kg and was definitely in service during the 70's, though I do not know if it was in Malaysian service. I am assuming that the picture is of a Malaysian unit from the 70's If that is correct, it might be helpful to ID the unit in the photograph, so that the unit's TO&E can be looked at.
Looks to large of a diameter for a Bangalore IMO. Plus they came is stacked ammo boxes and didn’t have any thpe of end cover that’s shown here. Too large for a 60mm and small for an 81mm Mortar tube. Perhaps a type of sealed rocket?
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Todjaeger, Ranger,
The army did receive a small batch of [Spanish] RCLs but these were jeep mounted and only arrived in the mid-1980's. The pic is dated 1979. I could be mistaken but the barrel appears to be too short for a RCL barrel. It also can't be a rocket or a reload for a shoulder fired weapon as the only shoulder fired weapon operated during this period was Carl Gustavs. On it being a bangalore. Yes it looks to large to be one.
It is a Malaysian unit but it's impossible to ID the unit, as there are no distinguishing features in the pic.
Just trying my luck again as I posted this a few years ago :] Any idea if this GPMG tripod is FN made or from somewhere else? I've tried looking for pics of in on the net but without any success.
The army did receive a small batch of [Spanish] RCLs but these were jeep mounted and only arrived in the mid-1980's. The pic is dated 1979. I could be mistaken but the barrel appears to be too short for a RCL barrel. It also can't be a rocket or a reload for a shoulder fired weapon as the only shoulder fired weapon operated during this period was Carl Gustavs. On it being a bangalore. Yes it looks to large to be one.
It is a Malaysian unit but it's impossible to ID the unit, as there are no distinguishing features in the pic.
Just trying my luck again as I posted this a few years ago :] Any idea if this GPMG tripod is FN made or from somewhere else? I've tried looking for pics of in on the net but without any success.
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Todjaeger
Potstirrer
I am going to keep at it. Right now I am trying to see if I can improve the original image, so that I can try and get some dimensions for the tube which might help in identifying it. Or if I can ID more about the unit which could lead to information on the tube. Any idea what units would have been equipped with M16A2's in 1979, or was that the standard issue rifle at the time?
As for the tripod, it appears to be the standard one used for FN's MAG-58 & 12.7 mm MG's. Not sure if it is produced by FN, or by another manufacturer for FN, but it definitely looks like one for FN.
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Todjaeger,
Thank you. Appreciate your your assistance.
M-16A1s were the standard issue rifle by 1979 and the brushstroke pattern the issue uniform. So unfortunately it's impossible to ID the unit from anything shown on the pic.
On the tripod, it looks different to ones used by Israel and the U.S. but the one in the pic below, looks similar to the Malaysian one.
Thank you. Appreciate your your assistance.
M-16A1s were the standard issue rifle by 1979 and the brushstroke pattern the issue uniform. So unfortunately it's impossible to ID the unit from anything shown on the pic.
On the tripod, it looks different to ones used by Israel and the U.S. but the one in the pic below, looks similar to the Malaysian one.
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Todjaeger
Potstirrer
If one looks at the M2 tripod on the FN machine gun site, it looks the same. Pay close attention to the articulated joints and pads/feet of the tripod.
Incidentally, I got a rough diameter for the tube of 86 mm, using the dimensions of the M16 magazine as a frame of reference and for scale, since the front to back dimensions of that is approx. 60 mm That would put the tube into the correct range for an 81 mm mortar. One thing which occurred to me is that the tube might be getting transported upside-down, so that the 'cap' one sees at the front could be the cup which fits into the base plate.
FormerDirtDart
Well-Known Member
That FN machine gun is most certainly not mounted on a M3 tripod (long the M2 & Mk19 tripod of choice, and shown on the FN web page). The M3 rear legs are adjustable for length, but they can not be manipulated into different angles.
The only designations I can find on the internet is the FN30 or MAG58 tripod