Hazlehurst Road - Wandsworth - V2 Rocket November 1944 and Service 16 Nov 2014

November 1944 Bomb Damage in Wandsworth - Hazlehurst Road Garratt Lane

Hazlehurst Road - Map and modern photo and MEMORIAL SERVICE DETAILS



A service in being held on 16 November 2014 to remember a terrible night in 1944 when a V2 Rocket fell and killed 34 people. A friend was there and gave me photographs of the damage. Since then the pages have grown and several relatives of the dead have contacted me and my pages provide some idea of the horrible impact of such weapons. We are hoping to contact other relatives re the service if you know any likely people please pass on....

News: Scary and a change needed - Colorado gun sales soar after shooting

Colorado gun sales 'soar after shooting' | SBS World News

The shotgun I saw on TV looked like this one and as far as I am concerned no way  private citizens need weapons like that.
or AR15 rifles
or Glock pistols
all of which the shooter bought legally.
and how did he get the tear gas?

Personally I have used various weapons I served in  Cadet force at school and then National service in RAF. See Ron's Blog: Guns and Rifles for comments on some weapons.

This Australian view mentions our Port Arthur massacre and how our PM John Howard changed our gun laws. Having the courage to defeat law of the gun | Daily Telegraph Miranda Devine Blog
We still have shootings - but the amount of people killed reduced considerably following the new laws in 1996. Worst nowadays we have driveby shootings in Sydney. Our police and Customs are trying to find out how the weapons were imported and a lot have been seized.

Frankly America you need to change your gun laws Charlton Heston when leading the NRA was wrong .

I know USA history is different to UK and Australia. UK had the civil war in 1600s but it took a lot of training for the Parliament side to develop a professional army. And in the end the Cromwell government failed and the real revolution happened in 1688 but without violent action.
Whereas USA had violent frontiers and weapons were needed to defend homes. Also your citizens were able to arm when political events brought war with George III. Your civil war was about soldiers taking sides and not really private people taking up arms.But all these needs are historic.
Nowadays why are such ghastly weapons required by citizens? Why should a private person have a licence for a concealed weapon.
Armies have such powerful weapons that it is really impossible for the people to stage a violent revolt. Such things are achieved by politics. Tunisia is a good example of how to have a revolt. Libya and Syria had violent ones and are a mess.

Have you read The Weapon Shops of Isher - by AE Voigt 
I never saw this book as in praise of guns - after all weapons that are only for self defence are pure science fiction - guns kill.  

However I understand a change is difficult as an enormous retail and production industry is involved.  BUT something has to be done else this kind of killings will continue.

Update: Obama vows gun checks after Colorado shootings | SBS World News
I have to agree with him but of course he doesn't mean just AK47s
"But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals -- that they belong on the battlefield of war, not on the streets of our cities," Obama  said.
  

Guns and Rifles

Neil Cameron has just published a good comparison on

M16 vs AK-47

Back in the 1950s I fired as well as The .303 Lee Enfield Rifle watch the kick - whoops a shoulder blade.
The WW2 Bren light machine gun a delight no kick - could wander sideways as only a bipod But I could get small groups by firing shorts bursts. (the USA had the BAR - Browning Machinegun).

Also the Sten a very low cost sub machine gun - it really drifted to the side - I used it like a hose - spray the bullets around. Wiki has a picture of Churchill firing from the shoulder - Winnie was a soldier but that was probably a propoganda picture - best I found was holding it at the waist tucked well in. So many WW2 movies (I remember Alan Ladd in the Red Berets) showed people holding the magazine at the end with left hand. NO NO! That would cause a jam.

Talking about recoil and how to hold - Ak47 I see being fired from shoulder - held very well and also from the waist. Then watching some films of training the Iraqis in entering eneny buildings, they have the butt up high on the shoulder like USA weapons. I don't think that is sound practice. Ak47 is not that stable.

yes the AK47 is a WMD - I saw designer recently saying he does not worry and still sleeps nights not his fault how wide spread the gun is.

Big thing with M16 they said on Discovery was the way the butt goes straight from the barrel - avoiding the curved stock stops the tendency to jerk the gun when firing. So point and shoot and it goes straight.

However as you say the AK47 is a more robust field weapon

I see a range of weapons in use by US in Iraq - as well as M16. Blokes lugging around M249 Squad Automatic Weapon the fire power must be good.
I wonder if the CQBR - Close Quarters Battle Receiver is working out.