This could be an LMG, rifle or special purpose arm. I just want to know what our troops liked and what they didn’t.
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.
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.
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.
M1 Garand.
M1 Carbine
My guess would be the Garand.
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 !
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.
Imgaine going up against a bunch of Jerrys or Tojos armed with their bolt actions while you are plugging away with a semi-automatic .30-06. Though I surmise house to house in urban Europe would suck.
M1 Garand by a mile.
On Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima it was hard to shoot what you couldn’t see. Tojos with bolt actions could be a serious pain in the ass. Tojos with LMGs were that much worse. Thankfully we also had flame throwers and a lot of Tojos engaged in futile suicidal bayonet charges rather than sitting tight in a nice hide.
But that aside, I imagine the Garand saved lots of lives that would have been lost of we were still running around with 03 Springfields (and we were in some cases, especially early in the Pacific).
M1 Garand
M1 Garand
If the Garand had adopted the intended 7mmx51 cartridge with the 14 round clip, it would have been by far the most popula gun in WW2.
I asked my dad this question. He was WWII 82nd Airbourn 503 '44-46. He liked the M1. He said he didn’t trust the M1A1 Carbine as he had some jam issues and such. He also liked the .45 but said he never wanted to have to use it.
Funny how guys like Garand and Saive were pushing intermediate cartridges even then. Only took about 70 years for everyone to realize they were on to something.
.276 Pedersen
Crazy to think how this cartridge could have changed history. We could have had a “M14” earlier and we may have even had something other than the beloved AR…
And then we go to Afghanistan and scramble to pull M14s out of mothballs and develpe the SCAR-H.