Question about guns American soldiers used in WW2?

Question

This might be a stupid question but after watching Band of Brothers I really want to find this out. In that series I saw soldiers carrying 3 different types of weapons: the Thompson M1928, the US M1 Garand Rifle, and the M1 Carbine-Resin (I think I have the names right, but I'm not sure).

My question is, why are some soldiers issued one type of weapon and other soldiers are issued a different type?

Anyone know?

Answer 1

Combination of factors --

Individuals were issued a weapon by their unit accoridng to a common table of allowances (CTA) and a Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E). Each battalion had a specified number of riflemen (M1s), a specific number of submachine gunners (Thompsons), and Automatic riflemen (BARs), and then there was a weapons company which had machine guns and mortars.

However, on the battlefield, people would die, or a weapon might jam, or be damaged, and they'd switch and grab whatever happened to be available. If they liked it, and the squad still functioned, they might get to keep the substitution. So you could end up with a real mish-mosh of weaponry.

Answer 2

The M1 Garand was the standard issue to foot soldiers. The other two weapons were issued to different people depending on their respective jobs. The "Tommy Gun" was issued to officers because they normally carried only the Colt .45 automatic as a side arm. The rounds were interchangable and the Thompson gave them some additional firepower during heavy operations, though limited effective range (50 yards). The carbine was issued to soldiers who had other responsibilities and needed a lighter weapon (radiomen, corpsmen, etc.). While a good weapon, it also has a shorter maximum effective range than the M1. Today, nearly everyone gets an M1A1, which is light dependable, has a good range, and can fire both semi and fully automatic.

Answer 3

Not a dumb question at all...
The type of weapon issued is generally determined by the rank and function of that soldier within his squad.

The M1 Garand was the "standard issue" rifle for all infantrymen and it would be the weapon most foot-soldiers would carry. The Thompson was usually only issued to squad leaders and non-commissioned officers (NCOs).

Carbines are shorter and lighter than rifles, and use a smaller bullet. Because of this, they were standard issue for paratroopers (like the Airborne troops in BoB). Carbines were also used by "non-combat" troops like medics, messengers and other specialists.

Answer 4

It's what they were issued. Before the Garand, troops used the Springfield 1903. They also used the M1919 .30 cal machine gun, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), M3A1 (Grease Gun - replaced the Thompson), Browning M2HB (.50 Cal machine gun), Colt M1911 pistol, and many others.
Regular line infantry were issued the Garands while the paratroops were given the lighter weapons like the Carbine and Thompson. Of course this is just a guideline and not set in stone.

Answer 5

I noticed my favorite weapon was missing along with one of my least favorite.

Fav- B.A.R., the Browning Automatic Rifle. This a weapon for the non-timid. Ashoulder fired automatic 30-06. Yesh baby!

least fav- Grease Gun, a stamped steel $20 replacement for the $225 Thompson. Both fire the 45 ACP. An inelegant weapon worthy of MacNamara.

I think there are two r's in Garrand.
The Thompson carried by Officers and NCO's in airborn unit was not the original production run that went to the Mobsters and Marine Corps. These had a modified breach block with a slower rate of fire, but were cheaper and easier to build. Hence the US Army bought those..

Note the folding and non-folding (wooden) stocks they carried. These were both M-1 Carbines and both were issued to officers in Airborne and EnlistedTankers and Truckers in other units.

What you got depended on what job you had. Most soldiers used whatever they liked once combat was joined and they scavenged for dropped weapons of the type they wanted. Most ammo was interchangeable so no one cared a whole lot.

Righteous weapons all!

Ret. USAF SNCO

Answer 6

During WWII, just like today, a certain number of each type of weapon was issued to an infantry platoon. Each weapon had a slightly different application. As an example, the Thompson made a lot of noise, packed a pretty good punch, and was fully automatic, but not very accurate. The carbine was optional as either a semi automatic weapon or fully automatic, but wasn't extremely powerful. The M-1 Girand was semi automatic, plenty of stopping power, and almost as accurate as the Springfield O3, which was used as a sniper rifle in this war. One other weapon you didn't mention is the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), this too was an effective infantry weapon that had been around prior to WWII. This weapon allowed every infantry squad to have a fully automatic weapon that had accuracy, fire power, and lotsa punch.

Answer 7

there are 3 basic reasons....

1 - the type of soldier. The paratroopers were normally given the smaller weapons because they were easier to jump with. Officers and Senior NCO's often had the Thompson becuase of the increased rate of fire - which was great, but also ate up ammo, so they gave them to those more likely to control their fire.

2 - Availability of weapon - this was war, and you took whatever you could get issued.

3 - Type of Mission - the Thompson was great for Urban, but in an open field type of fight, it was pretty much useless. The Maximum Effective Range was around 100 YDs. For this, if the soldier had the option, he would try to find the Garand because of it's extended reach.

Answer 8

You missed several other weapons carried by military personnel:

The 30 Cal BAR M1918A1
the 45 Cal pistol M1911A1
The M3A1 (some times called the Grease Gun)

Weapons were and are today assigned by position in a Squad or Platoon by a document called the Table of Organization and Equipment. However, in combat things get screwed around and people carry what they believe works the best. For example the BAR while very heavy (remember you are moving by foot) was also very effective and popular weapon.

Answer 9

The reason is that different guns are good at different things.

Garand has good stopping power and accuracy at range.

The Thompson was good at suppression and close quarters combat.

The M1 was a light weapon, good in close & medium combat. Usually given to troops who had to carry gear for other duties, and so it's light weight was critical. It was also used by paratroopers a lot, again.. due to it's light weight.

Troops were also issued BARs and Springfields.. again, each of those weapons were good at different things.

Answer 10

Different weapons have different ability's. The Thompson was a hard hitting 45 cal sub-machine gun but was not good a far distance the M-1 was a 6 shot 7.62 mm rifle and was great for long distance. the M-1 carbine was a 30 cal weapon that was good for medium distance.

Simper Fi