RED CELL COLD WAR SPECIAL
RED CELL
AEGs OF THE COLD WAR THE RED CELL CREW ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT DIFFERENT AEG AND GBB PLATFORMS THAT ARE “GOOD TO GO” FROM THE BOX BUT WHAT’S THE SITUATION WHEN IT COMES TO PERIOD-SPECIFIC MODELS? WITH A LOVE FOR NATO MODELS FROM THE COLD WAR ERA, “THE CELL” HAVE PUT TOGETHER THEIR FAVOURITES TO BRING IN THE FIRST OF THEIR “SPECIAL REPORTS”!
F
or some of you reading this, “The Cold War” is just another part of history but for some of the older members of the Red Cell crew, memories of the later Cold War period - and the 1980’s specifically - are the time when they were taking their first tentative steps into the “military realm”, and their knowledge of the weapons platforms, uniforms and equipment used are still from first-hand experience! The Cold War period (generally acknowledged as the late 1940’s through to the start of the 1990’s) saw some really profound changes in military doctrine, with a move towards highly mobile, mechanized units and fast-moving battlefield formations and equipment moved along with the changes. The “Western Bloc” was largely built up of (what became) the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries that came together as an inter-governmental military alliance to implement the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed in 1949. These countries allied to support one another in face of external aggression and faced off against the “Eastern Bloc”, which was led by the Soviet Union and its Communist Party. At this time the US supported right-wing governments and uprisings across the world, while the Soviet government funded communist parties and revolutions! As many fledgling states achieved independence they became Third World battlefields in the Cold War and emergent national power-bases started to flex their muscles… Focussing on the later years of the Cold War, an era of “small wars” globally but thankfully one that never 46
SEPTEMBER 2021
saw the much-feared WWIII, the fighting soldier still retained many trappings of their forebears from earlier conflicts. Although there had been huge advances in military gear and hardware, your average “grunt” was still wearing belt-mounted load-bearing equipment and carrying a big old battle rifle! This was the time of the L1A1 SLR, the FN FAL and the H&K G3. SMGs were still the issued weapon of support and special operations personnel, although the US forces (and by proxy their NATO allies) had adopted the M16 over the M14 as pretty much a “one size fits all” solution. It was still the time when “7.62” reigned supreme, although moves were already afoot to standardise to “5.56” amongst the NATO partners. And these days, although some of the period gear is becoming scarcer, there has actually never been a better time to put together a “Cold War” loadout, as virtually every one of the necessary weapon platforms is available in 6mm form! To this end “The Cell” now presents their personal favourites and, using a slightly different format incorporating some history and their “user comments”, we bring you, with the help of “guest star” Frenchie (plus Bill and Jimmy playing “Dress Up” - which we’ll come back to in a future issue!), “Red Cell - AEGs Of The Cold War Special”!
L1A1 SLR
The L1A1 SLR was a British variant of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle, produced under licence and adopted by the British Army as the L1A1 in 1954.
