4 ms·

What's amazing to me is just how many World War 2 were used in Vietnam. If you look at those pics: M1 Carbines in abundance (heck, I have my dads), a couple BAR

What's amazing to me is just how many World War 2 were used in Vietnam. If you look at those pics: M1 Carbines in abundance (heck, I have my dads), a couple BARs, Thompson SMGs, a Grease Gun, M1919 MGs (probably converted to 7.62mm NATO), and the M1 Garand. All ceased production after WW2. It boggles the mind to think we made SO MANY small arms for WW2 the leftovers could be shipped halfway around the world to fight another war.

gao8a 8y ago
In some cases ammunition is the limiting factor https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/10/24/buying-selling-stg44-mp44-mp43-rifles-rebel-held-syria-lots-photos/ https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/10/24/buying-sellin...
arethuza 8y ago
Isn't the Thompson SMGs a World War 1 design - although it wasn't quite ready in time before the end of that war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun
- smacktoward 8y ago
  Yep, and the BAR is World War I vintage too. And the M1919 machine gun was derived from the WWI-era M1917.
pjc50 8y ago
And that's after discarding and selling off a lot of them. Small arms are pretty durable. There's a thriving black market shipping them from war to war; the same guns can be involved in kicking off many different civil wars across the globe. Every now and again some country destroys a few thousand knockoff AK-47s in an attempt to keep this down.
tokai 8y ago
Weapons from ww2 are still being used in warfare to this day.[0] You fight with what you can get your hands on, I guess. Edit: Also military logistics are not following the same pressures for upheaval and progress as civilian organizations. During my compulsory military service I remember getting handed a bedsheet with the year 1933 embroidered on it. Looked liked it had never been used. We were also trained in usage of out-phased rifles on top of our normal weapon training. Somewhere they had a huge pile of old weapons, should they ever be needed. It would not sunrise me if they still have the Garands on store. https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/whats-inside-a-taliban-gun-locker/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/whats-inside-a-ta...
- gascan 8y ago
  They might still have a big pile of Garands, but many were sold to civilians.
  - rhcom2 8y ago
    Many through the Civilian Marksmanship Program to try to increase the shooting ability of the public. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Marksmanship_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Marksmanship_Program
  - tokai 8y ago
    My anecdote is not about the US. I thought the compulsory military service part would make that clear. We got some of those Garands to rebuild our military after ww2.
    - gascan 8y ago
      Sorry, when I initially read your comment I simply interpreted that to be referencing the draft, e.g. conscription.
      - tokai 8y ago
        I could have been more precise. The Garands were a mislead. I served in 08.
xenihn 8y ago
Lots were used in the Korean War too. The North used surplus Soviet arms and equipment, and the South used American surplus.
Spooky23 8y ago
The scale of WW2 manufacturing is wacky. Some friends when I was in high school were buying surplus M1 Garands in new condition, packed in grease from the factory in the early 1990s.

gao8a 8y ago

In some cases ammunition is the limiting factor https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/10/24/buying-selling-stg44-mp44-mp43-rifles-rebel-held-syria-lots-photos/ https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/10/24/buying-sellin...

arethuza 8y ago

Isn't the Thompson SMGs a World War 1 design - although it wasn't quite ready in time before the end of that war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thompson_submachine_gun

smacktoward 8y ago
Yep, and the BAR is World War I vintage too. And the M1919 machine gun was derived from the WWI-era M1917.

pjc50 8y ago

And that's after discarding and selling off a lot of them. Small arms are pretty durable. There's a thriving black market shipping them from war to war; the same guns can be involved in kicking off many different civil wars across the globe. Every now and again some country destroys a few thousand knockoff AK-47s in an attempt to keep this down.

tokai 8y ago

Weapons from ww2 are still being used in warfare to this day.[0] You fight with what you can get your hands on, I guess. Edit: Also military logistics are not following the same pressures for upheaval and progress as civilian organizations. During my compulsory military service I remember getting handed a bedsheet with the year 1933 embroidered on it. Looked liked it had never been used. We were also trained in usage of out-phased rifles on top of our normal weapon training. Somewhere they had a huge pile of old weapons, should they ever be needed. It would not sunrise me if they still have the Garands on store. https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/whats-inside-a-taliban-gun-locker/ https://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/whats-inside-a-ta...

gascan 8y ago
They might still have a big pile of Garands, but many were sold to civilians.
- rhcom2 8y ago
  Many through the Civilian Marksmanship Program to try to increase the shooting ability of the public. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Marksmanship_Program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Marksmanship_Program
- tokai 8y ago
  My anecdote is not about the US. I thought the compulsory military service part would make that clear. We got some of those Garands to rebuild our military after ww2.
  - gascan 8y ago
    Sorry, when I initially read your comment I simply interpreted that to be referencing the draft, e.g. conscription.
    - tokai 8y ago
      I could have been more precise. The Garands were a mislead. I served in 08.

xenihn 8y ago

Lots were used in the Korean War too. The North used surplus Soviet arms and equipment, and the South used American surplus.

Spooky23 8y ago

The scale of WW2 manufacturing is wacky. Some friends when I was in high school were buying surplus M1 Garands in new condition, packed in grease from the factory in the early 1990s.