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  #31  
Old 06-01-05, 11:51
Keith Orpin Keith Orpin is offline
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Default LAAT Rear Seats

Hi Rob,
Firstly, congradulations on finding a LAAT. The initial images look like she is a fairly complete C30 sitting on 10.50x16 tyres and certainly not a wreck as discribed. Your eyes are not deciving you, the rear seat bases do indeed slope from front to back. If your body has them missing, then you should find evidence of where they were welded to the side of the locker, as I found this on mine (mine were missing as well), easy enough to fabricate. You should also find a number of small holes on the bodywork, 2 above the rear wheel housing, 3 on the inner wheel box, 3 or 4 on the top section of the upper part of the body and one above the rear locker. These are for " lift the dot" fasteners which hold the back and seat cushions in place. There are only a small amount of LAAT's over here in England ( I've only ever seen Ford versions,all late models, my Chev being the exception), most of them have had their storage bins etc removed, although, I'll have a look though my photos to see if I can find any more details for you.
Keep us posted with updates
Cheers
Keith
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  #32  
Old 10-02-05, 01:39
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default LAAT 7D1 Body restoration questions.

Thanks for your reply Keith. Was this sloped bench seat welded or tacked on the end of the benches only, and what is the approx. height? See pic for rough square bench and cushions only. Thanks Rob
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1942 C8A- HUW " Wireless Nipper"
1943 F-60S LAAT and 1939 Bofors
1942 C8 Wireless
1943 FAT/ 17 pounder
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  #33  
Old 14-02-05, 14:20
Keith Orpin Keith Orpin is offline
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Default LAAT Rear Seats

Hi Rob,
Aprox 1" tack welds were used to secure the seat base in position on either side. Approx height being 2", at an angle of 85 degrees. The lower forward edge is also tacked in four roughly equally spaced welds, these welds being slightly longer at 1 1/2". My seat bases were made in two units, an L shaped section, firstly welded to the top of the wheelbox and the top section then welded to it. The seat bases are full width and length of the wheel box
Hope this helps
Cheers
Keith
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  #34  
Old 27-02-05, 19:48
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default Thanks Keith for the help.

I have just started the tarp work. Have you got a rough estimate of the size of 4 small windows across the back of tarp. Also , was there a window on the front of tarp for driver to see thru while backing up? It should be a different kind of week for me on the sewing machine! Cheers Rob
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1942 C8A- HUW " Wireless Nipper"
1943 F-60S LAAT and 1939 Bofors
1942 C8 Wireless
1943 FAT/ 17 pounder
1941 C15 GS 2B1
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  #35  
Old 28-02-05, 19:43
John McNarry John McNarry is offline
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Default Bofors Horrors

Rob, you keep that thing away from my Airplanes!

John at www.Airmuseum.ca
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  #36  
Old 01-03-05, 19:32
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Hi Rob,

I'm new to MLU but I have been mentioned by Nigel Dawe as his friend in Malta who owns a Bofors gun. Are you still considering removing the barrel? If you do let me know and I will share my experience with you. ( I hope this does not sound big-headed!)

Beware as you have to disable a locking device before unscrewing the barrel, and also the great weight of the barrel will, when removed, cause the autoloader to smash down unless the elevation handwheel has been lashed! It is also possible for the platform to 'jump up' if the barrel is removed with the platform lowered but with the axles not properly locked.

Your bofors seems to have been fitted with a pneumatic braking system ( air brakes ) on all wheels rather than the original rope-operated hydraulic brakes on the rear wheels only. This would explain the different wheels/tyres.

I have the original 1941Handbook, so we are relatively safe!

Keep up the good work!
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  #37  
Old 01-03-05, 20:11
Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)'s Avatar
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Default Welcome!

Welcome to our new member from Malta of all places, yet one more outpost in this great international community of ours! Godwin, we look forward to hearing more from you.
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  #38  
Old 02-03-05, 01:54
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default Hello Goodwin...

and yes the Bofors can be a heavy and dangerous piece of equipment if not handled the right way! I managed to remove the barrel with the help of a couple of stout Prairie Command members. As you know it's heavy and requires teamwork. I have only tried it once so far, but I would imagine trained gun crews could accomplish the task quickly and safely. I wonder how quickly they could change a barrel with Messerschmitt's doing a tight circuit for another go around at their emplacement?

When I was restoring the Bofors last winter I had the outriggers and leveling pads down with the four wheels removed for restoration. Well, one of my overly excited friends grabbed the front axel lock and pulled on it releasing the big spring driving the front tow bar thru a six inch plywood wall with such force that I still have nightmares about how lucky we were no one was standing in front of the hitch! Very fortunate that no one was hurt.

Good to hear from you and keep in touch. Cheers Rob
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1942 C8A- HUW " Wireless Nipper"
1943 F-60S LAAT and 1939 Bofors
1942 C8 Wireless
1943 FAT/ 17 pounder
1941 C15 GS 2B1
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  #39  
Old 02-03-05, 13:58
Keith Orpin Keith Orpin is offline
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Default laat Canvas

Hi Rob,
Looks like you are making very good progress, in a very short space of time. Between the back of the cab and the front of the rear body, there should be a communications tube, made from canvas and attached to both the front drop sheet and the rear window. The standard rear window opening in the back of the cab is reduced in size with the addition of a plate. I'll post some pictures and dimensions for you. As for the rear windows, my canvas is off having these fitted at the moment, however I can tell you that the windows themselves are made from copper mesh. There is also an inner flap over each window, which can be folded down and secured internally. I'll see if I can get the details from the guys who are fitting mine, as they have an original LAAT tilt which they are taking the details from.
Cheers
Keith
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  #40  
Old 02-03-05, 14:22
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Default Bofors

If I remember right the regulations were that a Bofors barrel should be changed in less than 2 minutes but a good guncrew could do it within 30 seconds.

There were normally two barrels to each guns. One was used in daytime and the other (wich was more worn out) during nights. Firing at night meant more ammo spent and the night barrel became worn out. In daytime the precision was better and not so many rounds needed to hit the target.

The carriages are dangerous. We had several accidents during WW 2 including fatal ones.

Normally a Bofors Mk I mount should only have brakes on the rear wheels. The original brakes were mechanical and worked with a rope.

BTW. I love Malta but I have not been there during the last 30 years. In the 1960-ies and 70-ies I went there at least twice a year, but then they stopped to have charter flights to Malta from Sweden.
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Last edited by Stellan Bojerud (RIP); 03-03-05 at 11:29.
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  #41  
Old 02-03-05, 20:07
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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The extra barrel was the bofors gun's cooling system. In action the No. 1 ( Sgt. in charge of the Gun Crew ) would check,every now and then, whether the barrel was overheating. He would perform the "Spittle Test" by spitting on the barrel and observing the results. If the spittle jumped about and evaporated, he would order " Change Barrels ". Then the fun would start....

This same cooling system is used on the Bren Gun, hence the spare barrel which accompanies the gun everywhere.

Navy Bofors Guns were fitted in restricted spaces on board ships,with the lack of space making the quick barrel change impossible. So they were fitted with water cooled barrels like the Vickers MMG. The recoil spring was enlarged and moved outwards to make way for the cooling jacket, and the water was circulated through flexible tubing as the barrel would be recoiling some 120 times a minute!

With the later L70, ( c.1958 onwards) firing 240 rounds a minute, overheating became more of a problem. But now the sargeant was issued with ' tempistix ' temperature sensing strips which changed colour when touched against the hot barrel.
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Last edited by Godwin Hampton; 09-03-05 at 22:14.
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  #42  
Old 03-03-05, 07:58
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Default Bofors L/70

Bofors L/70 was introduced in 1948. Note spare barrel right.
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  #43  
Old 03-03-05, 08:09
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Quote:
Originally posted by Godwin Hampton
Hi Rob,

I'm new to MLU but I have been mentioned by Nigel Dawe as his friend in Malta who owns a Bofors gun.
Hello Malta.

Wich type of Bofors? Wich number and made where wich year?

Picture: Bofors on Malta.
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  #44  
Old 03-03-05, 11:30
Keith Orpin Keith Orpin is offline
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Default LAAT Canvas

Hi Rob,
As promised, details of the cab rear window plate. Overall dimension is 830mm X 280mm with a 30 degree radius on the corners. The hole in the middle measures 507mm in length and 190mm in height. Before you go cutting a hole in the middle of the plate, allow a turn over of 9mm on all edges, which is flatten down onto the inside edge so that you don't end up with a raw edge. The plate is then fitted to the outside of the cab using round headed screws and nuts on the inside. Turn buckles are then fitted to the inside edge of your now smaller rear window and the canvas attaches to them.
Details of the rear canvas windows to follow:
Keith
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  #45  
Old 03-03-05, 16:21
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Stellan,

The British took their time to change over from the L60 to the L70, in fact I think they did not buy any but took out a licence from Bofors and set up a production line. They still had vast stocks of L60 ammunition, which could not chamber in the L70. So they manufactured conversion barrels which fitted the L70 but would take the L60 rounds, to use them up during training.

My Bofors is a mongrel. It started life as a Mk3 on a platform Mk2, but was 'upgraded' to a No.12 ( Bristol Bofors ) after the war.
Two were brought over to Malta in the 60's as props for war films, and abandoned at the film studios. One was later given to the War Museum, and the other was disposed of,eventually ending in my hands. I de-modified it back to original, as most of the added-on stuff was beyond restoration. I had to make up many parts, so I will never claim it to be original.

I will post some pics in the future. All data plates were missing, probably removed as part of the demilitarization process, so I can't give date or gun number.
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  #46  
Old 03-03-05, 16:47
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Stellan,

Lovely picture of a Malta Bofors. It was emplaced in the right hand corner of the old saluting battery at upper barracca garden, Valletta overlooking the Grand Harbour. The sandbags making up the emplacement have ammo boxes built into them, for ready-at-hand ammunition. The canvas cover is in place over the predictor, which indicates that it was not being used. In fact the gunners preferred hand control. To use predictor control would mean having to start up a Coventry Climax 2.75 kw generator. In the words of an ex-gunner " they were pigs to start!" Another reason for using hand control was that it was more personal and satisfying. Also the predictor would sometimes go out of sync with the gun, providing some scary moments for the crew.
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  #47  
Old 04-03-05, 10:13
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Default Bofors guns

Thank you Godwin for this info. Interesting.

We also used L/60 munitions for L/70 during some years. Designing the L/70 began in 1942. The first prototype was ready in 1947. Swedish design was m/48 but series production and export began in 1951.

For using old stocks of L/60 ammo an hybrid barrel m/36-48 was designed.

In 1941 there were 144 Bofors guns on Malta. A well trained guncrew usually hit the target using only some 20 rounds.

Picture: June 1942. Royal Marines handing over two Bofors guns to the Army (RA or RMA?).
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  #48  
Old 04-03-05, 19:29
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Stellan, you never cease to amaze me!!

You probably have every picture taken during the War showing Bofors Guns! But one thing worries me, the fact that we are straying from the subject of this thread, Rob Fast's CMP LAAT and Bofors Mk.1. Do you think we should tranfer to your Bofors thread unless we have something useful to Rob? For example I would like to discuss operation of the predictor, and Rob's gun never had it.

The photo you posted was taken on Fort St. Angelo, known to the British as H.M.S St. Angelo. This because it was the Headquarters of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Royal Marines dragged 2 static Bofors guns onto the ramparts, and could never complain that they were not getting any action!

On the 23rd May 1942 the guns were handed over to 3rd LAA Regt. RMA in the handing over ceremony shown. Fort St. Angelo is across the Grand Harbour from the Bofors in your previos photo.

Note the gunners' uniforms, battledress blouse worn over khaki shorts! This was probably an emergency measure dictated by the acute shortages at the time.
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  #49  
Old 05-03-05, 01:58
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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Default Godwin and Stellan...

move your wealth of Bofors information over to any thread you desire, I will seek you out there, no problem. The main themes of my threads usually relate to restoration parts and questions relating to restoration. Cheers Rob
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1943 F-60S LAAT and 1939 Bofors
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1943 FAT/ 17 pounder
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  #50  
Old 05-03-05, 10:08
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Thanks for the compliment, Rob.

I saw from your profile that you are interested in the Battle of Britain. Did you know that some british pilots who had taken part in that battle and were later posted to Malta said "compared to this the Battle of Britain was a picnic!" Their words not mine.

Well, after the War most people here preferred to forget it and get on with their lives. I call it Collective Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The politicians had their agendas, and did nothing to preserve anything connected to the war.

In fact it was only in the seventies that a group of enthusiasts set up the National War Museum.

Lucky there are 'crazy' people like us around!
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Last edited by Godwin Hampton; 07-03-05 at 18:37.
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  #51  
Old 09-03-05, 14:11
Keith Orpin Keith Orpin is offline
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Default LAAT Rear Windows

Hi Rob,
Just had word back from my canvas man, ref rear windows. They are 8" wide X 10" deep ( 4 off) fitted with 0.040 " copper mesh, and internal flaps. Pretty much equally spaced on each of the 3 sections/ panels.
Hope this helps
Keith
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  #52  
Old 12-04-05, 19:33
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Default Re: Hello Goodwin...

Quote:
Originally posted by Rob Fast
and yes the Bofors can be a heavy and dangerous piece of equipment if not handled the right way!
Rob, how's it goin' ? A small word of warning.....if you try to lower the platform on to the jack plates, while the axles are turning in their bushes and the towbar is going higher, BEWARE. The steering gear will allow the towbar to swing sideways and down, at the same time turning the wheels around their now-horizontal kingpins, unless the steering is locked. The flailing towbar could easily smash someone's head in!
The locking pin is inserted just behind the towbar " knee - joint " to lock the steering solid. You may have to waggle the towbar slightly to insert the pin. Don't forget to REMOVE the pin before towing the gun when you get it back on its' wheels!

I suspect you alredy knew all this, but better safe than sorry....

Godwin
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Last edited by Godwin Hampton; 13-04-05 at 22:19.
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  #53  
Old 14-04-05, 04:48
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Default Re: Have "Bofors" will travel.

Quote:
Originally posted by Rob Fast
Just found a large piece of the CMP LAAT puzzle, with the purchase of a Swedish made 1939 40 mm Bofors. Very complete, it will look good behind my soon to be DTB F60S. What I am now looking for is the correct LAAT box 7D1 or 7J2 for the truck.
Rob, are you perchance the fellow who was recently advertising a GS box for a C15 for sale recently?
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  #54  
Old 05-06-05, 19:10
Rob Fast Rob Fast is offline
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LAAT/Bofors debut rained out!
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im000698.jpg   im000697.jpg  
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1942 C8A- HUW " Wireless Nipper"
1943 F-60S LAAT and 1939 Bofors
1942 C8 Wireless
1943 FAT/ 17 pounder
1941 C15 GS 2B1

Last edited by Hanno Spoelstra; 04-01-11 at 13:34. Reason: posts merged
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  #55  
Old 06-06-05, 08:04
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Another view in the rain:

Business end:

And another:
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p6050009.jpg   p6050014.jpg   p6050001.jpg  
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Last edited by Hanno Spoelstra; 04-01-11 at 13:34. Reason: posts merged
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  #56  
Old 06-06-05, 09:14
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In "action":


This nifty art comes by way of Rob Fast - I was going for best resolution from a small scan, .bmp format seemed to work, but the MLU software wants to make it a dl link.
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Last edited by cmperry4; 06-06-05 at 20:45.
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  #57  
Old 06-06-05, 17:22
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Default LAAT on display

Awesome rig Rob, I love the juxtaposition of the Mcdonalds sign in the background, I would bet there were some gaggers watching from the restaurant.
Sean
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  #58  
Old 06-06-05, 19:13
Godwin Hampton Godwin Hampton is offline
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Rob,

Fantastic turnout. Never mind the rain, in fact I feel it adds a touch of War to the photos. D-day wasn't exactly bright and sunny!
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  #59  
Old 06-06-05, 20:53
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Here's one more of the full CMP contingent (I cropped the McD's sign out of this one).

Rob and Tony's HUW and LAAT/Bofors, with Gord Falk's F15A behind.
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  #60  
Old 03-02-06, 14:27
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Default MCC CDSW + Bofors



I have not seen this version of the MCC CD [I think it's a CD and not a winch-equipped CDSW!] before.
Quote:
THE BRITISH ARMY PREPARES FOR WAR
A Morris 6x4 Light Artillery Tractor towing a Bofors 40mm Light Anti-Aircraft Gun.
I think it's one of the batch H 4148897 to 4149876, V.3594, 'Tractor 6 x 4 Light A.A. which would be a 1938-9 delivery. However friends of Lord Nuffield may know otherwise!

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