Hands On History - Arms of WWII

Arms of WWII

Major American Firearms Manufacturers of the Second World War

Auto-Ordnance

M1928 Thompson SMG

Brown-Lipe-Chapin *Note (2)

M2 Browning heavy machinegun

Buffalo Arms

M2 Browning heavy machinegun

Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company

M1911 pistol (Model O), M1908 pistol (Model M), M1903 pistol (Model M), M1908 pistol (Model N)
Service Model Ace pistol (Model O), Woodsman Match Target pistol (Model S), Commando revolver,
M1917 Browning machinegun, M1919 Browning machinegun, M2 Browning heavy machinegun, M1917 revolver, M1921 (and 21/8) Thompson SMG, M1918 BAR

Cranston Arms (Universal Windings) *Note (3)

M1941 Johnson rifle, M1941/44 Johnson machineguns

Frigidaire *Note (2)

M2 Browning heavy machinegun

General Motors (Guide Lamp, AC Spark Plug, Inland Manufacturing, and Saginaw Steering Gear divisions) *Note (2)

M1917 Browning machinegun, M2 Browning heavy machinegun, FP-45 Liberator pistol, M1/2/3 carbine,
M2 Hyde SMG, M3 SMG

Harrington & Richardson

M999 Sportsman revolver, Defender revolver, M35 Premier revolver, Reising 50/55 SMG,
Reising 60 carbine, M65 Military rifle, M1 Garand rifle

High Standard

U.S.A. Model H-D pistol, Model H-D MS suppressed pistol, Model B-US pistol, M1917 Browning machinegun,
M2 Browning heavy machinegun

International Business Machines *Note (2)

M1918 BAR, M1 carbine

Ithaca Gun Company

M1911 pistol, M3 SMG, M37 shotgun

Kelsey Hayes Wheel Co. *Note (2)

M2 Browning heavy machinegun

Marlin

M42 United Defense SMG, M1918 BAR, M1917 Browning machinegun

New England Small Arms *Note (3)

M1918 BAR

Remington Arms

M1917 Browning machinegun, M11 shotgun, M31 shotgun, M1903 Springfield rifle, M1911 pistol

Rock Island Arsenal *Note (1)

M1917 Browning machinegun, M1903 Springfield rifle

Savage - Stevens

M1 Thompson SMG, M1928 Thompson SMG, M620 Stevens shotgun, M2 Browning heavy machinegun,
M1917 Browning machinegun, British Rifle No. 4 (Lee-Enfield), M720 shotgun

Smith & Wesson

British Pistol No. 2 (K-200 or S&W .38-200), M1940 Light Rifle Mark 2, Victory Model revolver (M&P),
M1917 revolver

Springfield Armory *Note (1)

M1 Garand Rifle, M1903 Springfield rifle, M1911 pistol

Winchester Repeating Arms

M1 Garand rifle, M1/2 carbine, M1917 riot gun (M97 shotgun), M1917 riot gun (M12 shotgun), M1918 BAR

Click Here: The M1 Garand - An American Companion in Three Wars

NOTES:
(1) Denotes government arsenal
(2) Denotes private firms not normally associated with firearms manufacture
(3) Denotes companies set up specifically for WWII arms production

The weapon Captain Green used to halt Kampfgruppe Peiper was the M1 carbine, a lighter version of the M1, the standard infantry rifle of the US Army. This was an excellent weapon, modern in design and very reliable. It was the first semi-automatic rifle in general use by a major power. All the other major armies used bolt-action rifles, which fired one shot at a time. The soldier firing a bolt-action rifle must pull the bolt back, load a bullet into the chamber, push the bolt forward, and twist it down to lock it in place. This must be done each time he shoots. It is a slow process. With practice, a soldier can get off 10 shots a minute. In the heat of combat, this might not be enough. The semi-automatic rifle uses a clip of eight bullets. The burning gases from one shot are routed through a chamber to push a piston mechanism that drives the bolt back, loads the next bullet, and closes the bolt, all in about half a second. The end result is that the soldier simply aims and pulls the trigger for each shot, without having to reload between shots. After eight shots, though, a new clip must be loaded. (Fully automatic weapons fire continuously once the trigger is pulled. Machine guns, machine pistols, and assault rifles are fully automatic. Most modern armies equip their soldiers with fully automatic weapons and then try to train them not to waste ammunition.) The M1 was a powerful weapon. It weighed over nine pounds. Its 30-caliber bullet (0.30 inches in diameter) could kill a man half a mile away -- and the rifle was accurate enough to hit a man that far away. But it was also a cumbersome weapon. The M1 carbine was a trimmed-down version, with a shorter barrel and a smaller stock. It weighed less than seven pounds and was quite handy, but not much good for stopping a Panzer division. The M1 Carbine: the War Baby. Baby because it was so much a 3/4 scale rifle; War Baby because it was the product of an urgently conceived requirement equally urgently satisfied by "Carbine" Williams and his colleagues at Winchester. The Carbine was intended to "fill the gap" between the 9+ pound, full power M1 Rifle and the capable, but limited by its caliber, M1911A1 pistol. The intended user was the officer, the artilleryman, the signalman, the truck driver and the like, for whom the M1 Rifle was just too big and inconvenient to be practical, but who also needed a weapon with more useable reach than the pistol. At any but point-blank ranges the Carbine was easier to hit with than the pistol, too. More than 6 million Carbines were produced by a plethora of contractors, from hardware manufacturers to jukebox companies. After WWII the Carbine soldiered on in the hands of US troops and their allies right through Vietnam. It was particularly popular with small-stature troops, a popularity only overshadowed by the M16 as it became available. Loved by many, reviled by a few, the M1 Carbine seems to capture the hearts of most who see and handle it.
M1/M1928 Thompson Submachinegun, Cal. 45, M1, SMG
M1921/1928/1928A1 Thompson - The Thompson submachine gun is one of the most famous, most recognized guns in the world. First designed and made in an era when cheap labor enabled lavish expenditures of time and materials, the Thompson was an over-engineered, bulky, heavy gun. The Thompson answered a question that had not been asked yet: What kind of gun is needed for mobile troops on a rapidly changing battlefield? For mounted troops? For urban warfare? For paratroops? When World War II came along and "asked" these questions the Thompson was the only answer. Auto-Ordnance had still not sold all of the original production run of 1921. It was a beautiful gun. It was reliable. It did not wear out. And it fired the biggest pistol cartridge anyone had - the .45 CAP. But the realities of war overcame this wonderful gun. The Thompson took too long to make, and was too expensive to make. Production was simplified, and finally in mid-war the production of the Thompson ceased in favor of the M3 Grease gun. To say that the pendulum swung the other way would be an understatement. Later advancements in gun and ammunition design eliminated the need for a submachine gun. The Thompson remains one of the unique American icons. In its glory days of W.W.II it provided un-equaled close range firepower to American and Allied troops. It served on through Korea and Vietnam. Nobody is sorry they carried one. This gun is hugely popular due to its use in Korea and Vietnam, frequent use in gangster and war movies, and due to the "revival" of interest in World War II.
M1911 Pistol

Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911A1

M1 Garand Rifle
US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1
Carbine, Caliber .30, M1	Carbine, Caliber .30, M1A1
Carbine, Caliber .30, M2