Other contries equipment cock-ups.

**CC_TA** · 10-07-2009, 14:29

SA80 also went to the Romanian Navy

Equipment cock ups - nothing wrong with the design, just the destination - An Iso container full of lawn mowers turning up in shaibah Log Base - Iraq - Giggles.

**Speedy** · 10-07-2009, 14:45

We had a black Ford Escort sat in Old Port Barracks vehicle park on Granby for several months. No one admitted it was theirs and it didn't move an inch the entire operation except to go back on the boat!

**onearmedwarrier** · 10-07-2009, 15:10

I remember being out in SA with some of the GBQ boys. They could break a polished ball who did a good job of turning thei MV76's into scrap metal.

**LancePrivateJones** · 10-07-2009, 15:29

Originally Posted by tattybadger

Has any other country bought SA80, or AFV 432?

Zimbabwe you will be pleased to hear.
I don't think they were bought as such, more like a gift from HM Govt in the guise of 'Aid'.

Apparently Jamaica uses them as well.

**jrwlynch** · 10-07-2009, 15:33

Originally Posted by Speedy

Following on from the RB44 thread, we can't be the only county who has procured total lemons?

US Army's M247 "Sergeant York" Divisional Air Defence (DIVAD) vehicle.

Starts with Reagan turning the money taps on in 1980 and Service chiefs being asked what they need; Chief of Staff (Army) points at the ZSU-23-4 and says "want that one!"

So, to get a quick, cheap, low-risk solution, they take a stack of proven kit and put it together. Chassis is from the reliable, proven M48 tank; guns are 40mm Bofors, which have an excellent track record: radar is from the F-16 fighter, fairly new but has been shown to work well.

And it all goes horribly wrong at vast cost, chewing through over a billion dollars in three years (and these were the early 1980s, when a billion dollars was still a lot of money) to get them ninety vehicles that were only ever used as target hulks on bombing ranges.

There are more, just for the US Army (the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter is a good example: twenty years in development, binned in pre-production with billions down the drain building a radar-proof helicopter to look for insurgents in Iraq or Afghanistan) but suffice it to say, we're not the only nation to get it expensively wrong in defence procurement...

**bangstobleeps** · 10-07-2009, 15:41

I read that on the Sgt York the radar picked up the vehicles own cooling fans !The Rockwell B1 had a bit of an iffy start until the Septics made up a role for it.

**brighton hippy** · 10-07-2009, 15:52

I think the end of the sgt york came at a demo where it tracked targeted and destroyed the mobile toilets at a vip firepower demo fortunately nobody in them.
I imagine after that any other mobile loos were in big demand

US armys new pt uniform

they can attempt to disguise themselves as chavs

**Gassing_Badgers** · 10-07-2009, 15:54

Just about any large joint development programme can be guaranteed to hit the buffers, or at least major delays...

Franco-German-Italian MBT programme of 1950s (Germans ended up with Leopard 1, French with AMX-30, Italians with US M60s and Leopards)

US-German MBT-70 programme of 1960/70s (Germand ended up with Leopard 2, US continued with M60, the XM-1 programme)

UK-German MBT-80 programme of 1970s (crashed in '77, Germans continue with Leopard 2, UK (eventually) buys Shir2 as CR1)

UK-US Tracer/Future Scout (canned late 90s, UK persues FRES, US pursues FCS programme....)

UK eventually ends up putting most of FRES into deep freeze, US cans FCS. Both countries realise what they actually need is a TRACER/Future Scout programme, which they canned 10 years ago...)

**tropper66** · 10-07-2009, 16:01

TThe MK1 AFV 432 was ok if you drove it with a fire extinguisher on your lap,

**BuggerAll** · 10-07-2009, 16:10

Originally Posted by onearmedwarrier

I remember being out in SA with some of the GBQ boys. They could break a polished ball who did a good job of turning thei MV76's into scrap metal.

None of this makes any sense to me at all. I've Googles GBQ and MV76 with no result that would make sense and as for the rest WTF is a 'polished ball'?

**DavetheApe** · 10-07-2009, 16:32

Originally Posted by BuggerAll

Originally Posted by onearmedwarrier

I remember being out in SA with some of the GBQ boys. They could break a polished ball who did a good job of turning thei MV76's into scrap metal.

None of this makes any sense to me at all. I've Googles GBQ and MV76 with no result that would make sense and as for the rest WTF is a 'polished ball'?

I was wondering that. Maybe you have to be in with the the right "crowd"... nudge, nudge, wink, wink....

Saying that, when I was in the B&Q with the MK, I found that the 987's were really useless, and were sold to the Sylvanians.

**auscam** · 10-07-2009, 21:10

Originally Posted by Stooge

Well, didn't the americans have massive problems with their M16s when they were first introduced in Vietnam? (I believe that due to poor manufacturing, some of the rifles wouldn't fire).

Wrong propellant, insufficient issue of cleaning kits and general GI slackness.

**Petardier** · 11-07-2009, 07:46

Originally Posted by Gungythree

Originally Posted by diehard57

Originally Posted by Speedy

It didn't help the M16 that after it's introduction rumour spread that it didn't need oiling either!

I thought they took it a step further saying that the rifle was 'self cleaning' due to the original design of the AR-15 having a chrome lined barrel and receiver. Also, didn't we use the M16 before the septics? I think they were issued to 'them' for use in Borneo and that the USAF had them before the US Army.

It was the AR-15 in Borneo, used by SF and Patrol coys

They were issued to Gurkha and Brit infantry and to FO parties. There were a few M79s available as well. But like the Aust inf in SVN were far too smart to replace all SLRs with them.

**tropper66** · 11-07-2009, 07:51

Originally Posted by Petardier

Originally Posted by Gungythree

Originally Posted by diehard57

Originally Posted by Speedy

It didn't help the M16 that after it's introduction rumour spread that it didn't need oiling either!

I thought they took it a step further saying that the rifle was 'self cleaning' due to the original design of the AR-15 having a chrome lined barrel and receiver. Also, didn't we use the M16 before the septics? I think they were issued to 'them' for use in Borneo and that the USAF had them before the US Army.

It was the AR-15 in Borneo, used by SF and Patrol coys

They were issued to Gurkha and Brit infantry and to FO parties. There were a few M79s available as well. But like the Aust inf in SVN were far too smart to replace all SLRs with them.

It seems that the MOD obtained about 10,000 AR 15s in 1961 for issue to Gurka,RM and some infantry units in Bornio

**ironrations** · 11-07-2009, 08:48

I once heard a story (perhaps other ARRSErs can confirm/deny about a French machine gun so secret that it was issued without instructions on the outbreak of WW1, leading to them being abandoned en masse as usual...