I just viewed "What are the Bugles Blowin' For?", Part 1-probably one of the best episodes of the series. However, did anyone else notice that the Tommies were using American M1903 Springfield rifles? I suppose that MGM did not have any .303 Lee-Enfield blanks available, and had to make-do with .30-06 rifles.
shareHey Jarnoldfan,
While I have not watched this episode for a while and do not remember what bolt action rifles the English were using, I could suggest they may have been using the M-1917 Enfield which we supplied in great numbers to England during WWI. The M-1917 was intended to supplement the English SMLE rifle, but for some reason I do not understand it really never did that.
It did not shoot the same cartridge as the .303 British SMLE; it shot the US cartridge we commonly call the 30-06. While it did not look like our 03 Springfields, it also certainly did not look like the different variations of the SMLE. During WWI, it was made by a half dozen or more companies in the northeast US.
If the English were using the 1917 Enfields in the episode, that would not be a big deal. Also, if they were using our 03 Springfields, that also would not be such a big deal. We supplied the British with a lot of different arms in both wars.
Would it have looked better if they were using SMLE rifles in the show? Yep, it would have looked better to me, but then I can usually accept anything they do on the Combat! series.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
I am a military weapons buff, and usually freeze the DVR to study guns. The "British" rifles were definitely M1903 Springfields with the barrel-mounted ladder rear sight-NOT the M1917 Enfield with the receiver-mounted peep sight, NOR the 1903A3 Springfield-ditto the receiver-mounted peep sight. Also, by 1944, most Commonwealth troops in NW Europe were issued the No.4 Lee-Enfield, a simplified evolution of the WW1 SMLE, also featuring a receiver-mounted peep sight (AND considered the BEST bolt-action military rifle of the war). I neglected to mention that the Brits in this episode did not have a Bren (probably the best LMG of WW2). While we did supply the UK with US-issue rifles after Dunkirk, by 1944, most were relegated to Home Guard units that remained in the UK. Houston has a top-notch gun store (Collectors Firearms), where ALL of these rifles (alas not the Bren) are on floor racks and touchable.
Still, I am impressed that COMBAT! got it right most of the time, weapon-wise. But-as stated in an earlier post- I would liked to have seen a rifle grenadier in Saunders' squad.
Hey Jarnoldfan,
I still have not re-watched this two part show, but I will keep your observations in mind when I do. I understand why they used Walker Bulldog tanks in place of Shermans and Tiger tanks, but they really should have done better when they used the wrong small arms in some of the shows. One of the best two-part shows, Hills Are For Heroes, shows Germans in pillboxes using GI 50 BMGs instead of German MG-42s. German MG-42s and English #4s were readily available and were used in many earlier episodes. Why they did not use them is beyond me, but it is still my favorite TV series.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Some early episodes had the Germans using first World War-era British Vickers .303 water-cooled MGs with the ribbed brass barrel jacket (the WW2 Vickers had a smooth steel jacket/lighter AND cheaper). And don't forget the gussied-up US Reising .45 SMG that was passed off as a German 9mm MP40. (Check out GO FOR BROKE on the IMFDb for a photo of this Frankengun.) Don.
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