_GOTOBOTTOM
Figures
Military figures of all shapes and sizes.
USN personal weapons Question
AlanL
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
Armorama: 11,675 posts
Posted: Friday, September 29, 2006 - 05:50 PM UTC
Greetings all,


I tried this on Shipwrights but everyone much have gone sailing LOL, LOL.

A couple of questions on wepaons and ammo re USN.

Would LCM/LCVP/LCP (R) etc crews have been issued with personal, weapons? If so what type?

.30 and .50 Cal Ammo boxes - would they have been grey or OD or a mixture of both?

.30 and .50 cal Ammo belts - were these linked or the old canvas type?

Oh, and helmets, Neutral Grey or Medium Blue and any markings?

Cheers

Al
Grumpyoldman
Staff MemberConsigliere
KITMAKER NETWORK
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: October 17, 2003
KitMaker: 15,338 posts
Armorama: 7,297 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 06:09 AM UTC
The Navy and Marines usually used the same weapons. (although my K-Bar is marked "US NAVY-MKII" and was issued with a grey baked on finish scabbard) I don't believe the Navy would waste time repainting ammo cans, so they were probably the same colors as used by the Marines. (I never saw a grey .30 or .50 ammo can when I was in, unless it was repainted for personal use-we used them also for tool boxes as the were water proof, and usually repainted them down the engine room, but the majority of our our 20mm were grey- these we would fill with ice and use as coolers on the beach for beer) When I was assigned to the "World Famous Boarding Party" which my one ship had to supplement our "Extremely Small Marine Detachment" my web gear was all Marine Issue. Our Tin Pots were grey so the grunts could keep an eye on us. :-) :-) (this was a fun detail to get as we spent a lot of time on the fantail shooting all the weapons we were suppose to know how to use, and for a snipe that was a blast! And the second benefit was when I ended up in the Brig, the grunts knew me, so they treated me pretty decently! :-) )
As for belt or linked, I believe as the war progressed eventually the canvas belts were phased out of use.
Helmets on the ship were stored in racks, when not in use, and were either grey or OD. The CO, XO, OOD and Coxswain usually had those markings on their helmets. I believe the Navy beach-masters also had their helmets conspicuously marked for instant identify, as did the pecker checkers in usual white with red cross. The sound powered phone talker helmets were grey, I never saw any other color, and these would be marked accordingly to what phone circuit they were on.

Weapons were also kept in the armory when not in use, and were issued as needed, so chances are you never received the same weapon each time. Our web gear was kept in the "Boarding Party Supply Locker", which was next to the ships armory.


AlanL
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
Armorama: 11,675 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 06:47 AM UTC
Hi Dave,

Many thanks for the info, well written too

Cheers

Al
Brigandine
Visit this Community
Dunedin, New Zealand
Joined: July 12, 2006
KitMaker: 553 posts
Armorama: 312 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 07:01 AM UTC
One of the more interesting personal weapons issued to the Marines was the Reising Submachine-gun series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/Reising
http://www.ww2gyrene.org/weapons_reising.htm

It would seem that they were prone to jamming in mud and dust, just when they would have been useful! In fact they were totally useless.

I don't think there are any available in 1:35th scale(?) The Model 50 does bear a passing resemblence to the MP 28 Bergmann.

Cheers.

Jeff W.
hellbent11
Visit this Community
Kansas, United States
Joined: August 17, 2005
KitMaker: 725 posts
Armorama: 340 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 11:38 AM UTC
Talking with my Grandpa (USN on an LST) he recalls that all the Navy's helmets were gray and at best they had a .45. He also said that all the ammo cans were O.D. green. I hope that helps?
AlanL
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: August 12, 2005
KitMaker: 14,499 posts
Armorama: 11,675 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 11:46 PM UTC
Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the input. Not the sort of weapon you really want to take into battle, I'll stiick with the norm

Cheers

Al
 _GOTOTOP