Back in the "good ole days" we used to be able to import them from Golden State Arms and Ye Olde Hunter amongst others. I know Thompsons were issued to Canadian troops at one time but have no idea about the M3s.
Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
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Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Darkest Edmonton
VERY cool, Grelmar - thanks for that. Reminded me of Finding Vivian Maier, which wasn't WW2 photography, but fascinating stuff none the less...
Looking through the pics, I wonder if the unknown photog was assigned to a transport unit of some sort - lots of pics of trucks and cars. If someone really wanted to dig into it - identifying landmarks, unit markings, etc. - I bet they could narrow down the identity of the guy to a few hundred people.
Some of the reels are secured with a tape that has what appears to be Dutch printed on it...
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Yes they were ,,,, previous posters showed a very famous Canadian CO landing at Dieppe with a Thompson....my father carried one when he landed in Sicily as Pl Comdr. BUT they were not as desirable to the rank and file as you might imagine ... they ran about $250 even in the early '40's and if you lost one - you paid for it! Could be pretty tough on a Corporal who was sending his pay home to his family - which most did. And the Thompson was a more attractive item for "loss" than a No. 4 ... weapons and equipment could be "written off" if they went missing in action ... but that wasn't as easy as it seems and was probably easier to get captured or killed than explain how you lost your weapon. Incidental "loss" or theft was apparently not uncommon and certainly the cheap Canadian Army wasnt about to eat the expense. Most veterans will recall numerous events - one that they all seem to agree on was the extraordinary amount and availability of US equipment. In Italy when Canadian troops would do anything to salvage a vehicle to keep it running ... US troops would simply push a damaged transport truck over the side of a mountain ... and order up another!
an equally important (actually MORE important!) study of the Italian campaign would include the extraordinary logistics/supply system that the Americans implemented (and Canadians took advantage of) ... Cdn infantry troops frequently acted to support and escort US convoy's when they were on "R&R" and the precision of the timings and speed of the large convoys (for those days and road conditions) was very impressive according to my father. NOBODY missed a timing at any of the large cross roads and junctions that the various MP's controlled ... and that the convoy's traversed ... you simply cannot underestimate the absolute critical importance of this "supply chain" .
Folks that get all poetic about SOF - too often forget that if the "bullets, blankets and beans" cant get to them .. they cant survive for long. So hats off to the guys that can do this -- and so far the Americans are still the best imo.
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From the photos of pillboxes under construction there was plenty of rebar used, but I can't see any connection to those pits. Can't see how they'd be anchor points. Maybe they are shell strikes after all!
In WWI many soldiers would avoid eating for some time before going into an attack as it was believed to reduce the chance of sepsis if they were wounded in the abdomen and the GI tract was punctured. Some definitely believed this saved lives. Maybe there is an involuntary connection, but more likely just losing a couple of pounds of feces makes "flight or fight" easier!
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no, they are too common, and too regular, if they were from canons, they would leave bigger holes, and if they were from machine guns they would be on all the surfaces, but more clustered around openingsFrom the photos of pillboxes under construction there was plenty of rebar used, but I can't see any connection to those pits. Can't see how they'd be anchor points. Maybe they are shell strikes after all!
here is one of the same bunkers from during the war:
i but the holes are camoflage related, they are only on somewhat horizontal surfaces, they may have held dirt to grow small patches of grass, or they may have just been added texture to a smooth shape
no, they are too common, and too regular, if they were from canons, they would leave bigger holes, and if they were from machine guns they would be on all the surfaces, but more clustered around openings
here is one of the same bunkers from during the war:
i but the holes are camoflage related, they are only on somewhat horizontal surfaces, they may have held dirt to grow small patches of grass, or they may have just been added texture to a smooth shape
Well if they were on top as well as the sides they could be shrapnel strikes from airburst shells or bombs which would have been heavily used - even lacking top impact -- I suppose they could still be a result of low airburst or super quick detonators
Guys, these are not strikes on the concrete just points made at time of pouring to aid in camouflage. The Germans had perfected and standardized their emplacements so the same bunker/emplacemenst in France could be found in Holland/Denmark/Norway.
It really makes you wonder what kind of treasures are still tucked away in attics and old storage chests.
It also makes you wonder why the film never got developed - there's a story there almost (maybe more) interesting than the film itself.
RRCo.;1094711 In WWI many soldiers would avoid eating for some time before going into an attack as it was believed to reduce the chance of sepsis if they were wounded in the abdomen and the GI tract was punctured. Some definitely believed this saved lives. Maybe there is an involuntary connection said:The US Marine Corps had a tradition of feeding the troops a big steak and eggs breakfast on board ship before amphibious assault landings. The doctors used to dread dealing with the results, but the tradition persisted.
There seems to be a biological connection between evacuating the bowels before going into a stressful event. Ever see a Greyhound dog take a $hit before the race? Some folks like to bet on the one that does. I used to hunt deer with a young fellow in SK who always took a frosty, pre-dawn dump before we went to our stands in the morning. It seemed to work for him as he got himself a couple of B&C Whitetails and I didn't.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Darkest Edmonton
Nice colour pic:
Captain Rodgers listens closely to Sgt. Winzell's explanation about how exactly it was funny to pee in the Captain's thermos...
Captain Rodgers listens closely to Sgt. Winzell's explanation about how exactly it was funny to pee in the Captain's thermos...
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
the bombs painted on the side I know are for each mission but the ducks ??
ducks are for diversion/decoy missions eg "sitting duck"
(it appears to be a B26 Marauder)
here's another
sorry -- here's the link ...
http://www.worldwarphotos.info/gall...-26-truman-committee-nose-art-322-bomb-group/
wont allow placing photo here.
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Must be for "quack ups ....". Sowry - couldn't resist ..... ;>)
A great picture of the Martin B-26 Marauder and crew. They had a good war record, but were considered a pretty unforgiving aircraft compared to their cousin the North American B-25 Mitchell. The Mitchell soldiered on as a trainer and utility aircraft in the USAF and RCAF into the late 1950s. I used to see them being flown out of Saskatoon by the RCAF reserves and always wanted to fly in one. I finally got the chance last summer in a restored B-25 belonging to the Commemorative Air Force. It was an expensive half hour, but well worth it.
Thompsons were standard issue in 1 Cdn Corps in Italy, but were swapped out for the STEN when 1 Corps moved to NW Europe in early 1945. Thompsons were also standard on board/checklist/EIS equipment on the M4 Sherman tank which Cdn troops used in large numbers.
US industry was totally mobilized for war production and supplied a huge amount of war material for their own use as well as to allies incl the British and Commonwealth forces, Russians, Chinese, French and other odds and sods. They even supplied felt boots and canned meat to the Russians in huge quantities. Production of aircraft, wheeled vehicles, ships and misc vessels, weapons, armoured vehicles, communications equipment, fuel and foodstuffs was huge. It wasn't always the best, but it was good enough, it worked and it was available in large quantities when needed.
US logistics systems were deployed on a lavish scale and generally kept up with demand, altho there were shortfalls in key areas such as the supply of suitable winter clothing for the troops in the winter of 1944/45. The tail to tooth ratio to make this all work was pretty heavy in comparison to other armies, notably the Germans, Russians and, of course, the Japanese who operated at the end of a pretty flimsy shoestring. Some of the biggest challenges were not related to actual supply, but rather to the distribution of supplies in operational theatres. The transportation and distribution systems in both Italy and NW Europe were constrained by lack of suitable ports and staging areas, many of which were demolished by the Germans, poor road networks, lack of bridges, and non-functioning railroad systems, many of which were actually bombed to rat$hit by the allies to block German reinforcements and withdrawals on a strategic level. The opening of the Scheldt River estuary by the Cdn Army was essential to get the port of Antwerp functioning as a lot of material was still being trucked from the Normandy beaches to the front which was very demanding on vehicles and fuel. It took a huge investment in trucks and engineers to keep the roads and rails working. In spite of all of this and the diversion of a pretty significant percentage of consumable supplies, mostly food, fuel, and clothing, into the European black markets supply pretty much satisfied the demand.
The US military is big and needs to think and operate on an industrial scale for logistics. There were some pretty impressive logistical systems deployed to support Gulf War 1 in 1990-91. All the tanks and artillery in the world aren't worth diddley unless there are a lot of reloads of fuel, ammo and spare parts for them in the pipeline. We have always had troubles educating Canadian Generals to think seriously about this.
as did Canada .. I recall brand new "19 Sets" produced in Canada with Cyrillic labels sitting in storage -- which were ready to be shipped to USSR..but didnt go.
included mules .... with all forces. By the time they had crossed the straits of Messina my father was RQ ...until almost the time they left Italy. I guess growing up on a farm and working in logging camps with horses as a kid (as many soldiers did also) made this small component of the chore a little easier! Would be a little tougher today for a young Canadian infanteer!
yes they did ... and treated their prisoners in a manner we really cannot imagine - which is fortunate because there may have been outraged demand by civilians for another 30 or 40 atomic bombs to be dropped for good measure. I met a few of these ex POW's as a kid and it was not pretty. Japanese soldiers frequently (not occasionally) resorted to cannibalism including killing prisoners and civilians (reports from the "rape of Nanking" are very instructive!) all brushed under the carpet to ease and speed post war recovery.
pretty tough with V1 AND V2 targeting the city including Canadian troops - by that time 1st Cdn Div had arrived from Italy - my father missed one rocket impact in Antwerp by about 30 minutes ... and very good luck! Subsequent recovery efforts were apparently unpleasant.
Yes and some was also diverted to the Dutch people ... my father was particularly proud of his company personnel (Canadian infantry) who agreed voluntarily to a reduction in rations to 1500 calories a day so that the balance - over 2000/man - could be given by the cooks to Dutch civilians who were starving.
yes and apparently this was true in Korea as well ... as a kid (and dependant) I lived in Fort Churchill immediately post Korea -- many US personnel (army & air force) also stationed there as well ... and one of the many roles in addition to training, pre-staging etc was winter testing of various equipment from aircraft to parachutes to snowshoes, sleeping bags and parkas - oh yes .. and mosquito control which included spraying the base from low level with ddt from refueling aircraft with fog nozzles on their refueling booms. The Americans had great chocolate bars with nuts and raisons!!
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