The popular Mk6 Webley was probably the best service revolver ever made and used in both wars, but it was basically issued to officers and was more a weapon used to shoot laggards on your own side when going over the top in that hell that was WW1 trench warfare…

Trench-raiding or entering dugouts were probably the only time that a pistol was an advantage against someone armed with a rifle. I think British officers soon learned to wear helmets and carry a Lee-Enfield when going over-the-top as advancing carrying a revolver (or a swagger-stick :rolleyes:) would make you an obvious target for snipers, or anybody else for that matter!

It wasn’t only army officers who needed a revolver to ‘encourage’ their subordinates; I remember reading about a Lancaster Pilot (Walter Thompson?) who was forced to draw his revolver on his navigator over the Bay of Biscay when he refused to take a reading with his sextant!

The navigator was ‘reassigned’; to the relief of the rest of the crew (who all thought it was well overdue) but before that incident the Canadian pilot had been derided for carrying his ‘wild-west six-shooter’!

Its been a long day and I took it as a serious thread….doh!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 😮

Clouds wrong way up?

Not sure even Old Shape’s rules of crime and punishment would sort that one out! :rolleyes:

No no and thrice no. I KEEP repeating, my system is the proper western judicicial one, with a 24 month appeal period. I do not believe in vigilante actions.

Sorry, I know your stance…..I was just joking as I thought the situation was ironic. 🙂

This man would be dead now if old shape had his way.

“Mr Lawless and another man were convicted of firebombing Mr Wilkins’s flat after wrongly suspecting him of being a paedophile.”

Not sure even Old Shape’s rules of crime and punishment would sort that one out! :rolleyes:

I went to Cosford to see the Vulcan; my third attempt to see it flying.

It was also my third attempt to get into Cosford in the last five years and I have to say the traffic situation has always seemed poor in comparison to other Airshow venues although this year I had no problem getting in at 09:00 because I came south down the A41. 😉 As some have said the show seemed very busy this year but in previous years I’ve been directed down all sorts of minor roads and still been queuing miles away when the display started.

Was the Vulcan displaying at 17:30 the wisest decision given the traditional traffic problems?

What was displayed I enjoyed but the show also seemed very light on RAF hardware, given that it is one of the biggest RAF airshows. No Tornado, of any description, no Harrier, no Hercules, no Merlin, and no flypast by C-17, VC-10, Tristar, Nimrod or Sentry. Virtually nonexistent static display of current RAF types.

I know the RAF is stretched at the moment but it would have been nice to see some of the newer aircraft and also some of those that won’t be around much longer.