Interesting facts on the weapons of WWII

MG 151 cannon

The new 20 mm shell was relatively effective against enemy aircraft, with the possible exception of heavily-built U.S. bombers such as the B-17 Flying Fortress. German statistics data showed that on average the 151/20 required an average of 25 hits to down a B-17, while 18-20 hits were required to down other 4-engine bomber types, and only four hits were required to down a single-engine fighter.

MG 151 cannon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This is because it wasn't available to be fielded until 1921, after WWI had ended. The tests conducted in 1920 by both the Army and Marine Corps were impressive but the military was downsizing and neither service could justify the expenditure so they did not recommend that the weapon be adopted.
The 15,000 Model 1921's were intended for the civilian and foreign military market but did not sell in great quantities. Best figures indicate that by 1925 approx. 3000 Model 1921 Thompsons had been sold, mainly to Law Enforcement entities but included 500 sold to the IRA.
The model 1927 was basically a semi-auto version of the M-1921 for the civilian market. Again it did not sell well.
The Model 1928 was the first model to be adopted by the military and is also known as the "Navy Model".
--On Nov 21, 1921 after a series of violent robberies and murders involving mail trains, mail trucks and Post Offices, United States Marines were detailed to guard the U.S. Mails. The Marines quickly quelled the violence and within a short period no attacks on the U.S. Mail were taking place. A total of 53 officers and 2200 enlisted men had been assigned the detail and by March 1922, security was taken over by armed civilian guards.
--In 1926 attacks/murders related to the U.S. Mail again became a problem. After one particularly violent mail truck robbery the Marines were again, in Oct 1926, assigned to guard and protect the U.S. Mail. This time, and sources disagree, the Marines convinced the Post Office or the Navy to procure for them 500 M-1921AC Thompsons. Auto-Ordinance at this time was on the verge of being forced into bankruptcy and out of business. This time 68 officers and 2452 were assigned. The violence was soon quelled and tensions in China and Nicaragua required the Marines elsewhere so the assignment ended in Feb. 1927. The Marines deploying to Nicaragua and China took their Thompsons with them and they performed so well and were so liked that they convinced the Navy (who was in charge of procurement for the Marine Corps) to procure 200 more M-1921ACs and to adopt the weapon. The Model 1928 "Navy Model" was the version adopted and it served well during the 30's in the "Banana Wars" in the Carribean and in China. (I can find no exact figures on how many M-1928/28A1s were purchased by the Navy during the 1930's, just that it was a "considerable amount" or "large quantities")
These purchases saved the company from bankruptcy and now the ironic part. With war looming on the horizon and their armed forces expanding Britain, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps placed orders for the SMG. The government decided that the Army and Britain had a higher priority so the Marine Corps, whose purchases had saved the company, had to make due with it's current stock of M-1921AC's/M-1928/M-1928A1's. They had to look elsewhere for a SMG and unfortunately had to settle for the M50/M55 Reising a real POS weapon.

 

Kai-Petri

Wow, fascinating information on a good Italian AA/AT gun! Too late for a salute, but that was an enlightening post. Thanks.

 

Once the Germans realized how dangerous the Firefly Sherman was, they started to shoot at the long barrel Shermans first. The Firefly crews started using fake muzzle brakes half-way down the barrel:

Canadian Forces - Canadian 5th armoured Firefly

Dummy muzzle-brake on Firefly tanks? - Armchair General and HistoryNet >> The Best Forums in History

 

Yes, I know this is ultra thread resurrection but I couldnt ignore this!

In Dick Winters biography '' Beyond Band of Brothers '' he actually comments on that very issue. Since I listen to it on CD and dont have the book I cant look up the exact quote but I remember it like this '' We couldnt move back or up the line to improve the foxholes and we couldnt get overhead cover because we lacked the tools required for it. '' So they, or atleast he was aware of that.

 

Yes, interesting! I often find that I react to the general downgrading of almost everything that concerns the Italian military during the war. Makes me suspicious. I have taken up this subject in the chapter The Jokers in my recent book on Operation Sea Lion. Take the Fiat Br20 bomber which operated with the Italian expeditionary force in Belgium in 1940. It flew faster, carried a heavier payload and had better defensive armament than similar British bombers - the Anson, Hampden, Whitley and Blenheim.

The Italian uboat force also performed well. I believe the top-scoring Italian uboat commander had a higher score than the British one.​