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Post by cookie on Feb 18, 2012 16:55:01 GMT -5
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Post by Legion Etrangere on Feb 18, 2012 17:30:05 GMT -5
Cookie,
As always - superb.
What makes these photo's so authentic is the grittyness of the 2-3 day growth on the men, giving them that haggard, strung-out, exhausted look. Love the use of asian guy - well done, especially with the worn bush hat.
Excellent.
Mick
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Post by hoover on Feb 19, 2012 8:23:24 GMT -5
Great pics! I like your overall look and appearance. First class.
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Post by cookie on Feb 20, 2012 12:20:30 GMT -5
Thanks guys, any excuse to 'return' to Dien Bien Phu...
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Post by Legion Etrangere on Feb 20, 2012 12:25:09 GMT -5
LOL! Of course Cookie!
Both sets of shots were phenominal.
BTW, want your assessment of RC4 period uniforms when you get a chance. Standard French Union infantry vs Legion.
Mick
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Post by Turner on Feb 26, 2012 15:29:46 GMT -5
Very nice pics! Especially the faded colours!
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Post by toussant on Aug 27, 2015 19:03:33 GMT -5
How do you fellows attach the grenades to your webbing, via lever through a convenient slot? How do you keep from losing them when moving about as in a low crawl situation? I must also chime in on the raw realism- nice 'been there, done that' look! ---Toussant
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Post by lew on Aug 31, 2015 15:02:02 GMT -5
Attaching grenades like that with the spoon through a convenient loop somewhere on one's gear is a great way to lose them or inadvertently (negligently?) detonate them if they were to be live. Most units- particularly in Algeria- barred the practice since it's so inherently dangerous. Pins break or work their way out easily. The result would be predictable. The three-cell canvas TAP pouch was a much safer option, and the leather basket-style grenade carriers were frequently encountered.
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Post by lew on Aug 31, 2015 15:30:46 GMT -5
Why is the lever on a grenade or the item in your silverware drawer on the banned word list?  |
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Post by craigtx on Aug 31, 2015 22:14:50 GMT -5
Who knows, I ran into that problem a while back...
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Post by Étienne on Sept 1, 2015 21:32:47 GMT -5
That is weird, lemme try: spoon spoon spoon
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Post by Étienne on Sept 1, 2015 21:33:39 GMT -5
HA! Yup, it turned that word into "sthingy"...weird...
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Post by Étienne on Sept 1, 2015 21:33:54 GMT -5
s p o o n
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Post by Étienne on Sept 1, 2015 21:34:05 GMT -5
it worked with spaces!  |
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Post by lew on Sept 2, 2015 8:36:39 GMT -5
You are still in violation and hereby under arrest.  Seeing pictures of Euro reenactors always gets me riled up: those cool small arms that we can't get without exorbitant fees.  At least what we do have is functional*. Just wait until I have 18-25 grand to throw down for a working, NFA-titled FM 24/29 or PM MAT 49.  *Can't say the same about the trigger pullers. |
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Post by slehman on Sept 7, 2015 21:11:45 GMT -5
We always called the 'spoon' the safety lever. I'll look through my French pams to see the translation.
While I don't recall a safety pin ever working it's way out, as they are a bit of a challenge to pull in the first place without technique, carrying them in loops in your equipment with the safety lever jammed in to the loop or on a belt is a great way to lose a precious weapon that might be in short supply. All you have to do is go to ground in a hurry, go through tough vegetation or crawl backwards in scrub and they slide out. In the daytime you might recover it but a night, you lose the one weapon system that doesn't give away your position by firing/using it. Pockets and grenade pouches are the ticket
One of my Hollywood favourites is to watch guys pull out the safety pins with their teeth, it's painful to watch.
As for the weapons, very nice gents, the photos looked great.
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Post by slehman on Sept 7, 2015 21:22:03 GMT -5
After having down a quick search, the safety pin is the 'anneau de goupille' with the safety lever being called the 'levier' or 'cuillère'. I'll ask a few French vets what they called them.
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Post by lew on Sept 8, 2015 12:24:01 GMT -5
Thanks Steve for the insight.
I think it was Simon Murray in his book Legionnaire who mentioned the grenades going off due to them being carried in that manner. I'm sure I've read it elsewhere about another para unit in Algeria (one of the RCP's, I believe), but it's not one of those tidbits that one thinks consequential enough to write down at the time. In any event, with a number of better carriage systems available, carrying them like that seems ridiculous (I know it was actually done.).
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Post by slehman on Sept 8, 2015 21:57:02 GMT -5
Guys have sometimes straightened out the pins to make them easier to pull when in tight spaces, that would certainly make than a lot more susceptible to being inadvertently pulled.
When we trained with booby traps, the pins were straightened to the point of barely needing any weight to pull the pin. Even more effective was the tin can and the pin removed method with a trip wire.
Speaking with an ex-Legion vet, he calls the pin being called the goupille (de sécurité) and the lever being called the cuillière.
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Post by rullow on Jan 24, 2017 8:10:05 GMT -5
just a small note - neither on DF37 or OF37 the pin cannot be simply dragged out.... there is torsion spring and begore dragging the pin out you have to rotate the ring by cca 45° by force to disconnect it allow you to drag out the pin.... so from that point of view only risk you have is to lose you grenade - and they are very prone to this - 6km march up to the hill - 6x they fell down.... wow - nice price tag for a piece of weaponery..... and I thought that deact MAT for 600Eur or FM24/29 for a 1000Eur is quite expensive..... hows the price of MAS36 rifles? and btw - great photos  |
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At least what we do have is functional*. Just wait until I have 18-25 grand to throw down for a working, NFA-titled FM 24/29 or PM MAT 49.
