Weapons
As the allies stepped ashore they had a wide variety of weapons and assault vehicles. There was a problem though, these weapons had changed very little from the thirties. Below is a list of some of those weapons.
-M1 "Garand Rifle"
Adopted by the Army in 1936 this .30 inch semi-automatic was the most popular among the men. It fired at a decidedly higer rate than any traditional
bolt action rifle. The Garand overpowered the Germans with speed, and with simpliciy- due to its ruggedness and capability to be quickly disassembled and cleaned. Some of the problems it encountered were that its clip only held 8 rounds and the clip automatically ejected when emptied, this made a sound that was distinctive and could be heard easily in close combat.
-Sprinfield .30 inch rifle
The Springfield was a single bolt action rilfle and had been phased out of service in 1936. However when a scope was attached the Springfield became a deadly sniper's rifle capable of neutralizing targets at a range
of 550-600 yards. The Springfield was used primarily in this role, but the vast majority of G.I's preferred the higher rate of fire provided by the M1
-Browning Automatic Rifle
During the invasion the need for a light machine gun was met by the Browning Automatic Rifle , or BAR as it was commonly known. The model used was a variation of the 1918A1 model that was used in WWI. It was popular with American forces during WWII because of its combination of rapid fire, penetrating power and reliability.The only major drawback was that it lacked a quick change barrel to reduce overheating.
Please check back with this page as it is a work in progress. I have noticed very few sites contain information on weapons used in the invasion, therefore I am trying to create an extensive list.
If you have any information please send it to me since my research is going slow!