kit 3 weapons | Miss Drop 44

Weapons

Unless you're going to buy some really crazy bits of kit, your weapon is usually one of the most expensive items you'll purchase (along with your helmet and boots). With the new regulations, it's also a more complicated an issue with lots of jumping through hoops than just choosing where to buy it from. It used to be a simple case of which deactivated military surplus gun should I buy, and you had e a choice of dozens of companies that would sell you one. Now with the laws always changing, buying one is really tricky, and you almost certainly won't be ordering anything off the internet - and if you do, you'll pay a premium for the pleasure!

Having said that, deactivated weapons can still be purchased at militaria fairs, and once you own one, the law is on your side. You're then just not allowed to ever sell it... stupid, right!?!

First, be sure you know what role in the unit you're depicting and make sure to get the right weapon to match that role. You don't want to grab the first thing you see, simply because it was easy to find or a good price! If it's not the right one for your role, you will have wasted your time, effort and money. Almost all 101st Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO's - Sergeants and Corporals) and enlisted men (Privates and Private First Class) all carry the M1 Garand. Aside from those groups, the rest all carry the M1A1 Carbine (with the folding stock). There are rare exceptions to this; usually the M3 Grease Gun.

If you're going to pull off a decent 101st impression for Normandy, then get a M1 Garand - Either from Denix or de-activated militay surplus. This is your starting point.

M1 Garand

A stunningly beautiful weapon with a cost to match if you want an original. The 'old' specs, with all moving parts are seldom seen anymore and will be well in excess of £1000. The welded-up version, usually called new spec, are cheaper but still fairly hard to find. I have no idea on the current prices.

There are other options. You can purchase a replica M1. Denix makes them, but they are certainly not up to being bashed around. There are also some annoying features in the way that they are constructed (for example, visible screws where there should just be wood), but they are fairly cheap and cheerful... or not so cheerful, as things tend to go wrong with them. And to be honest that's a £140 that could be spent on better things!

As with lots of things, I have many projects ticking along at the same time. So there should also be a better reproduction option in the future very soon...

There are possibly other M1 Garand options out there, but nothing came up on a quick search. Even when you do find Garand replicas, if you look closely at the small print, you'll likely see Denix somewhere.

In regard to the Denix, it can be improved: woodwork darkened, screws hidden, and things added. See the button below for a page of ideas and some examples of a few that I have worked on.

PFC Mackay shown holding M1 Garands - a deactivated and a Denix.

De-FARBing and Other Things You Can Do To Your Denix

M1A1 carbine

These strange hybrid things are a mainly used by specialists; born out of necessity, where a rifle wasn't practical to carry, but a pistol wasn't enough firepower, this was the result. It's like an M1 Garand and a M1911 had a baby! Although the M1 Carbine has a very pleasing look to it, it lacks the of the .30-06 M1 Garand.

The M1 Carbine used to be the easiest U.S. World War 2 rifle to buy. I can remember seeing a whole pallet of them stacked about 5 feet high and the price... £100 each! Original deactivated military surplus and in pretty good condition, too. Sadly, those days are long gone. Trying to find a deactivated one is just the same as looking for the Garand, but a little easier and a lot cheaper. Finding M1A1's however has always been a totally different ball game. Lots of fakes and bodge jobs, so you better know your stuff if you're looking to buy one and not loose crazy money!

Just like the M1 Garand, there are reproductions out there as well. Denix of course makes them, in both the standard M1 and the M1A1. Like most Denix replicas they are not going to stand up to much abuse and they will tend to go wrong fairly quickly. Even though our kit doesn't get abused as much as real kit did during World War 2, we still bash this stuff about a lot. They get dropped, knocked over, slapped, cocked, banged, thrown in cupboards, have stuff piled on them and then there is the running about and crawling around, all of which takes a toll on all our kit. Many years ago, I had an airsoft 8mm version (why they made them in 8mm is anyone's guess). It was very solid, it had late war sights, but it was a fairly good copy and being airsoft was designed to take some abuse.

However, you can't beat a deactivated military surplus original. M1 Carbines can still be seen at some fair prices, if you want to turn it into an M1A1, you can sometimes still find reproduction 'Overton Inland' folding stocks. This was the only company to make originals during WW2. Click the 'M1A1' button to lean lots about these originals. Get out to some militaria fairs and keep your eye on the price of deactivated ones. You'll pay more for one, but it'll always be worth what you paid for it and your not going to break it!

M1 Carbine Data

Defarbing the Denix M1 Carbine

M1A1 Infomation - Don't Get Ripped Off!

Defarbing the Denix M1A1 Carbine

M1a1 Thompson

All M1A1 Thompsons were removed from the TO&E as of Feb 1943. The S/Sgts were issued them until that point, however they, like most things were replaced with the M1 Garand. Of course you can still see these in photos. However if doing this 'properly' then the best way to do this is to follow what the army documents at the time say you should be carrying.

Despite the above, if you've found a good reason to get one for an impression and just can't resist, then there are a lot of these as deactivated weapons still about. There were crates and crates of these found about 8 years ago in Russia, all part of the lend lease act; they were never used and just stored away in a salt mine. There were so many coming into the UK that the price of a de-act Thompson fell to around £250 and still I didn't buy one! So if you want a real one, they are out there; go to some shows with a fat wallet and find a de-act Thompson. There are some really rare versions out there. One of the rarest has 'Tommy Gun' on the side; really early M1A1 that are very sought after. If you want one, I may know a guy who might sell his, but it won't be cheap! Then again, where else can you get one?

Of course you've already guessed it, Denix also make a Thompson. Sadly, I have never seen or handled one of these, so I can't pass comment other than if the other guns they do are anything to go by, inspect one very carefully before ordering one blind off the internet!

There are also Airsoft versions of these, some with plastic in place of wood and others with real wood. They vary in price depending on condition and, of course, if they work as an airsoft gun or not.

As well as the other types, you'll sometimes see what are known as 'plug fire' Thompsons. They are solid metal and wood, with special cartridges that open up to reveal a place to put special caps. The gun cycles the rounds like a real one, except for the way it works is backwards: instead of the firing pin hitting the back of the cartridge, the cartridge is pushed into a pin that hits the front of cartridge, where the bullet would normally be. They are not loud enough to be used in a mock battle and you would lose your special rechargeable cartridges very quickly! However, its ruggedness and good construction makes it a viable thing to carry around. They may also make other guns in 'plug fire', but I have never looked! Might be worth of a Google search.

The best and most useful version to get would be a blank fire Thompson. These can be found, though not easily and certainly not cheap, but they can come in both 8mm and 9mm versions.

M3 Grease gun

Just like the M1A1 Thompson, the M3 grease gun is not issued on any TO&E. BUT... six are issued to Company HQ to be issued as required. So at least for us they can be justified at Company/Platoon HQ sort of level, or specific purposes, perhaps as a substitute for the M1 Garand for the poor buggers with the BC1000 (a large backpack radio set).

Sadly, the Thompson was too complicated and expensive to make. It had to be simplified further or be replaced. It was much easier to come up with a totally new gun. The M3 'Grease Gun' was created, still a good weight to it, like the Thompson, however it was ugly, yet very cheap to produce. It still fired the .45 slugs, so its stopping power was similar to the Thomson. There are quite a few of these deactivated weapons still about so it shouldn't take you too long to find a de-act one if you really want one. In fact, I recently decided to buy one. I went to one militaria fair and bosh! Within ten mins of entering, I purchased one for £450. Not bad I thought, three times the price of a Denix, but it's the real deal.

It was only a matter of time before Denix started making these, too. However, they have done a pretty good job with these. It probably looks more realistic than most of the other guns they make because the real one is just so simple! It also has the nice earlier method of the cocking lever. So, a good option for around £150 mark.

There are a few old Airsoft versions of these, I think all of them are plastic though, so if you get one it might need some clever dry brushing with some gun metal or silver paint to make it look like anything decent. They will really vary in price depending on condition and, of course, if they work as an airsoft gun or not.

As well as the 'plug fire' Thompsons, there are some M3 Grease Guns as well. They are solid metal and function just like the plug-fire Thompson. Its ruggedness and good construction make it a viable thing to carry around.

The best and most useful version to get would be a blank fire M3 Grease Gun. These can be found; again, not easily and not cheap, but they come in both 8mm and 9mm versions. Expect to pay £1000 upwards.

Each PIR company HQ was issued six M3 Grease Guns. None were directly issued to anyone but used as and when needed/required. You can spot them being carried by a few members of company HQs as they walk to the planes, including a Captain.

Like everything made by Denix, these have a flaw, too. Nothing that is huge and so can be fixed fairly easily. The main problem is the rear sight. Denix uses the later sight that was on the M3A1 post-war model. This can be taken off the gun and the sides just ground down. Then it just needs some wear and tear, focusing on those areas that would see the most rubbing, bashing, knocks and bumps. A really fine sandpaper does the job well. Just remember to go slowly and build up to what you want. Less is sometimes more when doing this! Don't overdo it. Remember, this is supposed to look like a new gun that has some use. NOT an 80 year old deactivated original.

pistol m1911

So... one of the biggest issues with 101st re-enactors is that

almost every single one of them has a M1911 either in a

holster, or worse, in a shoulder or tanker holster... Originally every single paratrooper of all ranks was to be issued

a M1911. I guess the cost alone stopped that idea! They were soon only issued to officers, then they were removed totally from everyone below Company level. Not a single one was in the 1943 TO&E. In the Feb 1943 amendments, even the row that names them was to be deleted, removing even the very mention of them! [row 36 O Pistol, automotive, cal .45 (delete)]

So, unless you are at Regimental HQ, then there is none to officially be had; even if you are at that level, there are only two. Most officers got an M1A1 Carbine.

Of course, once in the field, anyone could and would obtain anything that they thought we would be useful, as long as they could be bothered to carry it. However, even if a few troopers might have been able to scrounge up a pistol, when you look at most groups of re-enactors almost everyone has a M1911. This is likely not just because they really want a pistol but could be because they are the cheapest blank-firing weapon out there by a long way. For the average re-enactor, cashing out £1000 for a blank firing Thompson, if you're lucky enough to even find one is not an option. Even renting weapons at events that offer them gets expensive real fast! So you will see an almost alarming rate of enlisted soldiers carrying sidearms. A problem that needs addressing as its very unrealistic, but completely understandable.

There are many choices of M1911s on the marked. De-acts are fairly easy to find for sale, but very expensive, for the simple reason that this is such an iconic weapon that served during WW1, WW2 and even many later wars.

There are lots of manufacturers of blank firing M1911s in 8mm and even a few in 9mm. There are some interesting ones to avoid. Bruni used to be famous for their exploding handguns! Not something to be proud of. Currently Bruni has addressed this and the current production M1911s don't have a habit of doing this... however they are pretty much cock three times, fire twice... if you're lucky. They hammer doesn't seem to quite have the punch to strike the cap hard enough each time. Annoying, but you can live with this for the price. Kimar costs a tiny bit more. There isn't much between them and honestly, I don't know anything about the Kimar as I haven't used one. There are some other older, no longer manufactured guns. Some of these have held up well, others do interesting things... a friend of mine purchased an older M1911 unknown maker, during a battle at War & Peace one year, he squeezed the trigger once, but something happened inside the gun, something broke, and the semi-automatic handgun turned into a fully automatic weapon that was unstoppable. Luckily it only held about 8 rounds... so not too much of a problem. However, one hell of a shock!!! I did once own a 9mm version, it was a front venter, so frowned upon by some, however it was a semi-blocked barrel (and ran the full length of the barrel) so still legal as this cannot be removed. It was one hell of a cannon! But rather an ugly representation of the M1911.

Denix again makes reproduction M1911s. I have no idea the purposes of these as they are almost the same price as a blank firer. Based on their usual build quality its probably over-priced, cheaply made tat, when you compare that to the solid metal construction of a blank firer you have to wonder if anyone buys them. As well as these reproductions, there are plenty of airsoft M1911s out there. Some of these are really stunning pieces, metal and wood finish, some are of course crap cheap looking pieces of Sierra Hotel India Tango! Some of these can be purchased really cheap. I still have my old airsoft gun from when I used to do WW2 airsoft over 20 years ago! Sadly I broke it whilst falling down a huge bank and through a tree! It has never worked since, but still looks fantastic.

m1919 .30 machine gun

One of the more impressive guns to have on display is the Browning M1919 .30 'light' machine gun. If you want to bulk up, carrying this around all weekend will certainly help! These are normally owned by a re-enacting group, although I know a few individuals who own these. Sadly these are now really expensive, just like all deactivated original weapons, the value has gone through the roof!

These used to be found for around £500 and that was with the tripod and Table of Equipment (T/E - i.e. accessories) gear. You can't even buy the bun on its own for that price now! However, depending on your budget, they would probably be a fantastic investment, even if these new laws about de-acts are frank ludicrous. From what I have seen at militaria shows, people are just carrying on the trade in all deactivated weapons.

There are blank firing M1919s, but only those that you can hire out from specialized rental companies. Expect ro pay a lot for the rental itself along with all the ammo you'll need - it will almost certainly cause your bank manager to cry.

There are a few 'prop' M1919s for sale, lots of these are made from wood, which look OK, but you'll have to look after them. As a few good bangs or drops and the wood will start to show through the black paint. A good cheap option for something that goes in the background though. In fact, if your handy with the tools, these shouldn't be that difficult to make yourself.

There is only one other option that I can think of and that is propane weapons. These are usually the mighty Browning .50 cal and a few German MG42's. None of which are cheap, even when you see the price of the gun, you'll think "well its not too bad"... however, when you work out the price of the gas tanks, regulators, hoses, connectors.... its more than doubled! But, once you have it all, there is practically no ammo cost and once you have 'the mix' correct, it's great fun to just blast away!

If you fancy a challenge, and the .30 cal is for you, then no matter which version you go for you'll need the same ancilliary things: A couple of metal .30 ammo boxes, a cloth ammo belt, a whole f*** ton of .30-06 cartridges to put in the belt, from the ammo box to the gun... for some strange reason, I had an original 1942 dated belt and how could I resist filling the complete belt with inert ammo, painting all the tips - 4 AP (black) 1 Tracer (Orange). The hardest part was getting the whole belt folded and into the can!

AMMO CANS

The first metal U.S. .30-06 ammo can was marked "AMMUNITION CHEST CAL .30" and was the experimental/test can. Lots of these were painted white and used inside armoured vehicles. These had some unusual twist locking mechanism at either end of the can to open and the lid came completely off. I only have one in my collection, and it is a ground-dug relic, but in surprisingly good condition.

After the idea of having a metal can as standard was adopted, a series of changes was made due to field recommendations. The lid would hinge back and be much easier to open. This can was made in vast numbers by several manufacturers. It was only changed slightly very late in World War 2 with the introduction of the M1A1.

Post-war brought along the M2 can. Lots of people like to claim these as British Made for the U.S. Army during WW2. It probably makes them easier to sell if you invent a more interesting history and make them wartime, rather than post-war... However, the can is clearly marked M2, so this wartime idea just isn't even possible. The can was made by SF Ltd, a Canadian manufacturer and was used after the war when Canada obtained large amounts of American .30-06 arms and needed M2 ammunition for them. The main reason for the change in ammunition needed was that post WW2 the Canadian government declared the Vickers Machine Gun obsolete; and rightly so! This meant that a replacement needed to be found and the M1919 had proven itself in combat, was made by their neighbour and so a logical and simple choice. A company was then found to manufacture the cans, the cans were marked with 'U.S.', not because the can was going to be used by the American military, but as it went with the American M1919.

Soldier of Fortune sell these 'British Made WW2 .30 Ammo cans" at £50 a pop, don't be fooled. Its post-war Canadian... of course lots of people who own these have no idea what they really are. Hopefully this will shed some light on them.

SOF Canadian Post war .30 cal ammo box.j

M2, 60MM MORTAR

If carrying the .30 cal isn't bad enough, you'll need to convince at least one other person, ideally 4 people, to form a mortar squad. The mortar is awkward and crazy heavy, not something that really works well with just one soldier. It's called a team or crew weapon for a reason. However, if you can get a team together and work out a routine and pull it off, a simple display can look really impressive.

The original mortars can be found if you look around hard enough. I wouldn't have a clue on prices but expect to need deep pockets. Again, if you're technically minded, most of the mortar is a series of different sized metal tubes, so it may be possible to create a good reproduction yourself.

Thanks, Harry, for telling me about http://www.elitemilitaria.co.uk/ who make not only a blank firing 60mm Mortar, but also the Bazooka below. The mortar comes ready use and with three rounds for less than £600 (additional rounds are about £25 each), which seems a bit on the costly side, but then again, there is a lot of work to those metal parts.

@falconhistory on Instagram makes 3d printed complete 60mm Mortar shells for a nice £16 each. A photo of these can be seen on the explosives page.

m1, m1a1 - Launcher, rocket (BAZOOKA)

The M1 and M1A1 bazookas were the only real defence against tanks for many of the airborne units, even more so on that first jump into Normandy. The weapon was fairly effective, like all these style of weapons the reload time, isn't great, so if you miss with first rocket... you may not get a second chance! The rocket had to be connected to two electric terminals on the box at the rear of the bazooka. A small electric circuit would be completed when the trigger was squeezed and thus they rocket would be fired. A rather cumbersome thing to have to prepare under fire and in a rush.

The bazookas are fairly easy to obtain for re-enactors, yet surprisingly you rarely see anyone with one, despite there being some fairly common photographs of troopers on the way to Normandy with bazookas.

All the ones available that I have ever seen have been modern reproductions. SOF used to sell these; there are also kits you buy to assemble your own. To be completely honest, if you've ever done any welding or metal work, these can't be difficult to make. After all, the bulk of this is just a large metal tube.

Above - shows Pvt Brown and T/5 Murray test firing the bazooka.

Interesting to note that each of the 3 Platoon HQs was issued one Bazooka, as well as the Company HQ having one. giving a total of 4 per company.

Building a bazooka would certainly make an interesting project! Should anyone take up this challenge, please let me know as I would love to see your progress (and the same with other projects). You'll soon learn that re-enactors will always be creating and producing all sorts of things, from ID card, flags, signs and replica weapons.

I have always thought about using an alert mine that fires blank 12-gauge shotgun rounds inside one of the SOF M1A1 Bazookas, fixing it in place and adding a firing method. After speaking with Harry Brown, whom I have known for a good many years, he found online a company making blank firing versions! Complete with electric firing mechanism and three 'rounds' for £299. That's not bad for something that is out of the box and ready to use. Have a look at Elite Militaria on https://www.facebook.com/elitemilitariaUK/ for more details, although they don't really say much... what is there to say though!

m1903 Springfield

I almost didn't include this rifle on the website, mainly as this an antique from World War One. Although deadly accurate, it was soon all but 100% phased out. However, because of its remarkable accuracy, some of these were kept in service and given to the best 'marksman'; or 'snipers', if you must insist on calling them that. These were seldom seen being used, so please don't everyone start getting these and all being 'snipers'! This is not 'Call of friggin Duty'.

Right - This Airborne trooper wears the M42 jump suit, if you look really closely you can just make out the 509th PIR insignia painted on the side. So he was a member of the 101st, which rules out any myths that these were not given to members of the 101st. Another interesting point to note is that he carries a leather binocular case, so a nice addition to carry should you opt to carry this unusual weapon. He has rigger pouches on his belt, but I would imagine that most would have worn the usually rifle belt.

Below, the photo again shows the 1903 Springfield with scope being carried during World War 2 (this time somewhere in Europe), despite being bolt action and only having a five round stripper clip. This soldier has his rifle belt and at least one bandoleer carrying extra ammunition.

However, despite these being a very interest thing to portray, finding yourself a nice M1903 Springfield on its own, even without the scope will probably be a little tricky. As you can readily imagine, a deactivated one is going to be costly. Any item for sale that can legitimately contain the word 'sniper' in the description will automatically be worth an extra £500. Combine that with the fact that these will appeal to collections from both world wars and that re-enactors of both world wars will want them also... there is quite a high demand! On top of that they are a fairly nice-looking weapon! So even having one hanging on the wall looks great. So unless you have extremely deep pockets, which to be honest even if you did, an original early spec M1 Garand would probably be more tempting than this relic from the previous war...

The bad news!
As far as I know there are no companies making M1903 replicas... Even Denix doesn't make one, although I would rather they didn't, since they quality would likely match the other weapons they make!

The good news!
I did see a few of these at the last militaria fair! They were not kitted out as WW2 sniper rifles with scopes, but this is something that you may be able to sort yourself.

If you do go down this route and you get an A-Class uniform, do not forget to get the RIFLE Marksman Award. This will simply not make sense to your impression if you don't.