Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 42

Thread: Most well-received WW2 American service weapon??

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Posts
    149
    Feedback Score
    0

    Most well-received WW2 American service weapon??

    This could be an LMG, rifle or special purpose arm. I just want to know what our troops liked and what they didn't.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    SWMT
    Posts
    8,188
    Feedback Score
    32 (100%)
    I would guess that it would have been either the M1 Carbine or the M1 Garand. In fact, I think I would have to call it a tie: Patton loved the Garand, but Chesty loved the Carbine.
    " Nil desperandum - Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it. "
    - Samuel Adams -

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Kansas City Mo
    Posts
    369
    Feedback Score
    1 (100%)
    I would guess M1 Carbine. LAV and Hackathorn did a Tac TV episode with an emphasis on the M1 Carbine, and I believe a lot of that episode is on youtube.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    Liberty, MO
    Posts
    844
    Feedback Score
    13 (100%)
    Quote Originally Posted by KCBRUIN View Post
    I would guess M1 Carbine. LAV and Hackathorn did a Tac TV episode with an emphasis on the M1 Carbine, and I believe a lot of that episode is on youtube.
    A lot of the emphasis was on PDWs, but yes they did have a lot of good things to say about the M1 Carbine when using 15 round magazines.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Indiana- West central
    Posts
    231
    Feedback Score
    0
    I would guess the Garand. The only complaints I ever heard were about the weight, which is gonna happen.

    The M-1 Carbine seems to be a mix. Some loved it and some hated it. My impression is it was better received in the Pacific theatre. It would be a lot handier in the jungle and was probably more effective on small-statured, half-starved, Malaria-suffering Japanese. Most of the complaints I've read over its lack of power came from the Korean War, where the enemy wore layers of heavy clothing in the cold and got heavily "medicated" before a charge.

    The Thompson varieties seem to have gotten mixed opinions too. I remember my dad and uncles talking about what great fun it was to shoot, but then they would say when it came down to it, nobody wanted to carry a gun with such short reach and heavy weight except those that could hitch rides on tanks and trucks. Everybody wanted to pose for pictures with them, though. But then, I've talked to vets from the Pacific who thought it was a gift from God.

    I never heard much first-hand commentary about M3 Grease Gun users. Most I've talked to never saw one. Too late arriving.

    The 1911 would have been in more limited use than some would believe I'd think. Dad liked it, but never fired one again after basic. I don't think I'd count that.

    I think we can scratch the Reising SMG off the list.

    The BAR might be in the running. Like the Garand, I don't rememer


    hearing anything bad about the BAR except weight.

    Taking the question literally, the 1941 Johnson might have been the best received. The few that got into Marine hands were usually those swiped to replace Reisings that didn't work out. Based on that- going from a Reising to a Johnson- I'd say they were very well received!

    Come to think of it, although I've never talked to anyone who used one, I've read some nice praise of the Johnson LMG by users.

    And aside from lugging them around, I don't recall hearing anything negative about the Browning MGs of any type.
    Last edited by Barry in IN; 08-06-14 at 13:41.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Wakanda
    Posts
    18,863
    Feedback Score
    4 (100%)
    M1 Garand.
    "In a nut shell, if it ever goes to Civil War, I'm afraid I'll be in the middle 70%, shooting at both sides" — 26 Inf


    "We have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them." — CNN's Don Lemon 10/30/18

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Pentagon
    Posts
    497
    Feedback Score
    23 (100%)
    M1 Carbine

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    168
    Feedback Score
    0
    My guess would be the Garand.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Black Hills of S.D.
    Posts
    1,697
    Feedback Score
    3 (100%)
    Garand it did everything needed in a service rifle of that era better than any other nation's weapon.
    PSSSSTTTT, It is still better than many !

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Burleson,TX (DFW)
    Posts
    427
    Feedback Score
    12 (100%)
    I'd guess the B-29...depending on what side you were on...lol. Seriously though this would probably be better researched via google as first hand experience is limited. Also the answer would depends on the specific theater of war too. There was fighting all over on the other side of the pond. Are we talking specifically Europe, the Pacific, or on a more limited scale desert warfare taking place...take my opinion for what it's worth but I've always rolled with the situation would dictate the need. But for a do-all...I probably would have ran the carbine. But if I were stuck in that mess in the Pacific...Thompson...all day.
    Last edited by DiabhailGadhar; 08-06-14 at 20:36.
    You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood for something, sometime in your life.----Sir Winston Churchill

Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •