Jump to content

Non Airborne useage of M1A1 Carbine by regular GIs


2ad82recon
 Share

Recommended Posts

90 ID GI in Normandy with M1A1

Picture taken at the SAINTE MARIE DU MONT square next to the public fountain (well) of the village and the road leading to Sainte Mère Eglise..

Many paratroopers of the 101st were ( mis)dropped around,

an M1A1 Carbine was likely to be found around.

T

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Picture taken at the SAINTE MARIE DU MONT square next to the public fountain (well) of the village and the road leading to Sainte Mère Eglise..

Many paratroopers of the 101st were ( mis)dropped around,

an M1A1 Carbine was likely to be found around.

T

 

90th was given a number (around 10-12) M1A1's by Gen Ridgeway for Brig Gen John Devine's support of the 82nd by the 345th Field Artillery in the initial days after the invasion. The 90th worked along side and relieved elments of the 82nd during June. This is documented in Colby's War from the Ground Up.

 

While I haven't identified the names and sub unit of the soldiers in that photo, I would be more confident in the possiblity that they are men of the 345th than simply attributing it to chance pickups.

 

The other photo which I cannot locate at the moment is of 90th Field Artillerymen on a weasel. A M1A1 carbine is visible in this photo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Johan Willaert

Frenchman Régis Giard wrote an article about the 90ID GI with the M1A1 in Ste Marie du Mont which was published in the French Militaria Magazine #336 last July...

Based on footage from Tyler Alberts' Combat Reels he concluded the GIs were an M8 Armored Car crew from the 90th Reconnaissance Troop...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Outstanding. I'll have to try to locate a copy of #336.

 

I'll review Disc 1 to see what all is going on there as well as reach out to Tyler to get his thoughts on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

187thAirborne

If I'm not mistaken, those Airborne personnel who did not jump on 6 June 1944, came ashore via infantry landing craft. some were on beaches going inland and they would have been carrying Airborne stock carbines. Those hit would have lost their airborne stock carbines, which may have been picked up by leg units. I'm sure I've seen WW2 flicks showing troops leaving assault boats and they had 101st decals on the side of their helmets. Check out D Day landing craft for 101st decals on helmets....... I believe it was the spade decal.........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

187thAirborne

As an after thought, all carbines were semi-automatic except the M2, a selector switch carbine that fired semi and automatic. The M2 stocks were full length. Out of curiousity I wondered if an M2 carbine action could be fitted to an Airborne carbine stock ? Yes. in 1951, while with the 187th Airborne Regiment in Korea, I whittled the left inside of my airborne semi auto carbine, removing enough wood with my bayonet, to install an M2 barreled action. I had an automatic carbine with an Airborne stock.....It shot well. Always wondered who got it..................

Link to comment
Share on other sites

187h

 

Im glad you posted your story.I have a good friend who was a body guard to General Wells in Panama in the early 80s.He said he carried a M2 carbine in a folding stock in their vehicle.He also stated there was just about anything you wanted and you could sign out what you wanted to carry.He and his best friend escorted the General everywhere.He often carried a Browning HP 9 m/m pistol.He was also in hand shake range of Noriega many times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey guys, why is the MiA1 Carbine so rare to find among troops of non-airborne units? I remember in The Pacific Eugene Sledge carries a Carbine most of the time and he was in the USMC. It's based of real stories so that could be another example of a non-airborne troop using a Carbine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ThompsonSavage

There is a difference between the M1 Carbine and the folding stock M1A1 Carbine. Normally, the M1A1 Carbine was reserved for airborne troops, so 'normal' GI's would not be issued one.

 

Sledge carried an M1, not an M1A1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They were used in Vietnam, first by the French of course, and later by a hand full of Advisors, Green Berets etc, in the early period, and I believe by Chopper Pilots and Crewman here and there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Its all right man. If there were two things to get mixed up it would be those two.

Okay that makes sense. Thanks, I feel dumb now haha :rolleyes:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys, I don't see this mentioned and I'm surprised: the Batte M1A1 carbine (with original case) which sold for north of 20K USD in 2008.

 

At the time LTC Batte was commading the 87th Chemical Mortar BN and he picked up the M1A1 from a deceased gliderborne troop on D-Day and carried it till the end of the war (and obviously took it with him). He liked the way it stowed in his jeep.

 

A few years ago I chanced on a grandfathered M1A1 for sale in my area, at a gun shop. I jumped on it. Turns out it was on consignment and I knew the owner!

 

The M1A1 I bought...hard to prove any provenance, ever, unless some kind of s/n document was discovered that I don't know of. All you can say is generally 'early' block or 'late' block, and has to be an Inland in order to be an M1A1 but the actual s/ns weren't recorded. I didn't pay thousands for mine, which was red flag #1. But it is a really nice and clean carbine, and shoots like a dream. Competively priced to other M1 carbines so I said 'why the heck not'.

 

My M1A1 is an Inland of course. And my M1A1 is a '43, just like the Batte M1A1. And my s/n is within 3000 of the Batte M1A1. So I like to dream...maybe mine originally really was an M1A1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Lets revive this interesting topic with another M1A1 Para Carbine in use with non Jump Units.

 

post-34986-0-18488800-1430798567.jpg

 

GIs in Koblenz March 45, we see the pistol grip of the M1A1 on the guy bending down on the left. Troops may be from the 87th Golden Acorn Division, the 87th Div was I believe the main unit that fought in the city.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SKYLINE DRIVE

A few monthss back I've seen a documentary on the German "ZDF Info" channel. The above pic of the 87th fighting at the Rhine at "Koblenz" was included in the footage, as well as many other scenes where single GI's were carrying the M1A. I wondered if it might not have been some guys from the Signal Corps Photographic Company who had acquired a few M1A1's? Or otherwise quite a few M1A1's were in the hands of 87th ID personnel at the end of the war?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

You will see a lot of Airborne Troopers with standard stocks as well.

 

The military is like that-nothing is absolute, nothing is impossible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mikes militaria

post-154336-0-49367800-1431655185.jpg

 

1943 New Caledonia, USMC had a few. Even though this is a Para Marine, you don't see a lot of pictures of Marines with M1A1s. When the Para Marines were distributed to other units they probably took the M1A1s with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I didn't notice this until after I posted the photo, but I believe he might be a paramarine. He looks to have para straps on his helmet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
thetrenchman1918

You will see a lot of Airborne Troopers with standard stocks as well.

 

The military is like that-nothing is absolute, nothing is impossible.

 

I'm would like to see you back that up, I've never been under that impression for ww2 at all, I can't think of any major images showing airborne using standard stocks, besides early stateside training photos, before the m1a1 production numbers got up there and issued out. I honestly think it would be quite a rarity to see airborne fielding a full stocked standard M1 carbine, I think it would only be in the case of a battlefield pickup, but I could always be wrong

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...