Rangers and their Enfields, circa 2016 Small Arms Concentration. (Photos: Corporal Doug Burke/Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Center)
The Canadian Rangers date from 1942 when the government was facing Germans landing in the East to set up weather stations and potential Japanese raids in the West. With huge tracts of ice and virgin forests open to invasion, the Rangers were recruited from loggers, miners, and trappers who lived in the wilderness.
Now, 5,000 strong and located in 200 often remote communities the Rangers are paid for up to 12 days of service per year as they keep up their patrols. However, these volunteers are still in large part armed with the same rifle they carried just after Pearl Harbor– the British-designed Short Magazine Lee-Enfield in .303. The guns currently in use are Canadian-made Long Branch Arsenal No. 4 MK. I* and EAL models.
Now, as part of a slow-moving program that was first debuted five years ago, the Rangers are finally getting their new rifles out to the patrol level.
Based on the Finnish Sako T3 CTR (Compact Tactical Rifle), the rifles have tweaks for the Rangers as they have to use their guns in whiteout conditions at -51 C weather.
Meant primarily for emergency hunting and fending off polar bears rather than parting the hair of a Russian submariner, the Colt Canada-made C19 rifle is definitely unique to the needs of those that use it.
Plus, it is chambered in 7.62 NATO/.308, which is much easier to source than .303 British these days.
Although long in the tooth, the Rangers have used their Enfields effectively in service competitions and in ceremonial duty. As a bonus, the vintage .303s that are being replaced will not be destroyed but rather passed on to museums, cadets for use in training, and then offered to serving Rangers as a donation/gift to preserve their heritage.
A newly commissioned littoral combat ship was recently spotted with her crew sporting some very compact little carbines.
Based in San Diego, the USS Mobile, an Independence-class LCS variant that only joined the fleet in 2021, earlier this month left her home port to take part in the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. The initiative is designed to “reduce and eliminate illegal, unregulated, unreported fishing, combat transnational crimes, and enhance regional security” across the Western Pacific region under U.S. 3rd Fleet orders.
Embarked with the ship, besides a Navy helicopter and drone group, is a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment, or LEDET, from the Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team.
Mobile recently posted some images while underway on the Initiative showing what looks to be members of her crew and the LEDET getting some range time with some noticeably short carbines.
Like super short. (Photo: U.S. Navy) “PACIFIC OCEAN (March 20, 2023) Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Haines Ybarra, from Eaton, Ohio, assigned aboard Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Mobile (LCS 26) Blue Crew, fires an M4 rifle during small arms shoot on the flight deck, March 20.”
It looks like they are running ELCAN Specter DR sights with this example having a PEQ in addition to a white light. (Photo: U.S. Navy) “PACIFIC OCEAN (March 20, 2023) Fire Controlman Chief Petty Officer Kelly Hall, from Harbor City, Calif., assigned aboard Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Mobile (LCS 26) Blue Crew, fires an M4 rifle during small arms shoot on the flight deck, March 20.
The guns, which look to have barrels in the 8-to-10-inch range, still feature a big A2-style front sight as well as a bayonet lug and what looks like a KAC QD flash hider. This gives it a fairly similar look as the old (circa 2000) Colt CQBR but with a short quad rail for accessories, or yet another variant of the vaunted Mk 18 frogman special.
In short (see what we did there?) it looks to be an Mk 18 Mod 1, which points to Coasties as the Navy and SF guys who used the Mk 18 have since switched (post-2017) to 416s and URG-equipped models.
Colt has even introduced their own URG system for 2023 in a move to get back in the shorty 5.56 game
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, another LCS, USS Milwaukee, with embarked Coast Guard LEDET 104 aboard, last month seized an estimated $27.4 million in suspected cocaine from a drug smuggling go-fast vessel at sea. We’d bet there may have been some Mk 18s involved in that as well.
For a deeper dive into the Mk 18 concept, check out the below by Jeff Gurwitch, a retired Green Beret, who has much downrange first-hand experience with the platform in Afghanistan and Iraq. Gurwitch also covers why it was (and still is) loved by many despite the loss of velocity due to its abbreviated 10.3-inch barrel.
He calls it a “300-meter gun, easy,” saying you can stretch out hits to 400-500 yards with it.
In the rush by modern armies in the late 19th century to move past the trappings of the Napoleonic wars and into the coming 20th-century way of thinking, the gold standard– besides bolt-action repeating rifles fed from magazines full of spitzer-pointed smokeless powder cartridges– was portable steel-barreled breechloading field artillery.
The Dutch, in an effort to keep up with the rest of Europe, in the 1890s ordered over 200 Veldgeschut 6 cm No.349 field guns. Typically just dubbed the Stuk 6-Veld, or “Field Piece, 6 ” these small 57mm/25caliber guns were constructed under contract by Krupp in Germany and Schneider & Cie in France (got to be neutral, after all) and were downright handy.
Just 1,300 pounds when ready for the field, they could be moved by just two horses in a pinch, crewed by only a four-man detail, and were still able to fire four of five 8.5-pound shells per minute out to a range of 3,500 meters.
Veldgeschut 6 cm 6 veld, gezien van linksachter, met uitgeklapte schep. AKL007358
Veldgeschut 6 cm 6 veld, gezien van linksachter, met uitgeklapte schep. AKL007353
Stuk van 6-veld
Stuk van 6-veld
Do you see why the weight was important to the Dutch? Here a Dutch Rijdende sectie van 6 cm veld in galop NIMH AKL000835
Each gun typically had 208 rounds ready, a larger stock of shells than in most period armies. “Oefening bij de Instructie-batterij. Het richten van een kanon 6 veld.” NIMH 2204-003-013
The Stuk van 6-veld, however, was kept in service well past its prime as the Dutch were not big fans of large military budgets. After all, a used gun, even if obsolete, is infinitely cheaper than a new gun.
By the late 1930s, the 57mm piece was relegated to anti-tank duty, which it could still pull off against most of the light armor of the day, especially with a new AP round.
Exercise during the mobilization 1939-1940. 6 Veld gun in the foreground. Note the combination of traditional Dutch M23/27/34 helmets and at least one British/American Brodie style, and the slung Geweer M. 95 Dutch Mannlicher (Hembrug) rifles.
Some were even trimmed down and equipped with rubber tires for use by the Dutch Lichte Brigade, towed by Ford trucks. However, this only happened to like 3 batteries worth of guns, and most would face off against the Germans still carried by wooden spokes.
Dutch Motorbatterij rijdende artillerie met geschut 6 cm veld achter Ford TT trekkers. AKL000867 1935
During an exercise, soldiers, most likely from the 5th battery Korps Rijdende Artillerie, push a 6 Veld backward into a forest. The piece features a modified wheelset with solid wheels on pneumatic tires instead of the original wooden spoked wheels.
Headed into the defense from the German invasion, no less than 206 6-velds were in service in May 1940, where they tried to halt the Blitzkrieg where applicable.
While some successes were recorded, their ability to halt “medium-weight German tanks proved hopeless, even at close range.”
Dutch 6-Veld gun in the vicinity of Zuid-Willemsvaart, May 1940, as Germans move past. Wooden wheels and all…
Whereas the Germans typically took just about every artillery piece, vehicle, and rifle that fell into their hands and re-issued them later in the war, there is no evidence they recycled captured 6 Velds.
Still, a few of the old guns, saved from the crucible of WWII as they were safely overseas with colonial garrisons in Suriname and the Caribbean, were kept in service with the Cold War-era Dutch army as saluting pieces into the early 1980s.
Morgan City, Louisiana’s Swiftships’ 28 Meter Coastal Patrol Craft (CPC28) is designed for multiple roles, including Coastal Defense, Anti-Surface Operations, Maritime Security Operations, Maritime Interdiction Operations (MIO), Surveillance, Search and Rescue, and Intelligence Gathering.
They have been very successful in a program with the Egyptians, with the company supplying kits, in-country production supervision, and SME support for local production near Cairo.
This now stands at 49 hulls built or under contract, with seven more CPCs recently added.
In January 2023, Swiftships received notification for an additional seven (7) 28m Coastal Patrol Craft (CPC) award to the existing six (6) FMS contract that was awarded in 2022. The total current order is 23 boats, including those currently under construction. Please watch the video about CPC28 by clicking here.
In March 2022, Swiftships was awarded a new 28m CPC contact to supply a “Kit” as a modification to its original Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contract. The Mod_004 will deliver ten (10) kits to be co-produced in Egypt at the Egyptian Navy (EN) Alexandria Shipyard and the Egyptian Ship Repair and Building Company (ESRBC). In addition, six (6) additional 28m CPCs were awarded under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract in 2022.
Swiftships will supply a complete Kit of Material (KoM), including Zodiac Rigid Inflatable Boats, Forward-Looking Infrared Systems (FLIRs), personal computer packages, and the associated engineering technical data package (TDP). These 28-meter CPCs reach a top speed of 22-25 knots with a range of 900 NM, powered by two (2) CAT diesel engines, and are equipped with 12.7mm machine guns.
By combining Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contracts, Swiftships will have co-produced forty-two (42) 28-meter CPCs for EN by the end of 2027. These three new contracts signed in 2022 and 2023 add 23 craft to EN’s total requirement of 50 CPCs by the end of 2027. In addition, Egypt and Swiftships have started co-marketing the 28-meter CPC to North African allied partners of the US.
EN has been co-producing Swiftships’ crafts since 2010 (download case study), and this partnership has allowed both EN and Swiftships to excel on other platforms. The collaboration began in the early 1980s when Swiftships delivered its first set of eight (8) 28m CPCs. Later, in 1990, it delivered two (2) 54-meter Mine-Hunters (MH) under a Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) contract. In 2006, Swiftships further delivered six (6) 26-meter Fast Patrol Craft (FPC), and in 2009, delivered two (2) 28-meter CPCs and co-produced four kits built in Egypt under Swiftships’ guidance.
Swiftships has been discussing with the Egyptian Armaments Authority (EAA) to co-produce 35-meter Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) in Alexandria to extend their capability from steel co-production to aluminum. These FPVs will be all-aluminum crafts with a 1,000 NM range, three (3) MTU engines to reach a top speed of 32 knots, and a complement. Armament options include 12.7mm Rheinmetall Remote Controlled machineguns with additional armament.
Egypt has an established local defense and security industry that produces a range of products, from small arms to armored vehicles and naval vessels. The country has co-production agreements with several nations, including the United States and France. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in annual military aid from the United States, which is used to acquire U.S.-made defense and security articles through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
The Egyptian Navy (EN) is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces (EAF). It is the largest navy in the Middle East and Africa and the twelfth-largest in the world (measured by the number of vessels). The EN is responsible for protecting over 2,000 kilometers of coastline along the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, as well as defending approaches to the Suez Canal and supporting army operations.
80 years ago today: a Finnish ski patrol on a smoke break, 26 March 1943, Limosaari (Klimetski) island area, Kurginitsa, Karelia.
Wartime Photograph Archive. SA-Kuva
Wartime Photograph Archive. SA-Kuva
Note the staples of the WWII (“Continuation War” in Finn parlance) Karelian front when it comes to personal arms: bolt-action Mosin rifles, KP31 9mm Suomi sub guns, a captured Soviet Degtyaryov DP-27/28 “pan” light machine gun, and the ubiquitous puukko knife. Also, note the aurinkolasit, or sunglasses, which appear to be of a German design, a must for use in the dazzling snow.
Wartime Photograph Archive. SA-Kuva
Wartime Photograph Archive. SA-Kuva
“A warm sauna awaits the scouts (Lämmin sauna odottaa partiomiehiä). Limosaari, Kurginitsa 1943.03.26.” Wartime Photograph Archive. SA-Kuva
Of course, while the West saw Finnish ski troops fighting against the “Brutish Reds” as romantic in 1939-40, and used the theme for a series of “Fighting Funds for Finland” committees in England and the U.S., the posters surely got problematic by 1941-42 when Stalin had morphed to “Uncle Joe.”
The XM250, Sig Sauer’s light machine gun, is the tentative NGSW-AR winner. Like the XM5, it is chambered in 6.8x51mm. It is expected to replace the M249 SAW in front-line service with the U.S. Army. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The NGSW-R, the XM7 rifle, is Sig Sauer’s MCX Spear. Using a 20-round magazine, it is chambered in a new 6.8×51 caliber. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program– which is a big war battle rifle and light machine gun in a new (and very spicy) common 6.8x51mm caliber with a gucci optics package– is a thing.
As I’ve covered in the past several years, just about every large (and several small) rifle, ammo, and/or glass maker has tried to take a bite at the program, which stands to be the biggest small arms contract of the past 65 years.
Of course, the plan now is just to equip front-facing warfighters with the guns (spec ops, infantry, etc) rather than everyone, so the numbers are small, at least for now, but the potential to expand is great, especially if the program is successful and scalable.
Well, an op-ed piece by an Australian terrorism expert, without any clear first-hand experience with the guns or the programs, cast a mountain of shade on the system last month, something which should not have come as a surprise as he has ginned uphit pieces on the program in the past, which all kind of smacked from his personal feelings rather than something based in fact.
Then, the SIG and Vortex haters came jumping off the top rope on all the reddits, forum posts, blog posts, and gun groups saying that NGSW is a dead program and a colossal waste of time and treasure– all without citing any source rather than the articles written by said Australian terror expert (an academic who advocated scrapping the SAS of all things and that “the US may now be spinning dangerously towards insurgency).
However, the Army has responded with a press blitz of its own, coupled with the budget book asking for $300 million in funding for FY24 for the NSGW program. This will cover 1,419 M250 Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR)s, 17,122 M7 Rifle (NGSW-R)s, and 14,932 M157 Fire Control systems, about one-sixth of what the Army plans to buy for the life of the multi-year program, numbers that sound about right.
4th Ranger Training Battalion soldiers demonstrate the U.S. Army’s NGSWs during a Rangers in Action Ceremony Sept. 16, 2022, at Victory Pond, Fort Benning, Georgia. (U.S. Army photo by Patrick A. Albright, Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning Public Affairs)
So, for now, at least, it would seem that NGSW is very much still alive, no matter what the internet says.
As it stands the Army says it has conducted over 100 technical tests, fired over 1.5 million rounds of 6.8mm ammunition through the guns, and logged more than 20,000 hours of soldier testing with the NGSWs.
Next is Production Qualification Testing and Operational Tests this summer, followed by the first weapons headed to units in the second quarter of 2024.
As we have covered in recent posts, in the past couple of years the U.S. Coast Guard has gotten a good bit more dynamic in the Western Pacific.
Of note, the U.S. is responsible for the defense of not only American Samoa and the territories of Guam (where four brand new 158-foot Fast Response Cutters and 300 personnel are based) as well as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but also the American-associated states of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau, covering the bulk of the old Trust Territories of the Pacific.
The crews of USCGC Oliver Henry (WPC 1140) and the FSS Tosiwo Nakayama (P901) conducted a joint patrol near Yap State in support of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency’s Operation 365, part of the FFA’s regional monitoring control and surveillance operations to stop illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the Pacific on March 16, 2023. Photo GM2 Muldowney and Mr. Tareg Jr.
While seemingly small in size, the FRCs have proved to have long legs, with one Guam-based cutter recently covering an 8,000-mile patrol to Australia and back with several stops in New Guinea and one in the FSM.
Well, the Coasties are stretching out with more than just their shiny new 158s.
Personnel from U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam and the large 225-foot buoy tender USCGC Sequoia (WLB 215) worked with customs counterparts in Saipan in the CNMI this month.
“The exchange was based on the standards used by U.S. Coast Guard small boat stations nationwide and focused on administrative topics, such as completing unit organization manuals, standing orders, detailed duties, assignments, and watch schedules.” (USCG photos).
In another move, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point (Hawaii) is forward deployed to Guam for the next six weeks while “working with U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia to assess the feasibility of more frequent operations in the islands.”
If so, it would be the westernmost USCG air det.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew deployed to Guam from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii flies patterns to assess winds and terrain before conducting rescue hoist training at Sella Bay Overlook in Guam on March 8, 2023. (USCG photos).
Sure, the acting was hokey and the chest-thumping of how noble the Mujahadeen were during the Soviet invasion hits a little different after the NATO Afghanistan fiasco, but you have to admit that how the tank was used in the 1988 film The Beast is one of the most accurate tank films to date.
That’s because several Israeli Ti-67s, captured Egyptian T-55s rebuilt with Detroit Diesel 8V-71T engines and American 105mm guns, were used in the filming, and Capt. Dale Dye, the movie’s technical advisor, was able to get some IDF tank crews as well.
The folks at Battlefield Vegas cover the film in detail.
The guy in the top video is Scott Rickard of BV’s Heavy Hitters program, which includes everything from a working M61 20mm Vulcan cannon, an M60A1 tank and her 105mm main gun, and an active 152mm D-20 howitzer. They just put the finishing touches on a Russian T-62 as well. We hung out with Scott and the gang a while back, so if you are curious, check out the below as well.
Built in the late 1990s, the Navy’s Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships (PC) are almost all gone. Built by Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana, the same yard that has constructed over 170 similar albeit smaller cutters for the Coast Guard over the years, the 170-foot Cyclones were originally to replace the old 65-foot MKIIIs used by Naval Special Warfare and were equipped with two 25mm chain guns and a stern boat ramp for frogman use.
While 16 were planned, only 14 were slowly completed and the Navy by and large didn’t even really want them, loaning five to the Coast Guard in the early 2000s and giving the class leader to the Philippines when she was just 11 years old.
Then, following a series of naval stand-offs between Iranian Revolutionary Guards speedboats and U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz in December 2007 and January 2008, the Pentagon called up the Coast Guard and pulled their boats back and soon stood up Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 in the Persian Gulf with 10 of the PCs.
150317-N-SF508-627 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) leads other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) in formation during a divisional tactics exercise. PCRON-1 is deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)
150317-N-SF508-274 U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (March 17, 2014) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Hurricane (PC 3) and other coastal patrol ships assigned to Patrol Coastal Squadron 1 (PCRON 1) transit in formation during a divisional tactics exercise.PCRON 1 is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Charles Oki/Released)
They are among the smallest ships in the fleet and get ridden hard.
They were augmented with the MK-60 Patrol Coastal Griffin Missile System to help defend against Iranian swarm attacks if needed. The system uses the AGM-176 Griffin, a 35-pound four-foot-long Frankenstein cobbled together from the Javelin and Sidewinder– but it carries a 13-pound blast fragmentation warhead and has a range of 5 miles, which will scratch the paint job of a Boghammar speedboat pretty good while outraging the RPGs, Dhsk guns and unguided rockets typically carried by those asymmetric crafts by a bit.
ARABIAN GULF (Nov. 05, 2021) The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ship USS Firebolt (PC 10) fires a Griffin missile during a test and proficiency fire in the Arabian Gulf, Nov. 5, 2021. Firebolt, assigned to Commander, Task Force (CTF) 55, is supporting maritime security operations and theatre security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Aleksander Fomin) 211105-A-PX137-0082
Now, that has almost all come to an end. Only USS Monsoon (PC-4) and USS Chinook (PC-9) remain in Bahrain under Task Force 55, and that will soon change.
PCRON-1 was reflagged Naval Surface Squadron (CNSS) 5 in 2017.
USS Zephyr (PC-8), USS Shamal (PC-13), and USS Tornado (PC-14) were decommissioned in Mayport in 2021 and the first two are set to be scrapped with Tornado slated for transfer to an overseas ally.
NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2021) Sailors conduct a decommissioning ceremony aboard the Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Shamal (PC 13) at Naval Station Mayport, Fla. Shamal is one of three Cyclone-class patrol ships being decommissioned at Naval Station Mayport. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Austin G. Collins)
I happen to know the resting place of Tornado’s sideboard from ger USCG days based at NAVSTA Pascagoula!
As well as Shamals
USS Tempest (PC-2), USS Squall (PC-7), USS Firebolt (PC-10), USS Whirlwind (PC-11), and USS Typhoon (PC-5), were decommissioned and transferred to the Royal Bahrain Naval Forces in March 2022.
This week, USS Hurricane (PC-3), USS Sirocco (PC-6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC-12) were transferred to the Egyptian Navy. This came after sailing from Bahrain to Egypt during a month-long journey around the Arabian Peninsula, January through February.
SUEZ CANAL – SUEZ CANAL (Feb. 10, 2023) Patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC 6) transits the Suez Canal, Feb. 10, 2023, en route to Alexandria, Egypt. 230210-N-NO146-1001
As noted by the Navy, “During the 4,000-mile transit to Alexandria, U.S., and Egyptian crewmembers worked side-by-side safely navigating the three ships on a voyage that included port visits to Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates; Duqm, Oman; Djibouti; and Berenice, Egypt.”
Long before Smith & Wesson made the .500 S&W, a gunsmith in Wyoming cut down a .348 Winchester case to craft the first successful .50 caliber revolver/cartridge. Named the .500 Linebaugh after its inventor– John Linebaugh– the same six-gun smith went on to craft the .475 Linebaugh and follow-on .500 Linebaugh Max and .475 Linebaugh Max.
“Big Bore Handguns” author John Taffin, in his first review of the .500 Linebaugh in 1985, found a 260-grain bullet to clock in at 1,700 fps, punching through quarter-inch sheet steel and penetrating 10 inches into a solid wood block with ease, although he noted the recoil was “fierce,” even when shooting the 10-inch revolver from the bench and off sandbags.
However, speaking to “Gun Digest” in 2013, Linebaugh said his EDC piece was a .500 Linebaugh with a 4.25-inch barrel, saying, “That little gun doesn’t kick at all.”
Which is unsurprising for anyone who ever met the slim little cowboy.
Mr. Linebaugh passed at his home outside of Cody last week.
When it comes to services, a public visitation will be held at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody on Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a graveside service at the Bennett Buttes Cemetery in Clark on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. followed by a reception at the Clark Pioneer Recreation Center.
The Mechanix of Auto, Aviation, Military...pert near anything I feel relates to mechanical things, places, events or whatever I happen to like. Even non-mechanical artsy-fartsy stuff.
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