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New reenactment group Vancouver Rifle Regiment

No problem keeping the coffee on in the CP if I can get a sight seeing tour or 2.

The US is looking to get rid of their Kiowa Warriors, I wonder if we can get airsoft miniguns?
 
I like giving rides, but I drink tea.

One does not "get rid of" Kiowas.

If the intent is to replicate the CF as it was in the recent past, an OH58D would not be appropriate, much as I would like the chance to fly one.

A 2.75 inch airsoft rocket would be even more impressive.
 
PuckChaser said:

That was fast! If this project is to ever come to fruition, it would not only require the support and help from all the groups we have on our end; But also the regular community itself and various other sources.
We have a difficult enough time sourcing funds for PRC-77, Vehicles or mod tents.

Loachman said:
I'd prefer a Canadian machine, partially just because, but mainly because it would hopefully still be in the proper paint scheme and with the Canadian modifications (not a lot of difference there, really, though). I am not sure if there are any more left around, though. There was not a huge market for surplus Kiowas.

As would we, trouble is finding out where they all went. No doubt that info is either considered OpSec or just not available for the Public
Looking at these records though can see where all of the Stuck off one's remain.
http://www.rwrwalker.ca/CF_Kiowa.html

Loachman said:
Money is the main obstacle, obviously. Maybe running the airshow circuit would fund that.

That could be an option, we are more then welcome to be at military shows. Our BC group as done a few events with The Canadian Military Education center and a Legion, and our Ontario groups has a participation with the Ontario regiment Museum (Specifically their tank days along with others.)

PuckChaser said:
The US is looking to get rid of their Kiowa Warriors, I wonder if we can get airsoft miniguns?

That may be the best option due to the Gov surplus availability, Not sure which Variant of the Kiowa carried a minigun?
 
Dimsum said:
I don't know about you guys, but I'm eye-ing up those Mk IIIs.  >:D
I was reading this and decided to dig around in all the boxes in the garage, I can fill the kit list. Compleat with a NIB pair of mark III's.
 
Here is a video of us driving an Iltis during the "Ride into History Cruise 'n Concert" event held in Langley B.C on July 22nd

 
Here's another set of photos from a vehicle and weapons display we participated in on August 6th


One of our members outfitting himself in a kit based of a soldier in Operation Deliverance.


Two members practicing weapons drills before the event opens


Our section for the day doing a recce excursion after the close of the event in an Iltis.    (Video to come.)
 
my72jeep said:
I was reading this and decided to dig around in all the boxes in the garage, I can fill the kit list. Compleat with a NIB pair of mark III's.

What size?  *Please say 7*
 
SHONIT123 said:
Here's another set of photos from a vehicle and weapons display we participated in on August 6th


One of our members outfitting himself in a kit based of a soldier in Operation Deliverance.


Two members practicing weapons drills before the event opens


Our section for the day doing a recce excursion after the close of the event in an Iltis.    (Video to come.)
These photos and posts are nothing but pure nostalgia for some of us.  Keep it coming.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
RocketRichard said:
These photos and posts are nothing but pure nostalgia for some of us.  Keep it coming.

Yup.

SHONIT123 said:

Two members practicing weapons drills before the event opens

This photo shows the current shooting stance. These guys should be in the classic shooting stance, with heels in line with their targets and rifles across their chests, thereby presenting the smallest targets to an enemy. It predates the adoption of modern ballistic protection.
 
RocketRichard said:
These photos and posts are nothing but pure nostalgia for some of us.  Keep it coming.

Loachman said:

Thank you RocketRichard and Loachman,

Loachman said:
This photo shows the current shooting stance. These guys should be in the classic shooting stance, with heels in line with their targets and rifles across their chests, thereby presenting the smallest targets to an enemy. It predates the adoption of modern ballistic protection.

Loachman, is that essentially the Biathlon style pose?
Its hard of us to cover the older training info and such as most of us have only been in recently so we know the current training.
Cheers
 
Members of The Vancouver Rifles attend "American Graffiti Returns" with CMEC for their Weapons display on Sept 9th 2016.


We had an opportunity to meet with members of The Honour House Society.


One of our members shows how the Super Bazooka functions. (Carl-G coming soon)



 
From the no nit shall be left unpicked department, the Number Two on the 3.5-in Rocket Launcher is on the wrong side and is too far to the rear and close to the back blast danger area.
 
Shooting position: I've not watched biathlons, but think about standard hunting positions. The fellow in on the left side of the second photograph would shoot to his left, with the rifle across his body and aligned with his heels.

And where did you find the 3.5 inch rocket launcher? I never heard anybody refer to it as a "super bazooka", or anything other than "3.5 inch rocket launcher", by the way.

The loader should be standing more around to the side, as much clear of the backblast area as possible, right close to the firer, with only one hand on the rocket behind the warhead. The other hand would only come up to remove the safety ring just prior to inserting that part of the rocket (there was a spring-loaded plunger underneath that was part of the fuze mechanism, which was the segment between the warhead and rocket motor) and then move clear again. The rocket was electrically initiated, and, in theory at least, and as we were told, could be initiated prematurely by static electricity. The fewer hands (or other body parts, like face) that one had in the backblast area, should that happen, the better.

I cannot remember if the loader was on the same or opposite side as the firer. There's a brief clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DVDxBBpfcM which shows him on the opposite side, which makes sense.

We carried 3.5 inch rocket launchers, which we owned, on exercise, but fired Carl Gustafs (and, yes, it's an "f" in Gustaf and not a "v" as is commonly seen) borrowed from 1 RCR in London on the range at Ipperwash. Some 1954-manufactured 3.5 inch HEAT rounds were found in 1975 and we fired some in November of that year. Unburnt propellant in the rocket exhaust was a problem in cold weather, and the age of the ammunition probably exacerbated that - the firer of the first round had a small chunk blown through his lip and a few other flecks in his skin, so everybody afterwards wore a balaclava with a small chunk of corrugated cardboard stuffed inside to cover the exposed eye. There's something that you can add to your kit for authenticity...

There was much mirth that day - rounds skipping down range as the rocket had to hit almost dead-on for the fuze to work (we put a guy with binoculars atop the heavy timber ammo bay to see where they ended up), or detonating about fifty metres (tops) in the frozen ground in front of the team, leaving a small, shallow crater with a thin, narrow channel leading away from it. The rocket was very slow-moving (only 340 feet per second), so there was a noticeable shift of weight forward as it travelled down the tube. If the weapon was not supported properly, the tube could dip. The RSO caught a glop of mud in the chest from one of those instances, and it was classic. His hands flew up to his chest, he collapsed into a sitting position, legs splayed, eyes bugged out, completely white, and gasped "I'm hit!!! I'm hit!!!" He could feel the molten mud oozing between his fingers, which made it rather difficult to convince him that he was alright as we were howling with laughter.

One of the launchers had an N/S detent latch - the mechanism on top of the rear of the launcher that would prevent the rocket from falling out if tipped up. Everybody had been taught to push the rocket in until the detent latch engaged, with a noticeable "click". We noticed one loader, a fairly new Private, with his arm buried up to the elbow because that detent latch was not clicking. That launcher was added to the sizeable pile of blinds (duds) off to the side, and subsequently blown in place by an un-amused WO who had to trundle up from London to take care of that pile, plus all of the "skippers" downrange in the scrub.

I don't think that anybody actually hit a target - two old hulks barely recognizable as Shermans.

I do not remember which incident finally shut the range down, but it was either Lieutenant I'm hit!!! or the guys who'd stuffed their rocket halfway up their tube.

I suspect that that was the last time that 3.5 inch rocket launchers were ever fired in the CF.

The Good Old Days...
 
We fired a batch of 3.5" in 77, it was the last of the stock and the weapons were withdrawn after that.
 
Roger. Any related funny stories?
 
Loachman said:
And where did you find the 3.5 inch rocket launcher? I never heard anybody refer to it as a "super bazooka", or anything other than "3.5 inch rocket launcher", by the way.

The 3.5 inch belongs to one of the members of CMEC, god knows where they found it.
I initially refereed to it as the "Super Bazooka" as that was what the American's called it during use in the Korea War. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ZA10_AndQ)
I had no idea it was ever in service with the Canadian Forces, Thank you for that information.
 
If there are any "Fraser" in the group, I have some original nametags I could send. 
 
Also there is a guy on Canadian Gunnutz with a hockey sock full of deactivated Canadian M72 LAW and claymores in Canadian markings for sale.
 
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