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Post by privatefjordy on Jul 9, 2006 18:45:46 GMT 1
I have just started reading 'Sting of the Scorpion', the inside story of the LRDG by Mike Morgan.  On page xiv, it states "The machine-guns, where appropriate, were oil cooled for ease of traverse and to prevent over heating in the fierce desert temperatures."  Does anyone know if this is a typo, (oil instead of air), or is it implying that oil was used in place of water as a coolant on the Vickers? |
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Post by Kev on Jul 9, 2006 20:21:06 GMT 1
Boiling point of oil is about 300 degrees , maybe a trade off between ease of replenishing and greater heat transfer ?
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Post by woodsy on Jul 9, 2006 21:37:10 GMT 1
I have known many LRDG veterans (most of whom were in the thick of it, Barce, etc) and none have seen fit to mention 'oil cooling' even though many of our discussions have been weapons related, including many conversations with one who was a specialist Vickers gunner. Only the .303 and .5 Vickers were water cooled, all the rest being air cooled. From my conversations it would appear that the favourite guns were the 20mm Breda (captured), the .50 Browning (aircraft M2) and the .303 Vickers K in a twin mount. Of course, in times of emergency, oil (of which they carried quite a lot) would be less valuable than water and could well have been used on odd occaisions.
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Post by Kev on Jul 9, 2006 22:59:58 GMT 1
Not having any knowledge of Vickers water cooled MG's, at a guess how many rounds in a desert temperature without a hose attached would a Vickers be able to fire before it started boiling off its water ?
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Post by woodsy on Jul 10, 2006 1:44:28 GMT 1
The norm is 600 rounds to boiling, so in the desert I would think about 450 - 500. That is still a couple of belts which would be unusual, given the usual 'hit & run' tactics employed. They tried to avoid fire-fights because they were so far from any support, and as a few of them found, it is a bloody long walk home! |
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Post by Kev on Jul 10, 2006 1:51:20 GMT 1
Cheers Rod  |
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Post by privatefjordy on Jul 14, 2006 16:04:52 GMT 1
Having now read a bit more, on page 24 the author writes about the recollections of Corporal Arthur Arger, Y Patrol, and states;
'Machine-guns were oil cooled, as water cooled weapons would have become useless after a while in the extreme conditions of heat and dust, and were also difficult to traverse cleanly on a moving truck with all the necessary accessories for water cooling.'
Now to find some pictures of Vickers without cooling hoses.
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