the EDITOR Repairing Military Equipment

Dear Editor,

The article in the April 2023 on “Repairing Military Equipment” and its findings that “in Ukraine, units are trading equipment with neighbouring elements” shows that we continue to reinvent wheels. In April 1982, 29 Commando Regiment LAD REME set off for the Falklands. We theoretically carried out First Line repairs but as our war role was in Northern Norway we had learnt that any Second Line assistance was extremely unlikely. Some very resourceful Artificers and others had made it their business to cadge circuit diagrams for FACE, Cymbeline and tels kit and worked out how to repair them, in some cases using parts from civilian suppliers. So, in the 48 hours we had to prepare before embarkation we not only acquired more spares from units such as 4 Field Regiment RA who also had the 105mm Light Gun and associated equipment, but also extra “bits” needed to repair rather than replace boards.

Before we put ashore in San Carlos we took note of something we had learnt from an old hand that had been in the Suez landings that one of their problems was that some vehicles had new-fangled things called keys to isolate the ignition and they had got lost. We made sure that our vehicles could start and run without the need for keys. As for repair, we had never experienced a broken balancing spring on a 105mm Light Gun so did not carry a spare (we went ashore carrying tools and spares on our backs). On the first day a spring broke. The training at Bordon in metalwork paid off as one of the Artificer Weapons managed, using the facilities on board one of the ships in San Carlos, to manufacture a frame to hold the spring roughly in shape and continue firing. Without that we would have lost 5.5% of the artillery fire power available at the start of the war. I would dispute the statement in the article that “Western militaries do not show an agility in capturing, repairing and redeploying” enemy equipment. As the war went on, we acquired Argentinian weapons so by the end the LAD and Regiment had a fair stack of machine guns for local air defence that we did not have at the start. Unfortunately, we had to throw the whole lot over the side on the way home but we also acquired one of the enemy 155mm guns, that did make it home, and a large number of their 105mm Pack Howitzers. As a matter of fact, we had too many of the latter. As they could be broken down into parts that could be transported on a mule they could also be hidden away from people in authority who wanted them thrown over the side with the rest of our arms cache. They continued to appear on the square in the Royal Citadel in Plymouth in the months after our return.

At the end we found ourselves in Stanley with no wheeled vehicles but many Argentinian Mercedes Gelanderwagens. The enemy had thrown the keys away but that was not a problem to resourceful VMs. The biggest problem we had was keeping our hands on the redeployed vehicles because as soon as an officer over the rank of Major saw us in one we lost it and then had to go and find another! The last one was requisitioned by a Lieutenant Colonel who was not only very close to retirement but had been on at least two ships that had been sunk underneath him whilst he was coordinating ship to shore gunfire support. He got his vehicle but only on condition that we would act as his driver and escort.

Finally, I would totally agree with the statements that: “Empowerment, alongside technical ability, is critical to keep equipment in the fight. Units are circumventing slow, centralised, repair chains as they fear losing access to weapons for moths at a time”. A message for LAD Commanders and others is that empowerment, which may mean ignoring or bending the rules and regulations to keep your equipment fighting fit, might not be good for your career but it does work and doesn’t half improve the morale of the tradesmen, Technicians and Artificers who are the life blood of the Corps.

Yours, Paul

Musgrove

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