MORE AMMUNITION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 January 1943, Page 4

MORE AMMUNITION

FOR TRAINING PRACTICE BEING MADE AVAILABLE TO HOME GUARD. ANNOUNCEMENT BY DEFENCE MINISTER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, January 5. “The Home Guard, as an integral part of the Army, will share in the substantially increased allocation of small arm ammunition for training which is being made in the Army this .year,” the Minister of Defence, Mr F. Jones, said today. More three-inch mortars, he added, would also be issued to Home Guard units and in the near future a number of iwo-mch mortars, with ammunition, would be made available. Over and above an ample war reserve, said Mr Jones, the Army had available a considerable quantity of small arms ammunition for training purposes and the increased issue to the Home Guard would enable all its personnel to carry out adequate live firing practice. During the year there would be an increase in the scale of issue of .303 ammunition and the issue of .300 calibre ammunition for rifle and medium machine-gun would be more than trebled. A liberal allowance of 22 calibre ammunition also would be provided for miniature ranges and the issue of grenades would be nearly double that of last year. Substantial issues would be made of practice and highexplosive mortar bombs and there would also be ample supplies of ammunition for sub-machine-guns. “The increase in the issue of small arms ammunition to the Home Guard, for training purposes, is an indication of the intention to make the fullest possible use of the Home Guard’,’ Mr Jones added.