barn found,.30 cal tripod

[ian]

found this in an old building in germany
ive no idea as to its age
could well be post war i realy have no idea
it has stamped on it ( mount tripod machine gun m122 )
fraser mfg corp
aha and a date 1979 well i think its a date
its very rusty but still has some green paint on it
cheers ian

[Steve T]

WW2 or post.....still a very nice find

I like it....ALOT !

Steve T

[davejb]

I cant imagine it being post war, if you turned up without an essential piece of kit like that all hell would be let loose and a search would have been made, i doubt the 1979 refers to the date but you never know, we lost an sa80 at thetford once, we found it at the bottom of the thunder pit two weeks later the bloke who lost was handed it back with a 4" piece of cloth to clean the whole thing and that included the barrel, after that he was still put on a charge because the susat was damaged

[browningautorifle]

We used those in the Canadian Army for years after the US discontinued. I personally used them from 74 to 88 or thereabouts. Canadian Forces Europe had them too and it could have been left behind during a night move. The 1979 date would have been an overhaul date.

[AURktman]

The M122A1 tripod is still in use for the M249 SAW in the US. Does the tripod have an NSN number stamped into it?

M122 Tripod (ArmyStudyGuide.com) (Usage)

NSN: 1005-00-710-5599 (MOUNT, TRIPOD: MACHINE GUN, 7.62MM, M122) - ArmyProperty.com (NSN number)

[browningautorifle]

That's right you do still use them. I forgot that. What I was refering to specificly was the discontinuation of the 1919A4 in general service. We carried on for years afterward.

[ian]

The M122A1 tripod is still in use for the M249 SAW in the US. Does the tripod have an NSN number stamped into it?

M122 Tripod (ArmyStudyGuide.com) (Usage)

NSN: 1005-00-710-5599 (MOUNT, TRIPOD: MACHINE GUN, 7.62MM, M122) - ArmyProperty.com (NSN number)

it says m122 , there is no a1 after it ???
there is no nsn number on the tripod but the m122a1 tripod is still used with the 240 mg by the us army this one apears to have been re furbished at some time
the pintle catch has been removed ,,im told this was done by experianced gun teams to facilitate fast movement and reset of the gun in combat ??
cheers ian

[ian]

i was talking with a staff sergeant from 3.66 armour in graff abbout this tripod he showed me a new one ,an a1, it was a light grey in colour ,sort of anodized finnish
he also gave me 2 pintles to go with the tripod one is for a .30 cal the other is for the m240 mg
he allso said that the mounting for the mk 19 is allso used on this tripod when ground mounted
no t&e gear unfortunatley but i do have 4 t&e for the .50 cal tripod if anyone neads one give me a buz cheers ian

[ian]

the .50 cal t&e gear , no nsn numbers or dates that i can see only manufacturers codes
cheers ian

[browningautorifle]

The pintle with two grooves is for the 50 cal Mg. The tripod is MUCH bigger so the pintle is longer. It can also be used with the 30 cal. The Staff Sgt may not be aware of this because of limited experience. That is, he's probably 30 or so, I did more TIME than that. I mean he didn't start when I did and use the old gear I used. On the other hand, I never got to use the automatic grenade launcher. As for the removal of the pintle latch, I was gun team and I've never heard of that being done. I would have had to turn the mount in for replacement if it was noticed. Anyone that uses the gun to any extent can tell you that it jumps vertically when fired, and without the latch it will probably jump right out of the tripod head. It's one of the characteristics of the gun. The traversing and elevating mechanisms you have all look to be for the .50 cal except the top right in the pic. The bottom of the screw looks smaller. The .30 cal T&E was just a bit smaller because the traversing bar was heavier on the .50. If you can fit your thumb joint flat in the traversing lock, then it's for the .50. On the bright side, you have 4 T&Es and they don't come cheap.