A former Sandhurst weapons instructor has told the Saville Inquiry that all soldiers carried unauthorised bullets in addition to those they were officially issued with.
Giving evidence to the inquiry yesterday (Wednesday), INQ 587 said he was a private in the Parachute regiment at the time of Bloody Sunday, but later became an instructor at Sandhurst military college.
The former soldier said that while he did not go into the Bogside proper on Bloody Sunday, he heard both military and civilian gunfire.
He claimed that as well as hearing army SLR fire, he heard a Garand rifle and a Thompson machine gun (sometimes used by the IRA).
In his written submission, INQ 587 said he believed the operation on Bloody Sunday was a "complete f*** up" for which no-one was responsible.
"Not even our Commander Wilford could have done anything about what happened, as he had no view of what was happening on Rossville Street and couldn't control all the different groups of soldiers once they had gone through the barriers and into the Bogside," he said.
Questioned by counsel to the majority of soldiers, the witness said this was just his general impression.
He also said he believed that all soldiers kept a private supply of bullets in case they lost one of those issued officially, which would lead to a court martial. He said the soldiers often smuggled the extra bullets from the rifle range.
