6 Comments

  1. I came across that earlier and the quality of those old Enfield guns for them to be able to assemble a working one from the six salvageable ones was one of two things that struck me. The other was that covering up with body armour and a helmet each when they were going to go and fire the thing by remote from a trench seemed excessive. Okay, of course they had to protect themselves in case the gun exploded but surely if you’re out of the line of sight in the bottom of a trench then just something to protect the head in case something flies up and lands in the trench, and I can’t help thinking if that was likely they’d have operated it from a damn sight further away. Or am I missing something? 😕

  2. Britain makes and designs a lot of good products. But the best way to make good products it take the best global manufacturing offers and combine them. I doubt that there is any ‘British’ product that is entirely ‘British’ in content these days.

    I have a new(ish) British made bicycle (Moulton) as well as a 45 year old version. The 45 year old one had everything (as far as I can tell) fitted to it manufactured in the UK. But it is simply not economic to do that these days actually I’m not sure you even can! So the new one has an Austrian hub gearbox (that company has now be sold to America), Taiwanese brakes and wheel rims from Italy (I think) and the original tyres came from Finland.

    Is the bicycle British? Just as much as Triumph motorcycles fitted with Japanese brakes and Italian fuel injection systems made in Hungary or Morgans with BMW engines are.

    The reverse is also true. Airbus wings (and bits of Boeing Dreamliner) are made here and a large proportion of global jet engines are still made here by Rolls Royce. Thales in the UK make the some of the best flight simulators used to train pilots. All your Apple iPhones and iPads would stop working without Cambridge based Arm Holdings processors.

    So just becasue British goods are not on the shelves of every shop, does not mean they are not out there earning export pounds and providing employment.

  3. I don’t think you are missing anything AE.

    Surely, one of the first things they would have done after cleaning the components would have been to have them all crack tested, especially the barrels.

    I suppose it could be that the barrels were a little dodgy, but deemed capable of loosing off a belt or two before failure. After all, it was the result of someone having a bit of a “mad idea”. But still no need for the bomb proof vests.

  4. Following on from Voyager’s comment, my Laverda 350 had Lucas electrical components – not to mention Japanese lighting and switchgear. Still had crap Italian finish, though…

  5. I’m 51.

    I was born next to Heathrow.

    When I was a kid, many of the planes flying from there were designed and built in the UK.

    I remember seeing the QE2 on her maiden voyage.

    I remember the start of Concorde (I was lucky enough to fly on Concorde for my 40th birthday treat).

    I made Airfix models of the TSR-2 and Lightning (and Spitfire of course) when I was a kid…

    Now we make the wings and engines.

    The UK is fucked.

    😡

  6. Lucky man, Barman. I always wanted a flight on Concorde and it was vaguely promised as my 40th big treat, but they scrapped ’em while both me and the planes were well short. Shite, I’d have asked to go for my 30th if I’d foreseen that.

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