Did Browning Auto 5 Shotguns ever see combat?

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Hello, I am wondering if Browning Auto 5 shotguns saw combat in any capacity for any war. I’ve heard conflicting data and I’d thought I’d settle it here. 
 

[268th C.A.]

The answer is no. Browning's patents were used in the Remington M11 design, Here is a great book for referencing Military Shotguns .

A lot of shotguns have been modified for law enforcement. You have a nice Browning there.   

[OLDNAVYNUKESPOOK]

I can't say yes or no to the Auto 5 but, in a roundabout way, I can tell you that a Browning patent shotgun did by way of the Remington Model 11 Riot Gun. Here's mine:

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Thanks a lot!

3 minutes ago, 268th C.A. said:

The answer is no. Browning's patents were used in the Remington M11 design, Here is a great book for referencing Military Shotguns .

A lot of shotguns have been modified for law enforcement. You have a nice Browning there.   

 

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Thank you

5 minutes ago, OLDNAVYNUKESPOOK said:

I can't say yes or no to the Auto 5 but, in a roundabout way, I can tell you that a Browning patent shotgun did by way of the Remington Model 11 Riot Gun. Here's mine:

 

[cplnorton]

In WWII there was a extreme shortage of weapons, especially for the US Navy.   

 

There was such a shortage they asked civilians to donate weapons to the Navy so they would have weapons to use.   They cataloged not only what what was donated and the serials, but also the civilian's name who donated it.   

 

I've seen Auto 5's donated to the Navy in WWII on these lists from the Archives.  I've seen about any type of weapon you can think of donated.      

 

So you can debate what that means.   Were they ever used in combat, that is probably not likely.   But guard duty or training, I definitely could see that.

 

I think I also do have some orders for Auto 5's with cutt's compensators for the Navy for Aerial gun training.   But I would have to go back and try to find them to be 100% sure.  

[Cobrahistorian]

I was just going through a 40 minute film of 6th Marine Division combat footage shot on Okinawa and came across this shot.  Looks very much like an A-5/Remington 11 to me. A rarity to be sure!  Did the type at large see combat?  No.  Did a few make it into combat?  Looks that way.

 

J

 

 

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Wonderful! Thanks!

18 minutes ago, Cobrahistorian said:

I was just going through a 40 minute film of 6th Marine Division combat footage shot on Okinawa and came across this shot.  Looks very much like an A-5/Remington 11 to me. A rarity to be sure!  Did the type at large see combat?  No.  Did a few make it into combat?  Looks that way.

 

J

 

 

 

[everforward]

My own Model 11 is like this one, an early version with all the civilian trimmings such as checkered wood and a commercial finish but stamped ‘US’ on the receiver, ‘FJA’ on the stock.

 

 

[USMC_COLLECTOR]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

12 hours ago, everforward said:

My own Model 11 is like this one, an early version with all the civilian trimmings such as checkered wood and a commercial finish but stamped ‘US’ on the receiver, ‘FJA’ on the stock.

 

 

 

[Dr_Sutton]

On 5/16/2023 at 8:54 AM, USMC_COLLECTOR said:

Hello, I am wondering if Browning Auto 5 shotguns saw combat in any capacity for any war. I’ve heard conflicting data and I’d thought I’d settle it here. 
 

It's possible. Officially only Remington 11 and a smaller number of Savage 720 were procured during WWII. They were primarily used behind the lines for aerial gunnery training. 

I have 2 things of note. The semi-autobiographical James Jones novel The Thin Red Line p.1962 is based heavily on his Army service on Guadalcanal and a character in the book notably uses what is described as a semi auto Shotgun during a bunker assault. This character was composited in the 1998 film adaptation and uses a M97 Trench gun. The 2nd thing is this footage I came across of the 81st Infantry Division capturing undefended Ulithi Atoll in September 1944. This same Infantry Regiment was sent to Peleliu to relieve the Marines who'd taken high casualties.

 

So definitely possible that Semi Auto shotguns were used in anger at least in the PTO.