SAS Personal Weapons from the Seventies

[Richard E]

Hopefully a simple question: what personal weapons would the SAS carry on desert operations in the early 1970s ?  To explain, I'm looking for some suitable small arms for the crew of my Tamiya "Pink Panther" Land Rover

Edited July 21, 2018 by Richard E

[Greg B]

Easy to do a search that shows during the Oman campaign, SLR’s, GPMG and the 7.62 conversion of the No 4 Lee Enfield for the sniper rifle. Doubt there was much more exotic stuff

[stevehnz]

I had to think a bit about this, later SAS stuff often mentioned using AK47s, H&K MP5s & a sorts of other exotica, I guess in the 70s they might have run to Sterling SMGs & Browning 9mm pistols as well as what Greg mentioned. I'm not sure if the era of "whatever you fancied" had arrived by then.

Steve

[Kingsman]

In those days the Regiment was still seen as a unit with special tactics rather than one with special weapons.  So yes, pretty much standard issue firearms.  The wing holsters on the Pinkie were designed for the SLR and it only ever mounted L7 GPMGs, which could of course be dismounted.  L2 SMGs are certainly possible, perhaps including the suppressed L34 version: it was a good concealment weapon.  Sidearms would be Brownings, although pistols all look pretty much the same in a holster in 1/35.  An L4 LMG is possible as a dismount weapon and an L42 sniper rifle might have been carried.  Potentially a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle or 2" mortar might have been carried.

 

In the reports of the Mirbat battle a dismounted 0.5" Browning HMG and an 81mm mortar are mentioned, but it's not entirely clear if they belonged to the SAS BATT or the Omani forces.  Both would be too large to be carried in a Pinkie with ammunition and all the other gear.

 

The Italeri Modern Light Weapons set has quite nice SLR and SMG, although the moulds have deteriorated a bit over time.  Get an earlier boxing if you can.  The Dragon Modern Machine Gun set has nice L4 and L7 MGs.  Tahk used to do very nice resin L4s and L7s, now very hard to find.  Live Resin has nice L7s.  The L42 would need to be converted from a No4 rifle.

 

I have several of the Italeri SLR and SMG in my bits box and probably a Tahk L4 somewhere.  If you PM me your address and slip me some shekels for postage I can let you have a couple.

[Kingsman]

Wooden furniture on the SLRs and GPMGs in Oman days, BTW.

[Julien]

I will have to dig them out but I have copies of a picture with a land rover (not a pinkie mind) with a 0.30 cal on the front. Also picture of a guy with a M79 Grenade launcher.

 

Julien

[Kingsman]

Earlier Rovers used by the Regiment did mount the Browning (and the Vickers K into the 50's), but Pinkies only ever mounted GPMGs - even the early unit-converted version (recognisable by the semi-circular rather than square section front wing SLR holsters).  Brownings were in the inventory until well into the 70's with RAC and prior to the introduction of the GPMG in '63 it was the only air-cooled belt-fed weapon available.  But .30 ammo on ops could have complicated logistics, not desirable on long remote patrols.  UK did not convert any Brownings to 7.62.

 

Use of locally-sourced weapons and vehicles from host or allied nations was not uncommon.

 

Yes, the Regiment did use the M79 Blooper once its utility in Vietnam had been recognised.  The UK was also the first customer for the AR15, some time before the US (as the M16), with the M203 UGL later.  But I'm not convinced that an M79 would be appropriate for a desert Pinkie.

 

Once the Pinkies were passed to the 2 TA Regiments and painted green and black for a more conventional commando/LRRP-type role in NWE, which lasted into the early 80s, there might have been a greater proliferation of personal weapons.  But they still only mounted GPMGs.