Ancient Antiquity (Irish Army of the 70s and early 80s)

[B Inman]

Thats the Army I remember... What were the radios in the first ad? Pre AN-PRC77
Join the defence forces.. and play hurling and gymnastics...

Wireless Set A41.

http://wftw.nl/larkspur/larkspur1.html#SEC10

The PRC 77 was a big improvement.

[BANDIT]

The little two star on the left became a QM and was commissioned later.


Except for the webbing most of the gear was in op with most armies at that time. I think the 77s came in around 75 , I do not remember the older ones, They were called 88 sets I thnk,,
Notice we had jets then but no fancy blue uniforms ...
Before that there was an earlier ad was the we are rangers, "Mighty, etc and this is Sgt Tony Hutchinson and he earns 20 pound a week " .. I think him and his family were with 2nd Batt, Probably grand kids are there now, was involved in gymanstics and boxing ,,
I thought there was another add with bett, 5th which showed guys rowing..
Hurling.. do they still play it in the DF , Maybe its too republican or H&S have banned it.. Ok calm down I am taking the p..


Re FN mag change and cocking, Rt hand was always on the pistol grip, stick on mag with left and cock -----a half second with left ..

[hptmurphy]

The PRC 77 was a big improvement

if the 77 set was an improvement on anything, the original must have been total shite!

[B Inman]

if the 77 set was an improvement on anything, the original must have been total shite!

In the early 70's the 77s were brand new straight out of the box and they worked fine, in contrast the A41 was old and showing its age. Similar to the state of the 77,s when the Sincgar arrived in the mid 90's.

[Cryos]

In the early 70's the 77s were brand new straight out of the box and they worked fine, in contrast the A41 was old and showing its age. Similar to the state of the 77,s when the Sincgar arrived in the mid 90's.

Very true, the radios were like the previous weapons though; they suited the environment which they operated at the time. A Sincgar today in either configuration today must look like what the 77 looked like back when they were replaced (we wont even speak of the handset decision). As of yet i dont think there is plans to replace the sincgar at any stage its still capable for its voice comms; for data and fancy features the harris covers this..

[apod]

Very true, the radios were like the previous weapons though; they suited the environment which they operated at the time. A Sincgar today in either configuration today must look like what the 77 looked like back when they were replaced (we wont even speak of the handset decision). As of yet i dont think there is plans to replace the sincgar at any stage its still capable for its voice comms; for data and fancy features the harris covers this..

I wouldn't lay money on that if i were you.

[timhorgan]

Bandit you are changing canoes mid stream with this one.Calling the modern DF pussies is exactly what you have being doing,on this and many other threads.Unless we have served in african bush wars,gone to battle in plimsolls,shorts and armed with dried out biltong and and an FN with burnt cork on our faces then we are pussies because in your view our H&S obsessed,PC ,risk adverse leadership has made us so.

Apod - there is no point in running down us poor misguided souls.

1) You are right about the biltong - it was a reliable standby - light, tasty and long-lasting.

2) With regard to the FN we were always told in training that one of the advantages over the AK47 was that the greater power allowed targets sheltering behind some of the lighter tree types to be hit. The training covered this.

3) I never saw burnt cork used - we had a camo cream called "Black is Beautiful" and lovely camo faceveils which helped with the mosquitos as well.

[Cryos]

I wouldn't lay money on that if i were you.

Let me qualify that...

Theres no plans to replace it within the next 12 months.

[apod]

Apod - there is no point in running down us poor misguided souls.

1) You are right about the biltong - it was a reliable standby - light, tasty and long-lasting.

2) With regard to the FN we were always told in training that one of the advantages over the AK47 was that the greater power allowed targets sheltering behind some of the lighter tree types to be hit. The training covered this.



3) I never saw burnt cork used - we had a camo cream called "Black is Beautiful" and lovely camo faceveils which helped with the mosquitos as well.

Thanks for sharing Tim.

[pym]

Thanks B Inman for mentioning the radio shown in the the recruitment video, the scope in the second btw is the Tektronix 475 - would love one of them now.

What HF sets were in use back in the 70's / early 80's?

[longshot]

"Turbo Gear f@ggotry".

I am definitely stealing this for myself!