Did they use leather and web slings
I find some US webbed and leather but I am not sure about the German or British
please help

Charles,

If you can specify which particular weapons you're interested in, maybe we can dial in the answers for you.

There are as many exceptions to leather vs. canvas as there are weapons and many weapons used either leather or woven slings depending on the date you're modeling. There're no "nationality-only" rules that you can go go by and be 100% accurate. That is, as far as I know, there was no single country that used exclusively leather or canvas for all of its small arms throughout the entire war.

For example, the US M1 Garand used mostly leather slings, but an OD canvas sling was introduced late in the war. However, at the same time, the M1 Thompson sub-machine gun used a canvas sling (either khaki - early, or OD-late) the whole war. The M1 Carbine was also only used with canvas slings, but with the same color variations as the Thompson depending on era.

About the same situation existed with the British and Germans. The Soviets would be about the only country that used canvas almost exclusively, but I'm sure there are exceptions even with that.

HTH,

germans, i believe stuck with leather the whole time. i may be wrong. but to be honest, i dont think ive ever seen a german weapon with a canvas sling.
The british started with leather and started using canvas later on.

British slings in WW2 were all web with brass ends. Leather slings may have been used by Snipers but the British army had started using web slings in 1908. Some Leather slings may also have been used by Commonwealth troops.
British Slings
Khakee web
THE RIFLE SLING HOME PAGE

i wouldnt say they were all web. i almost bought an enfield that had a well worn original leather sling. they may have had a majority of them using web, but there were some that did not

Are you sure it was a British issued Enfield or that it was an original issued sling?

it was an rof(m) marked no4. the weapon itself looked like it went through hell. and as much as i wanted an enfield at the time, i didnt buy it because it looked horrible. sling included. it was most definatley a surplus rifle and the sling was definately on the rifle at the time of use in the war. ive seen work boots from the 50s that were in better shape than this sling. if i bought the rifle, first thing i would have done is replaced the sling. the sling didnt look like it would hold the rifles weight

thank you fella's much appreciated I have no dates in m ind just general questions I and working on some small vinyettes about R and R
speaking of the M 1 does anyone knoe if there is a replica out there I want to add one to my deer rifle collection ( a live firing replica)

I don't think anyone makes a "replica" M1 Garand (a'la Springfield Armory M1A / M14), but if you're looking to buy a good rifle, I'd suggest starting here:

http://www.thecmp.org/

The "Civilian Marksmanship Program" (CMP) web site is the best place to start looking for Garand purchasing infomation. The subject's way too broad to get into here, but you can get your A** handed to you if you're not well educated on the details of the various guns available.

All in all, you can't go wrong buying a gun from the CMP, though. You could possibly get a better deal by shopping hard, but you can't get a fairer deal from anyone. And all of the CMP weapons have been checked and certified by armorers who know thier stuff, so you will get exactly what you pay for. If they say it's safe to shoot, it will be safe to shoot.

HTH,

Charles,

I back up what Mike says about the CMP if you wish to purchase a Garand. There are a couple of outfits that "rebuild" garands and occasionally Springfield Armory has Commemorative offerings, such as for Iwo Jima, but they are expensive and shooting them might drop the value. Start with CMP.

Happy Modelling, -zon