Looking for Company Armorer information.

[Logan L]

I have a few questions concerning company armorers in WWII, for both infantry and parachute rifle companies, either points in certain directions or direct answers are appreciated:

 

1. Besides the maintenance of small arms, what other day to day tasks did armorers fill?

 

2. Why were armorers absent from Parachute Rifle Company Organisation until August 1944?

 

3. Did armorers wear garrison caps with different piping instead of infantry piping? 
 

4. What rank was the company Armorer? 
 

If I’ve made this post in the wrong section, please let me know. These are just main questions, but more information besides this is appreciated.

[Vanderbilt]

.....once again, old thread. I was a unit armorer with Fox Trp, 2/11 ACR for a few months. I'd inherited the position because the previous armorer ETS'd. He left a mess which with a good bit of help, I cleaned up and got an AAM for the effort.  To your questions, yes, most of your time was consumed with going over the weapons, fixing what you could, sending out what you couldn't and in my time (early 80's) a sh-+load of paperwork. On the border, it was worse. You were virtually a prisoner, having to wait for assigned persons to relieve you to go to chow, get a beer or even take a $%-+! No special uniform, in fact it was quite lax. I was usually in a t shirt most of the time. Not really sure about rank requirements? I was an E4, in Texas with the 2/7 CSC, our armorer was an E5. I enjoyed it, was a slight break from being in a line unit. My time there was just long enough to bring the arms room back to unit standards. We changed CO's during my stint. The new CO called me in within days of him taking over the unit and I was told "anyone can run that arms room, you're going back to an APC"! Guess that position might have been viewed as a good one for slackers, lol.....

[patches]

13 hours ago, Vanderbilt said:

.....once again, old thread. I was a unit armorer with Fox Trp, 2/11 ACR for a few months. I'd inherited the position because the previous armorer ETS'd. He left a mess which with a good bit of help, I cleaned up and got an AAM for the effort.  To your questions, yes, most of your time was consumed with going over the weapons, fixing what you could, sending out what you couldn't and in my time (early 80's) a sh-+load of paperwork. On the border, it was worse. You were virtually a prisoner, having to wait for assigned persons to relieve you to go to chow, get a beer or even take a $%-+! No special uniform, in fact it was quite lax. I was usually in a t shirt most of the time. Not really sure about rank requirements? I was an E4, in Texas with the 2/7 CSC, our armorer was an E5. I enjoyed it, was a slight break from being in a line unit. My time there was just long enough to bring the arms room back to unit standards. We changed CO's during my stint. The new CO called me in within days of him taking over the unit and I was told "anyone can run that arms room, you're going back to an APC"! Guess that position might have been viewed as a good one for slackers, lol.....

I  recall our Armorer in the old 2/12th Cav (May 1980-May 1981) was Ordnance, I recall this because on Pay Days back then as you remember Class As/Khakis were worn, and he wore no Blue, and like the Mechanics in our HQ Platoon wore the Ordnance Corp Collar Disc. On the other hand in my next duty station in Alaska, the 4/9th Inf, the Armorer was an 11B, I take it now that in many cases over the years, in Infantry units at any rate, that like you these guys that are unit Armorers were not working in their MOS and were assigned because of a couple or more reasons, one, they knew their stuff in regards to weapons repair and maintenance, and proved it when they volunteered or whatever and were for a lack of a better word, Hired.

[firstflabn]

On 9/10/2021 at 11:04 AM, Logan L said:

I have a few questions concerning company armorers in WWII, for both infantry and parachute rifle companies, either points in certain directions or direct answers are appreciated:

 

1. Besides the maintenance of small arms, what other day to day tasks did armorers fill?

 

See FM 7-10 for a brief description.

 

4. What rank was the company Armorer?

 

T5 per T/O&Es.
 

 

 

[Colonelhogan]

On 9/10/2021 at 11:04 AM, Logan L said:

I have a few questions concerning company armorers in WWII, for both infantry and parachute rifle companies, either points in certain directions or direct answers are appreciated:

 

1. Besides the maintenance of small arms, what other day to day tasks did armorers fill?

 

2. Why were armorers absent from Parachute Rifle Company Organisation until August 1944?

 

3. Did armorers wear garrison caps with different piping instead of infantry piping? 
 

4. What rank was the company Armorer? 
 

If I’ve made this post in the wrong section, please let me know. These are just main questions, but more information besides this is appreciated.

As an armorer myself and intrested in the history of armorers and such. The armorers were apart of the ordnance corps technically. However, every unit had and armory/ armorers. Armorers are there to provide support with whatever maintenance needed. Also to issue equipment that came with weapons. They were with the rear area of the unit aka the batallion or HQ. There is no rank difference for armorers. They just had different responsibilities with more rank. Unlike othwr armys such as the Wehrmacht with their Waffenmeisters.

 

[Linedoggie]

As an Armorer in 1982-84 I was a 76Y Unit Supply Specialist/Unit Armorer- Quartermaster corps, not in Ordnance and the Army Armorer school was at Ft Lee Va.

 

Oddly I served in an Ordnance Bn - 124th Maintenance 2nd Armored Division

 

Did day to day maintenance in the Arms room wiping down the weapons, making sure the dehumidifier was emptied. Stored POW's in a locker for those soldiers who lived in the barracks. Reams of paperwork and inventories. Took weapons to our B shop who did DS maintenance, took weapons for turn in at Post (Try explaining why you have a LET when its not on your TO&E) or even better why we had the receiver of an M3 SMG(Not an M3A1- It was there when I got the Job).

 

On certain weekends had to be there when barracks soldiers drew out/ turned in Personal owned weapons for deer season, or going to the sportsman's range

 

Physical Security checks by the bucket load

100% Inventory every time we closed the Arms room door with the Supply Sgt and XO

 

Getting thrown the Co's .45 and 1SG's rifle to clean after FTX was fun.

 

At Ranges I went If not a firer with my tool kit and did very basic repairs - Replacing broken firing pin retaining pins on XM16E1/M16A1's, checking M60 gas pistons and wiring the lock nuts, tightening and staking bipod screws,  making sure the M2HB's were set to left hand feed, trying to explain to the XO why dress right dressing all the rifle sights for IG inspection was a terrible idea as now our readiness posture was ruined.

 

trying to keep the M60 BFA's in semi working order (Whoever designed it I hope suffers in hell today) the damned tab behind the wing nut was always bending and blowing off the barrel due to ring tailed lemurs bright ideas (like firing a LET Grenade launching cartridge in the 60).

 

I also drove and did 10 level maint on the sections vehicles, M151A2, M880, later M1009 CUCV, M35A2 in FTX's and in garrison. I helped the Supply section as well- cruddy jobs like laundry turn in and pick up, CIF & PDO runs, Half a dozen Change of Command inventories in 2 years due to numerous commanders being relieved of duty (You cannot imagine the amount of tools in a Missile repair company to match up hand receipts)

 

Tow/Dragon

Vulcan

Chaparral 

FAAR

[patches]

I thought Armorers were 45B Small Arms Repairmen later a 91F?

[Vanderbilt]

11 hours ago, Linedoggie said:

 gas pistons and wiring the lock nuts, 

 

 

 

 

 

Tow/Dragon

Vulcan

Chaparral 

FAAR

.....let me tell you a story about that! After being returned to a line unit. The fellow that was designated to take over the arms room from me. Just so happens he was just demoted from E5 to E4 from the platoon I was assigned to. Took it upon himself to check and inspect ALL the said gas pistons on our M60 barrels. He promptly reinserted and rewired all the barrels with the pistons in backwards. I had a meltdown at our first livefire, our group got gigged. When the next group experienced the same issue. Let's just say a real snafu was in process. To his credit he admitted what he had done. Needless to say, he didn't stay in the arms room very long.