Watched Shootout on History Channel

[longrifleman]

The History Channel had a show on Iwo Jima last night and they described a Marine using a "stinger" machinegun to assault a bunker complex. Apparently the Marines had taken the aircraft version of the Browning 1919 with a higher rate of fire and added parts from the BAR and Garand to create a "field expedient" SAW. That got me wondering how many other similar improvements/inventions the troops have come up with that eventually moved into wider service.

One other that came to mind was the hedgerow plows for Shermans from Normandy. How many others can we come up with?

 

[mustanger98]

One other that came to mind was the hedgerow plows for Shermans from Normandy. How many others can we come up with?

From what Daddy told me, my Grandpa was one of the guys who welded those hedgerow plows... that and those wire cutters on the front of the Jeeps.

 

[CypherNinja]

Condoms over the barrel in Vietnam?

Slightly OT, but on the subject of welding, my great grandfather was one of the welder/mechanics at the Cleveland PD who 'up-armored' Eliot Ness's cars when he was in town.

Just found that out yesterday.

 

[highorder]

I cant imagine what part(s) you'd want from an M1 Garand to mod a 1919?...

 

[Feud]

That got me wondering how many other similar improvements/inventions the troops have come up with that eventually moved into wider service.

Taking cover during a fight rather then facing each other in a field?

 

[longrifleman]

I cant imagine what part(s) you'd want from an M1 Garand to mod a 1919?...

They used a cutoff buttstock. It was an odd looking thing. Cyclic rate was about the same as an MG42, if I can trust my memory.

 

[The Annoyed Man]

Condoms over the barrel in Vietnam?

My dad went ashore at Iwo Jima with a condom tied over the muzzle of his M1 Carbine.

 

[1911Tuner]

I heard of an Army unit near Pleiku in '66 or '67 that scrounged a 7.62 minigun and the electronics from a downed Cobra and mounted it on top of a bunker. According to the report from my bud who was on a nearby AF base camp, they'd light it up a couple times a night and move the treeline back a few yards.

 

[Andras]

Wiki says:

The modified AN/M2 consisted of a butt stock from a US M1 Garand fastened to the receiver of the Browning machine gun, a rear sight typically from a BAR 1918 and an improvised trigger. Never officially adopted by any of the armed forces, all manufacturing was done in the field by the soldiers themselves. It was used by Marine Corporal Tony Stein in the invasion of Iwo Jima, who would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. Has a rate of fire in excess of 1,200 rpm.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

One of my favorites is when the Israeli Air Force bought some US fighters (can't remember which model) back in the 60s and added a rear-view mirror to them so they could see what was behind them. After seeing the field modification, the US decided to follow their example and added them.

 

[buck00]

I thought this was a pretty unusual German invention to clean Soviet soldiers off tanks from within (or shoot around corners).

 

[Slugless]

You badly need to bomb a Nipponese airstrip in New Guinea. You got problems.

1. The enemy is no dummy. His planes are protected in revetments.
2. You're in a medium bomber and have a limited payload. How do you get enough bombs on target to get his planes in the revetments?
3. He's a good shot. You gotta fly in low & fast, get in & out to survive. But if you fly that low, your bombs will go off underneath you and riddle your ship.

What do you do?

What General Kenney and his master of field modifications, Pappy Gunn, did:
Modify your airplanes (A-20s & B-25s) to use Kenney's "parafrag" concept, a small bomb with a parachute attached to it.





Parafrags! The original cluster bomb!

 

[Glock22]

Thats pretty cool stuff with the cluster bombs.

 

[larry_minn]

One of my favorites is when the Israeli Air Force bought some US fighters (can't remember which model) back in the 60s and added a rear-view mirror to them so they could see what was behind them. After seeing the field modification, the US decided to follow their example and added them.
Actually they put them on the U2 in order for pilot to see behind him. To make sure he is not leaving a contrail.

 

[hksw]

Was it really true that some soldiers used panty shields/tampons under the shoulder straps of their backpacks during Vietnam?

 

[woerm]

Hksw

per my Dad (24 yrs US Army mid 50's to 70's) is was common until the new web gear (Late Viet Nam era) for troops to use socks,hankerchefs, etc for shoulder padding on the IIRC 1/2 inch wide 'web' gear they had prior to the something like 2'' wide gear they have now to support the loads on the web belt load out w/ ruck was something like 60 lbs from what he said if you dropped the haversack(now Alice pack) the ruck load w/ ammo dropped to about 30 lbs.

I often wondered what dipstick decided to use 1/2'' straps to try to hold up 60 lbs loads. and why it took about 70 years and 4 wars to make a better set of webgear.

grrr.

r

ps didn't hear about tampons as pads just socks/hankerchefs

r

 

[woerm]

here is the pic of the WWI/II straps he's talking about

about 1/2'' wide vs late Viet Nam/ current issue

 

[mister2]

Quote:
I cant imagine what part(s) you'd want from an M1 Garand to mod a 1919?...

They used a cutoff buttstock. It was an odd looking thing. Cyclic rate was about the same as an MG42, if I can trust my memory.

Being scrounged from aircraft, the Stinger also weighed less than a 1919 (23 v. 37 lbs) and had a shorter barrel, IIRC. And the cyclic rate was more than double that of a BAR.

If you have older issues of American Rifleman, the whole story's been written up, including a section on the Dauntless Squadron that *almost* shot down Saburo Sakai, Japan's #1 ace.

 

[Bart Noir]

That Stinger was lighter because of a lighter barrel, which was intended to hang out in the breeze on aircraft. So the ground use would have toasted it faster than the M1919A6 barrel.

There were mirrors standard on fighters as far back as the 1930s and maybe even earlier.

Bart Noir
Who never heard of beer cans welded on M60 feed trays after Vietnam.