BRITISH ARMS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 260, 1 October 1940, Page 3

BRITISH ARMS.

COST OF WEAPONS

From a London newspaper which has just reached Wellington lias been derived information on the, cost- of various types of munitions Britain is employing. Following is a selection of items involving part of the £10,000,000 a day which the Old Country is spending on the war for liberty:— Standard small arms which are supplied to infantrymen are Lee-Enfieid No. 1 rifles of .303 bore. These, the most efficient rifles in the world, cost £7 11s each. Officers are armed with the standard .38 revolver. The revolvers cost £4 10s 6d apiece, and 1000 rounds of rifle ammunition works out at £5 10s. Hand grenades cost 2s 9d each. The now famous Bren is a gasoperated machine-gun, which looks and is handled like a rifle. It is also .303 bore, and on its tripod is deadly against low-flying aircraft.’ It costs £56. Lewis guns are being turned out now at about £6O apiece. , The heavy type Vickers machine-guns can cost as much as £2OO. Anti-aircraft guns begin with the ultra-rapid Bofors guns of 40mm.. which fires a 21b. shell. The 3-inch gun fires a 121 b. shell, and the 3.7 shoots 20-pounders. The Bofors costs £4500 apiece, the 3.7, a masterpiece of precision work, £7850 , Each 6in. shell for the bigger guns costs about £6, the 8-inclicrs £l2 15s. Huge 16in. naval guns cost £45,000 each. This is nearly twice as much as the cost of a German Messerschmitt 110.