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Australian 105mm Gun ID plates.

R

ron3350

Well-Known Member
I got hold of a few brass ID plates for 105mm Guns from MBO factory in Bendigo Victoria about 12 years ago. This factory made and repaired guns etc.
Taken over now by Thales or closed? Famous now for the Bushmaster vehicles made there.
Brass plates are 102 x 38 x 1mm and looks like re-using the old plates for gun upgrades?
Where would these plates be fixed to the gun? Unusual item.

105mm Gun Plates.jpg
 
The plates would be re-stamped on upgrade. Fixed just forward of the breech, every live gun would have one as this is effectively its identity.
 
i see that they have different country codes in NSN
99 UK
66 australia?
did they have a factory in the UK or did someone make a cockup
 
I also noticed the 99 and 66 Australian code and wondered why we had blank UK plates. My photo shows the front and back of one plate. All were the same details.
 
99 & 66 are the Country Code or National Codification Bureau. This is meant to denote the country that first codified the item - not the manufacturing country.

The first plate is marked L118, whereas the second is marked L118/L119. The Australians supplied 24 Light Guns to New Zealand. Each gun was apparently supplied with two barrels - one for British ammunition (L118) one for American ammunition (L119). However, there's more to it than just swapping barrels.

I would suggest the different NSN reflects the universal package that was created by the Australians.

TimG

p.s.

The Light Gun was originally introduced into British service as the L118 and used 105 x 326R, QF separate, electric primed. The Light Gun's predecessor had used 105 x 372R, QF semi-fixed, percussion primed (American ammunition). The UK had vast stocks of the 'American' ammunition, so it was decided to introduce a version of the L118 that could utilise the 'American' ammunition. This became the L119 and was used in the UK as a training gun.
 
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The NZ L119 were all refurbed by Thales a few years ago. Also the L118 British (105FD) barrels were cut up about 10 years ago as we only utilise the US style 105mm ammuntion.
 
Correction; the plate is mounted near the towing eye, on the trailing arm.
 
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