Sniper rifle in Kellys Heros

[Eric F]

I was watching This movie and saw an american soldier with a mosin nagant looking sniper rifle.
1. was it a mosin?
2. did americans ever get issued a mosin nagant in ww2?

 

[Ramone]

I don't have the movie to check, but AFAIK, the Marines used the M1903a4 'Springfeild' as a Sniper Rifle during WWII, though I have heard third-hand scuttlebutt that captured and personal weapons were used...

Ramone

 

[Deanimator]

The movie was filmed in Yugoslavia. The gun was some flavor of 91/30 sniper.

US troops assigned to the Allied contingents in Russia during WWI were issued US made Mosin-Nagants. To the best of my knowledge, no significant number of Mosin-Nagants were issued to US troops during WWII.

 

[Golden Hound]

They were made by Remington, weren't they?

 

[everallm]

Might have been a M1917 or an Enfield P14, both were still in occasional use a sniper rifles in WWII.

 

[jackdanson]

though I have heard third-hand scuttlebutt that captured and personal weapons were used...

Happened all the time. I read a lot of 1st hand histories of WWII and weapons from home/captured weapons were used all the time. Captured weapons were most often used when there was no other choice. (no ammo for supplied weapons)

 

[Cosmoline]

"Kellys Heroes" is a comedic movie with virtually nothing to do with WWII other than the setting. It was made during the nadir of the Vietnam war and the corruption and cynicism displayed by the characters has a lot more to do with hollywood views of that conflict than anything in WWII. AFAIK, no US soldiers used Mosin-Nagants in Europe during WWII. Some US soldiers used them a generation earlier during the conflicts after the Russian revolution. The contact between US GI's and the Red Army was limited and very tightly controlled. Much more so than between other allies.

I'm also not aware of the German forces using captured Mosins on the western front. Austro-Hungary did convert some M91's during WWI, as did imperial Germany. But I know of no WWII vintage conversions. The chances of an American soldier somehow getting ahold of a 91/30 sniper on the Western front during WWII would be extremely small. In Vietnam of course it's another matter.

 

[rcmodel]

Might have been a M1917 or an Enfield P14, both were still in occasional use a sniper rifles in WWII.

There were no Pattern 14 or 1917 sniper rifles used in WWII, because there were no Pattern 14 or 1917 sniper rifles.

Only the 1903A1 & A4 Springfield was used by the U.S., and modified Lee-Enfield's of various models by the British.

rcmodel

 

[Deanimator]

There were no Pattern 14 or 1917 sniper rifles used in WWII, because there were no Pattern 14 or 1917 sniper rifles.

There were certainly "Pattern 14 sniper rifles" in the BRITISH Army in WWII.

From page 88 of the August 2007 edition of "The American Rifleman":

"The British found themselves at war in 1939 without a proper sniping rifle, except for the venerable No. 3 or Pattern 14 Mk.I (T) left over from 1914-18."

 

[Pilot]

The airplane they used in the movie was also Yugoslavian, a Soko 522 advanced trainer. I always assumed it was a T-6 Texan or SNJ, but its not!

 

[Ron James]

Very few captured weapons were used in open combat in Vietnam. Each weapon has it's own unique audio signature. Hence if you heard an AK-47 being fired on your right flank, every one turned around and laid down a heavy volume of fire in that direction.

 

[sharkhunter2018]

Just a movie goof. It's a Mosin Nagant PU sniper.

I have the movie and I checked.

 

[ShakyJake]

Kelly's Heros

Hi,
I thought it was a Mosin-Nagant also. Always enjoy the entertainment value of that flick. Even if a cast full of mostly liberal antis. Easy to see "Tex" was firing blanks as hardly any recoil, flame or thunder.. Movie kinda puts you in fantasyland.. There were always stories of some kind of Nazi treasures stashed around.
TaKe CaRe
Ted

 

[NonConformist]

Just watched it, yeah its a Mosin Sniper type and the 'Tigers' were something else moded, they didnt look right. The road wheels looked Russian, not German

 

[sharkhunter2018]

NonConformist - The 'Tigers' were Russian. Converted T-34s to be exact.

 

[Realbigo]

"Why all the Negative Vibes??" I love that stupid movie. Since we are talking about Enfield P14's and 17's, does anyone know for sure if the Marines of the AEF were ever issued any Enfields?? I'm quite sure that they picked some up along the way, issued or not. And by the way, weapons in war zones are like the English Language. Their are always exceptions to each and every rule.

 

[Don357]

Some Mosin's were made by Remington and some were issued to US troops in the early stages of WWII, (before the US was actually at war), they were issued to troops involved in a covert mission in Siberia. I have the information concerning the mission somewhere and will post it when I find it.
Don

 

[Ash]

The mission was Vladivostok where the troops came from the Phillipines and were issued 1903's and Archangel where they were issued M1916's, which were US-made Mosins. It occurred in 1920 and was not covert but overt and comprised more than US troops.

It was also a dismal failure.

Ash

 

[Dain Bramage]

I have to add, prior to CGI, the fabbed-up T34s were the best looking "Tigers" used on screen.

Typically for that era, American films used post-war American iron as stand-ins for German period equipment. Patton tanks usually represented Tigers, some models of which did had a passing resemblance to the Tiger II, but not the boxier Tiger I seen in KELLY'S HEROES.

Realbigo: I love that movie too. Even when seeing it as a kid in the seventies, I understood it was more a product of its time than a reflection on WWII.

 

[jackdanson]

I have to add, prior to CGI, the fabbed-up T34s were the best looking "Tigers" used on screen.

Were the tigers/panzers in saving private ryan cgi? It looked more like replicas. If they were cgi that was a really good job.

 

[Ian]

The Tigers in SPR are also built up from T34s, though they did a far more sophisticated job than most other, lower-budget movies. You can tell by the wheels.

IIRC, the German halftracks used were actually Czech models that look very similar.

 

[06]

If ever near Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland go to the tank museum. They have almost every type that has ever rolled and you can put your hands on them. They even have the German rail gun--a massive cannon. wc

 

[Cannonball888]

U.S. Mosins were also made by Westinghouse

"In 1915 the Czarist Russian government was desperate for small arms, and ordered more than a quarter million Model 1895 lever action rifles from Winchester in 7.62 x 54mmR Russian caliber. Then they ordered 1.5 million Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles from Remington and another 1.8 million from New England Westinghouse. Most of the Winchesters were eventually delivered, and several hundred thousand of the Model 1891 Mosin-Nagants were delivered to Russia before the February and October 1917 revolutions overthrew the Czar. The new Communist rulers negotiated a separate peace with Germany and immediately canceled the rifle contracts in the U.S. To keep Remington and New England Westinghouse from going bankrupt, the U.S. government bought up the undelivered rifles to keep the companies running while they switched tooling to produce arms for the U.S. Army. Some of the Mosin-Nagants were issued for training use, or home guard type outfits in the U.S. After the November 1918 Armistice, the U.S. and its allies kept on supporting the good “White Russians” against the bad “Red Russian Communists” as late as 1922. U.S. forces fought in Russia during that period, and many of them were (much to their disgust!) issued Mosin-Nagants instead of their M1903 Springfields. More of the Mosin- Nagants were shipped to Murmansk and Vladivostok for use by the White Russians, and eventually left there. The rifles were used to fight against the Communists, and later taken into Soviet Union inventory."

 

[Realbigo]

I mentioned this thread to my future Father in law last night, and lo and behold he pulls a Westinghouse MN out of his gun cabinet, minus the bayonet. He bought it for under $100 @ a estate sale about 5 years ago. Unfortunately we were ina hurry, so I didn't get a chance for a good look over or to take a pic, but he said he thought it may have been a CMP sale gun at some point.

 

[Dain Bramage]

There is actually the odd Tiger I here and there in running condition. I know there is one in Britain that does shows.