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Rifles of US Marine detachments on US Navy ships WW2 and post War


elvis3006
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During WW2 were USMC Detachments on Battleships, Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers armed with M1 Garands or just 1903 Springfield's ? Were these Marines just issued what was standard allotment on a vessel, I see pictures of Sailors armed with 1903 rifles at times on ships for landing parties or ships defense. My main question is were the Marines just given what was used by the Sailors mainly 1903 rifles or did the Marines bring their own issued M1 rifles ? Also after WW2 when the Navy converted their M1 Garands to 7.62x51 NATO were the Marine detachments armed with these or what the rest of the USMC was using at that time the M14 rifle ?   Thank you 

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37 minutes ago, elvis3006 said:

During WW2 were USMC Detachments on Battleships, Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers armed with M1 Garands or just 1903 Springfield's ? Were these Marines just issued what was standard allotment on a vessel, I see pictures of Sailors armed with 1903 rifles at times on ships for landing parties or ships defense. My main question is were the Marines just given what was used by the Sailors mainly 1903 rifles or did the Marines bring their own issued M1 rifles ? Also after WW2 when the Navy converted their M1 Garands to 7.62x51 NATO were the Marine detachments armed with these or what the rest of the USMC was using at that time the M14 rifle ?   Thank you 

The Marines were armed with all three rifles as far as I know. MI Garand, 1903A3, M1 Carbines. And of course the 1911A1 acp. M14 308 cal. came in service sometime after the Korean War. In the early 1960's I trained with the M14 then we switched over to the M16 which was (Early M16) was a POS..

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TheCrustyBosun

 “Navy Mod” M-1 Garands- The Navy wasn’t as enthusiastic about the transition to the M-14 as the other branches. The solution was also a penny-pinching exercise. The Navy did not need as many rifles and did not see the need to replace their M-1’s. This is where the modified Garands came from. At first, they received inserts that would sometimes eject along with with the spent casing. They improved upon the design by replacing the barrel altogether. A small plastic insert was also placed in the ammo well to help guide the ammunition and its clip. I have heard that some Marine units carried them in limited numbers until M-14’s became available, but I don’t think it was widely used. I own one of these Garands and I love it. 
 

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On 11/2/2020 at 11:09 AM, elvis3006 said:

During WW2 were USMC Detachments on Battleships, Cruisers and Aircraft Carriers armed with M1 Garands or just 1903 Springfield's ? Were these Marines just issued what was standard allotment on a vessel, I see pictures of Sailors armed with 1903 rifles at times on ships for landing parties or ships defense. My main question is were the Marines just given what was used by the Sailors mainly 1903 rifles or did the Marines bring their own issued M1 rifles ? Also after WW2 when the Navy converted their M1 Garands to 7.62x51 NATO were the Marine detachments armed with these or what the rest of the USMC was using at that time the M14 rifle ?   Thank you 

From what I understand is that the Marines stationed on a ship (during WWII) brought their own weapons. They kept their weapons in their quarters area and the Navy kept their in their small arms lockers. That's what they did on the battleship North Carolina.

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3 hours ago, 29navy said:

From what I understand is that the Marines stationed on a ship (during WWII) brought their own weapons. They kept their weapons in their quarters area and the Navy kept their in their small arms lockers. That's what they did on the battleship North Carolina.

That's my understanding also.  My Dad was a Marine onboard the USS Nevada 1936-1939 and he told me they brought the rifles they were issued in boot camp.  Typically pre-war Marines carried their rifles from one duty station to the next.

 

Steve

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In 1951 when my Father was with MD USS Roanoke he used a variety of weapons - M1 for Ceremonial, Carbine during Landing Exercises, and .45 when on shipboard Guard Duties - I suspect that item were checked out of the Ships Armory on an as needed basis with the Navy/Marine Personnel responsible for accounting, repairs, etc.

 

Bill

 

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