Over the last month or so I've been reading and watching a lot of World War Two material; The Sergeant series of action novels, plus HBO's The Pacific and I'm re-watching Band of Brothers, as well as watching The Longest Day and other WW2 movies. In addition, I've been working on and off on a pen-and-paper role-playing game focusing on WW2 Commando operations.This has gotten me thinking about WW2 personal arms, everything from pistols and knives up to light machine guns, bazookas, mortars, and the like, and what I would want to carry with me were I to find myself suddenly fighting in Europe or the Pacific theater. Would I want to be a rifleman, a machine gunner, a mortar man, a sniper, or some other kind of combat trooper, and what would I want to carry with me?
Considering all the Allied weapons, what would probably suit me the most is the M1 Carbine. It's compact, light weight, fires a reasonably powerful cartridge that has good range and accuracy within "combat distances" (~200 meters), it's semi-automatic and has a fifteen round magazine capacity, and you can carry a lot of ammunition without a lot of weight or bulk. I don't see myself as a "in the teeth of it" sort of soldier, so a weapon that provides me with a lot of defensive and modest offensive firepower with minimal encumbrance appeals to me.
So, what WW2 Allied weapon is right for you? Do you see yourself as an SMG-toting commando or hard-bitten NCO, or the sort who carries an M1 Garand on the front lines? Are you lurking about in a sniper's nest with a scoped SMLE or 1903 Springfield, or are you laying down some firepower with a BAR or Bren Gun? Or perhaps you'd like something a little more exotic, like a 12-gauge combat shotgun or the DeLisle Commando Carbine? Let's hear your choices and the reasons why.
7 comments:
Colt .45 and a commando dagger!
Me, I've always been soft on the BAR. There's something about that ugly lump of steel that speaks to me. Not to mention that you can lay down some good supressing fire, without having to lug around the large MG's.
Thompson .45 submachine gun. Accept no substitutes.
In North Africa I'd like the BAR for reasons mentioned above, plus the range and knockdown power of the 30 '06 round. In close-in fighting in Casino or the Pacific, for instance, I'd want the Thompson (I know the M3 greasegun was lighter, you wimps). Old Faithful, with a box magazine, awesome firepower and the .45 round will mess your stuff up at MOUT range. The Garand is reliable and accurate, but those 8-round clips are a drawback, IMO. BTW, there were also 30-round mags for the carbine.
Anon:
Yeah, I'd probably favor the M2 selective-fire carbine over the M1 carbine once it's available later in the war, esp because you get those 30-round mags, combined with full-auto. At that point you've got yourself a prototype assault rifle...
based on my call of duty experience I have to go with the Garand.
I love the look of the BAR. I tried to be a tommygunner but I was ineffective with it. I consistently killed more Nazis with the M1 so I have to stick to my strengths.
SMLE sniper rifle. Hard to find a more rugged, accurate, and smooth action than the Lee-Enfield's. Having shot both, I can also say that the SMLE is almost twice as fast as the Springfield, which even for a sniper is always a plus. Holding twice as much ammo as the Springfield doesn't hurt either.
Post a Comment