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Unknown M142

jvollenberg

jvollenberg

Well-Known Member
Ordnance approved
I have a new M142 that I can't identify the country. I bought it from a seller in the UK. It is tan (which I had never seen before). The directions in the can match almost exactly the directions from the Austrilian F1A1. The nomenclature on the can is very different from anything I have ever seen before ... with no lot number on it either.

So I am posting it here to see what I can dig up, and to show it off.

Any ideas?

Joe
 

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Hi Joe

I gathered up half a dozen of these kits at Stoneleigh Militaria show in the UK last year from a dealer. There were quite a lot more available. Most of the packages had had the Lot Numbers erased, however I found one pack marked in handwritted indelible ink 001 (underlined) MDSL (printed as yours is) 04-02. Not much to go on I am afraid, and I was under the impression that this was a US issue item, due to the designation M142.

Hopefully someone else knows a bit more!

Kind regards

Switch
 
The M142 is the Australian Firing Device, Demolition, Combination Boobytrap F1A1 that has been adopted by the U.S. and has been redesignated. The link below shows a tan one made by Mondial in the UK. I don't currently have access to any U.S. publications for the M142, however if you Google M142 and find the MACV-SOG site they identify it as the U.S. version.

http://www.mondial-defence.com/images/PDF_Data_Sheets/M142 Firing Device.pdf

The same basic device is used by many countries and occassionally there are minor differences. The Canadian one is still called the F1A1. I believe the current service British model has been assigned an L model number. It is slightly different in that the positive safety pin has been changed.

Sorry I can't provide a better reference at this time.
 
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