Falkland Islands

[rcaf_777]

British Troops I think liked the full Automatic Fire on FN FAL instead of the Semi Auto on their weapons

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I heard that more than a couple of (iron) bombs that hit British ships didn't go off because the arming mechanism had been inadvertently painted over, not allowing the arming prop to spin up, and had that not been the case there would've been more shipping losses than there were. Not sure how true it is or isn't.

The British forces had a rough go of it, and technically I agree they were a lot more closely matched than some may think.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

I heard that more than a couple of (iron) bombs that hit British ships didn't go off because the arming mechanism had been inadvertently painted over, not allowing the arming prop to spin up, and had that not been the case there would've been more shipping losses than there were. Not sure how true it is or isn't.

The British forces had a rough go of it, and technically I agree they were a lot more closely matched than some may think.

That may have happened, but the main reason was the planes were dropping them too low and they weren't arming in time. The Argies figured it out after San Carlos though and adjusted the fuses.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

In regards to the matchstick trick, it's not particularly difficult and it's no more dangerous than having any other 7.62x51mm weapon on full auto. This 'trick' was part of the 'knowledge' passed on by various senior infantry soldiers in the Aussie Army and I obviously the British Army as well.

I distinctly recall reading at least one book on the Falklands that British troops favoured the FALs for two reasons: -
1. a fair number of the FALs had the folding stock
and
2. as has been mentioned, the FAL has a full auto selector