Weapons From WWII In Service Today?

World War II General WWII Discussion
#1

What weapons systems from WWII are still in service? And let’s count even firearms, mines, AT, and ordinance that have gone through significant upgrades and redesigns, but are at least related to a weapons system program started during WWII…

I’ve fired the venerable .50 caliber machine gun, and saw Prince Harry squeezing off a few rounds in some stock footage shown relating to his story. So I guess that would be one example…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/28/nharry228.xml

So, are many of these guns just rebuilt platforms used in WWII?

#2

My understanding is that one that isn’t is the .45 M1911 / ACP, which probably should be around in a modified form instead of Glocks and the like.

If only because it’s a bloody big lump of metal that’s handy in a trench fight.

Also, it looks bloody nice. :smiley:

Then again, I couldn’t hit a tree stump with it at about twenty five or so yards a long time ago. But the tree stump looked bloody frightened! Not as frightened as I did aged about thirteen or so and previously limited to .22. rifles. :smiley:

This is probably way out of date, but about ten years ago I attended an Army open day where they were firing M60s when I thought our Australian army had gone all Austrian on Steyrs and the like.

Spoke with a sergeant who said, not in as many words, Sir, because sergeants call civilians Sir when they don’t just after the civilians have got into uniform, but all the GPMG’s we tried are shit and the M60 is the best we’ve got, and that Steyr is a piece of shit if it ever gets into battle. Which is what has been said by some of the few Australians - not Austrians - who’ve actually used one in something passing for battle, and a very experienced Australian armourer whose opinion was ignored by the big wigs.

The sergeant and I confirmed our view that the 7.62 SLR is a very good weapon for pissing the enemy off and that anyone who can’t shoot over open sights shouldn’t be in the army. The sergeant said that most soldiers he’d met didn’t know what open sights were, and that was just the male recruits. I think that the sergeant, unlike me, might actually have fired various weapons at people with sufficient results to form a base of practical information about what rounds are effective in the field. Which is the last thing the procurement wallahs would want, given their glorious history of ignoring the opiniions of users over wankers in high positions. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/13b-helicopter-project-dumped/2008/03/05/1204402556104.html

#3

If he reckoned that the M-60 was better than the FN-MAG (GPMG), then those he tried must have been in truly awful condition. The FN-MAG is an incomparably better weapon.

Edit: Various Indian units (mainly police I think) still use the Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield chambered in 7.62 x 51mm NATO and manufactured at the Ishapore arsenal. Not bad for a rifle that came in during IIRC the Boer war!

#4

Interestingly, the US military has (mostly) done away with the M-60 GPMG in favor of the M249 MAG (the same Belgian gun used by many Euro armies, and the British one)…

The .45 does live on in some individual members armories in special ops meethinks, although probably improved versions with large mag capacities…

I think we posted at almost the same time…

Edit: I meant the M240 MAG. The M249 is the SAW

http://www.arcent.army.mil/cflcc_today/2005/january/images/machine_gun.jpg

#5

Just to be a pain in the arse, if you had to have a pain in the arse from a round hitting you in the standard military target area of the central body mass, which if accurately hit tends to bugger the heart and lungs, would you prefer a fairly low velocity M1911 or something a bit quicker?

And why?

In the end, does any of it make that much difference if somebody with a useful weapon uses it usefully?

#6

The M2 cal. .50 Browning machine gun is in service still, the longest serving weapon in the U.S. military (1920s?).

The Marine expeditionary force, IIRC, still uses the M1911A1 pistol.

JT

#7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M18_Hellcat

Venezuelan Military Statistic as of 2006:

M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer: approx. 75

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334849,00.html

#8

Here’s a few I can think of…maybe modified quite a bit…maybe they don’t count, but just a thought:

M3 “Grease Gun” (not very %$#@ accurate). We carried this weapon on our FA unit.

M35(A2) various models…yeah, the WW2 jobs were gas jobs, but still in use, course by now, they may all be in reserve units…gotta love those vaccum wipers! :slight_smile:

Infamous World War II wooden barracks…ok, yeah, not a weapon per se, but I can bet most folks on the forum who ever served in the US military spent time in one! I just had to throw this one in for good measure.

#9

Is the Ka Bar still in service with the USMC?

A very useful utility and fighting knife.

#10

Yep, the K-Bar is timeless.

#11

Well, the MG 3 is technically still an MG 42, adopted to use the 7,62mm NATO ammo.

#12

I forgot about that. In fact I was going to start a thread asking if there were any other improvements or modifications besides recalibrating it to take the NATO round…

#13

Yeah, they made several over the times, the most well known is the reduction of the rate of fire and a lot of smaller modifications like changing the belt feed to allow for us belts etc. and this and that on various other parts, but I’m too lazy to translate them all from the german page I’m looking at right now :smiley:
But it’s really only minor modifications, there are actually still guns in the arsenal that are modified MG42 from wartime production but they are mothballed.

#14

There are some US WWII built warships still around, in other nations navies. Taiwan and Mexico still had ex US wartime destroyers in service in 2006, I don´t know if they still do.

A few Shermans, M8/M20 (6x6) and T-34´s are often stated to remain in service in some countries in Africa and South America.

#15

Meh. The UK has still got one warship from before the US Revolutionary War in commissioned service!

#16

Which one?

#17

HMS Victory - launched in the 1760s.

Remains a commissioned Royal Navy albeit as a museum.

She is also the flagship of the Commander in Chief Naval Command.

She is saluted by all passing Royal Navy vessels.

re the original question - Browning Hi Power - excellent pistol - still in service around the world.

Richie

:cool:

#18

The P-38 can opener, still soldiering on, (Burp) :slight_smile:

#19

The MP 43,44 Assault rife used by german soldiers in ww2i s not around now but it look like the soviets copy it to make the famous AK-47 it sure looks like the ak-47.

#20

Nope. It’s not a direct copy, and it’s not clear that one had much to do with the other…