Long Branch Magazine Marks

[jhawes]

Not sure if this has been tackled before, but I could not find any past threads....

I have 16 long branch marked magazines, 8 of which are matched to LB rifles. All of them have the customary Lb stamp on the spine of the magazine, except two of my 90L snipers which also have a C ^ in addition to the Lb marking.

On the spring, I have various markings including 5 with a B enclosed in a circle. I believe this means that the mag is certified for 10 rounds?

On 3 of the LB 90L's they are marked on the spring with UC F or R? Is that common to the 90L snipers, and if so, what does that mean?

I have one marked on the spring with just a circle. That indicates???

have another one on the spring marked AW ^. That indicates? or has it been replaced with a brit spring?

Last one has a C^ on the spine, and an F ^ on the spring?

Any advice is appreciated.
Cheers, Jim

 

[Claven2]

Jim:

The springs are sub-contracted parts. Not all of them are even marked at all. I don't have a list of who made what, but of all parts in the rifle, the spring was among the most wear-prone items and there is precious little assurance that any rifle retains the original mag spring.

To complicate things, they were in the supply depots of most allied countries and later even had a nato stock number. So, for example, in Korea a weak spring might be replaced from an allied supply depot and the actual part might have been made in the us, Canada, the U.K., India, Pakistan, or even some less likely places that used large quantities of the no.4 rifle like Belgium.