Old news for most: The Pacific (HBO)

[SwissArmyDad]

Don't have HBO. Just stumbled on a few clips on youtube, when researching John Basilone(sp).

As I said, old news to many, likely, but I was very intrigued by the use of pump action shotguns during the fight on guadalcanal(sp).

Several times, while the machine gunner was reloading/clearing jams, the loader/assistant was covering him with a pump-action. Very intense. Didn't provide sustainable firepower, but definitely kept them in the fight and was devastating @ closer ranges.

I also noticed many transitions to pistols and revolvers as main weapons (MG's, thompsons, and m1 garands/carbines) were reloaded or cleared of jams.

Being a big fan of Band of Brothers, I think I might have to find the mini-series and watch the whole thing.

 

[Dr.Rob]

HBO didn't re-run it multiple times like they did BoB, never got to see the final episode.

 

[Red Cent]

Tom and his buddy Speilberg ruined it by putting a lot of love life, home life, and just life in the series rather than major in war. Unfortunately, we, who didn't or couldn't, love to see war movies. I quit watching after a couple of times or so.

 

[hso]

Let's not play film critic. Please keep the discussion on the firearms and firearms usage.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Would that shotgun have been a Winchester model 12, or...

Were machinegunners (1917 browning, right?) issued these sometimes?

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Also, I thought I saw a pistol used by one of the officers, were these pretty common? I know all about the 1911, but did it have a counterpart in the Japanese military?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The standard Japanese officer's pistol was the 8mm Nambu and the Type 84. Both were pretty miserable excuses for a combat pistol.

 

[pikid89]

awesome series

in a few of the episodes, one of the characters uses a Colt New Service .45 revolver, I thought that was pretty cool

 

[trueg50]

Fantastic series, shocking the brutality of those operations (especially Peleliu, Okinawa and Iwo Jima).

I was disappointed by the made up love story in Australia, but watching the series made me run out and get Eugene Slegde's book "With the Old breed" and Robert Lecky "Helmet for my pillow".

 

[Dr.Rob]

I don't remember seeing the 1917 revolver, but I do recall the carbine getting a lot of screen time.

 

[SARDiver]

HBO didn't re-run it multiple times like they did BoB, never got to see the final episode.

We won.

 

[Tommygunn]

SARDiver, you spoiled everything!:banghead:

 

[EddieNFL]

I don't remember seeing the 1917 revolver, but I do recall the carbine getting a lot of screen time.

I think Sledge had one.

I don't remember if it was in Sledge's book or another, but the author said after the first day or two he was like a scavenger at a dump. He dropped his Garand and picked up a carbine and later a Tommy gun, only to later pick up another M1. Go with what you know, I guess.

 

[pikid89]

Here is Sledge with his revolver


another interesting submachine gun not often remembered in the war is the Reising M50 seen carried here by Sgt. Basilone

 

[mike.h]

Thanks for the reminder, I have the series on DVD, I may have to watch it again before I return it.

 

[JFrame]

I agree with a previous poster that the home-front (well, Australian-front) segues tended to detract from the general momentum of the series.

Overall, it was generally well-made, but Band of Brothers was much better, which probably accounts for why it was re-aired much more often.


.

 

[SSN Vet]

Hanks comments about the racism of Americans towards the Japanese during his intro. were a pathetic disgrace.

If you want to know just how bad it really was, you have to read Flyboys.

Pretty detestable to read how certain Japanese army commanders issued SOPs about when cannibalizing the enemy POWs is OK and when it's not. They even cannibalized their own wounded.

 

[EddieNFL]

Hanks comments about the racism of Americans towards the Japanese during his intro. were a pathetic disgrace.

Particularly considering the Nipponese think anyone or anything foreign is inferior. The word gaikokujin is generally spoken "gaijin" meaning outside, but is used the same as (insert racial epithet here).

 

[pikid89]

If you want to know just how bad it really was

If you want to know how bad it was, read The Rape of Nanking

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Regarding guns (getting back on topic), I believe we had superior infantry weapons in almost all ways over the Japanese, although their snipers were nothing to snear at. Our guys had respect for the enemies knee mortar, too. My dad was in heavy weapons- infantry, and was an 81mm mortarman on Borneo, Leyte, Luzon, and later occupied Japan for a few months before coming home. In theater from Australia from about Nov42 til discharge in Oct or Nov45. He was issued a carbine, but opted for a Garand soon after hitting the Phillipines. Don't know if they depicted any mortar crews in the series (haven't seen it yet), but thought I'd share what he shared with me about it. He did pack a .45 when checking com wire lines, probably in addition to a rifle periodically. He also was temp issued a BAR when sent on an observaton patrol with one other guy. Pretty much sums up his weaponry used.

 

[mavracer]

I like the left handed 03s in the first episode. I don't blame the editers too much the GI need to walk the right direction and it's easier to transpose film than reshoot it.

 

[JFrame]

Regarding guns (getting back on topic), I believe we had superior infantry weapons in almost all ways over the Japanese, although their snipers were nothing to snear at. Our guys had respect for the enemies knee mortar, too. My dad was in heavy weapons- infantry, and was an 81mm mortarman on Borneo, Leyte, Luzon, and later occupied Japan for a few months before coming home. In theater from Australia from about Nov42 til discharge in Oct or Nov45. He was issued a carbine, but opted for a Garand soon after hitting the Phillipines. Don't know if they depicted any mortar crews in the series (haven't seen it yet), but thought I'd share what he shared with me about it. He did pack a .45 when checking com wire lines, probably in addition to a rifle periodically. He also was temp issued a BAR when sent on an observaton patrol with one other guy. Pretty much sums up his weaponry used.

Speaking of the knee mortar -- my dad served in the Pacific, and he told me about how some G.I.'s took the term "knee mortar" literally, and tried to test-fire the captured devices on their knees -- leading to some blown out knee-caps.

I don't know if this was an apocryphal story that he heard (passed on by others to make sure you don't do it) which he was passing on to me, but just adding it to this discussion as part of the historical lore.


.

 

[PreMod70]

My stepson bought the series on DVD, I have watched it all and was blown away by the realism. It made me sweat several times, all that was lacking was the smell; it is amazing what the moviemakers can do this day and time. My father was in the Pacific and told me the Japs machinegun shot 3 bullets to our 2, he had a great respect for them.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Jframe, you are correct about the knee mortar, and our guys did occasionally get hurt screwing with them just the way you said. Re: the Japanese Machineguns, I saw a History channel story on them, and apparently some of their designs were really prone to jamming (I think they had one that fed like our old Gatling gun with a vertical box), so even though they had a higher cyclic rate (as did the German MG's), the Japanese guns were often interrupted by jams, and thus gave our guys a break right in the middle of battle often. My dad also related a story about one GI who was obsessed with a Jap machinegun that he captured, and dragged it along as they progressed for several days. At one point, they let him set it up for an ambush, and tricked the Japanese into continuing to come at him as he fired, believing that it was their own guys, and that they could get the firing to stop (without firing at the MG gunner). THEN our guys opened up on them in a big way. That particular battle was very bad for the Japanese, very good for our guys.

 

[amflyer]

If you want to catch that last episode, or any of them, you can do so online. Sign into "HBO GO" and you can stream the episodes on your computer, or iPad, or whatever. BoB is on there too.

If you pay for HBO, you're good to go with the streaming.