Otter LRC CM4647296 comes home

[John Carmichael]

The 1942 case looks to possibly be a British Kynock case. The 1943 cases I think may be Canadian Tracer rounds (D1 Z )and the 1950 cases are Belgian FN (Fabrique National) rounds.
Also the ejector marks are different for each of the years.

[Jordan Baker]

Hi John.

Thanks for the information. I agree on the different strike marks on the casings. If only they could talk.


Taking advantage of the decent weather yesterday I brought out the big paint sprayer and got a number of the larger parts painted. Outer radiator shroud, side engine covers and some floor plates all painted up. The floor plates will be two colours. The bottom side is green but the top side is white. When these were first painted it was quite clear the steel plates were assembled unprimed and then sprayed white or green. For the short time these vehicles were expected to be in service this wasn’t a problem. But 80 plus years in it lead to some rusting.

[David Dunlop]

Nice progress with the paint work, Jordan.

Were the Bren Guns in the Otters ever equipped with brass catcher bags?

Assuming the spent casings were just clattering down between the gunners legs, does the mounted position of the Smoke Cartridge Rack give you any indication in which direction the Bren Gun would be firing in order for the casings to end up where they did? To have happened once is an interesting oddity, but the same thing three different times over roughly a decade is definitely an interesting pattern.

Sorry, Jordan. My Mind has a mind of its own all too often...


David

[Jordan Baker]

Hi David

Its nice to be adding paint to these parts. They have been sitting around the shop for too long.

From what I can tell, the Otter never used the brass catcher bag for the Bren. I suspect when it was firing, the casings were bouncing around all over the roof and some coming back down into the hull. These were found on the left side of the hull behind the crew commander's seat. I did find one on the other side behind the driver's seat under the battery disconnect switch. The locations suggest that these casings were simply missed on cleaning out the hull.

[Jordan Baker]

A few more parts prepared for painting.

[Jordan Baker]

Pretty happy with how this larger floor plate is cleaning up. Three days of soaking in the citric acid bath followed up by a quick scrub and hose off. I’m quite happy with my initial invest in this method compared to having to send out these parts for sandblasting.

[Jordan Baker]

Taking advantage of the 20deg weather I got a bunch more plates all painted up. Now to let them sit for a while and have the paint harden up.