Sorry, it was Admiral Rainier

I'll have a go, I've got two possible answers both called Hindostan! If the first is wrong I'll wait a bit then try the second

Possibility 1:

Was she previously a minesweeper HMS Cromer M103 which was transferred to RN College Dartmouth as a static training ship and renamed the Hindostan in 2002?

The other answer is even weirder!

Thanks Rob, that took a lot of searching. During that search I came across this, the answer to which was going to be my second guess. (Compare this question with the preceding one! )

She was ONCE a part of the Royal Navy but had NO HMS, and she was ONCE called Hindostan too!
WHAT was she, WHAT is her current designation and WHERE is she now?
And for extra brownie points but not required for a correct answer, what is her connection with the previous solution?

Confusing isn't it!!

Yes, sorry about that question! I only came across the answer myself whilst trying to solve Dontshootme's previous one, I must admit though that this quiz is a great way of sharpening up our research tecniques for the future! So here's the answer..

The vessel in question is now called "The Cafe on the Barge" and she can be found tied up on the river Torridge in north Devon. Previous to this she was a Royal Naval Auxilliary Barge, also described as a seaplane tender and it was in this guise that she was moored in the river Dart, belonging to the Dartmouth Royal Navy College when she was called the Hindostan

That was her connection to the previous question, there is a tradition at the Naval College that every tethered training vessel used there is called the Hindostan, thats why the minesweeper that took the tender's place also took her name as will whatever vessel supercedes the minesweeper in the future (an Invincible class aircraft carrier would be nice if it'll fit!)

If you would like to see how the barge looked before her conversion to a floating restaurant look at www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1521971 (and I STILL think she's the result of uncontrolled breeding between the Torpoint Ferries!! (was that your answer Dont?)

This question is much easier and no exotic ships are involved!

About three years ago I became the very proud owner of a Rifle No.1 Mk111, better known as the Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield. She was made in 1914 and had seen action right through both world wars and beyond. During her 80+ years of service she had worn out almost all the moving parts which had been replaced with later variants and I have spent the last three years e-baying original parts to rebuild her back to that 1914 configuration. Below is a photo of the nose cap which was on her at the time of purchase, this has been replaced with a correct one.
The question is why did I have to replace this piece?
(Hint..something's missing!)

Best of luck to all

Aw Rats!

Over to you again!

(For those who might be wondering what we're talking about, if you look at the photo you'll see a large square-ish piece sticking out below the nose cap, that's the bayonet lug for securing the big pointy thing on the front. Directly behind that is a slight depression where the securing bolt screws into the woodwork of the front stock. Behind that there is nothing! There should be a rounded piece of metal almost as big as the bayonet lug with a threaded hole through it to take the piling swivel, this is very similar to the standard rifle sling swivel but has a gap of about 1/2" in the middle, almost a 'C' shape. It's sometimes (wrongly) called a 'stacking swivel' and was there to allow several lee enfields to be secured in a circular group, usually around a tent pole! This feature was deleted after WW1 so my 1914 rifle was refitted around that time with new parts - damn their eyes!)

133 men in 19 Lancaster bombers set out.
77 men returned
29 of the survivors failed see the end of the war
At the start of 2012 there were still 3 men left alive

Brave men one & all

133 set out and 77 did return
48 survived the war

Hey Kev, there are 2 websites that both say 48 of the 133 men survived the war, which gives you the answer of 29 as Rob first said!
http://www.telegraph.co....sh-Dambusters-dies.html

http://dambustersblog.co...tise-complete-crew-list/