Rifles carried in Italy by the Canadian Infantry?

tiriaq said:
Were Cdn. troops invariably issued LB made rifles, or Inglis made Brens?
If a unit were equipped in Canada, before going overseas, it would make sense that they would be equipped with Cdn. production.
Much of Cdn. production were into the general pool, and was not necessarily issued to Canadians.
If troops were overseas, were Canadian made arms directed to them, or were they supplied with whatever equipment was available through supply channels?
As an example, there are late war photos of Cdn. soldiers with 4T rifles. It would seem that in all photos where the rifle can be accurately identified, they are Mk. I rifles, not Mk. I*. The rifles would have been British made.
One Vet. I knew did not appreciate turning in his SMLE for a No. 4. He also quite liked the Mannlicher Carcano rifle that he tested. I do not know where or when he exchanged his SMLE for the No. 4, athough it was overseas.
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Not necessarily.

I used to have a sporterized 1944 Long Branch No.4 Mk. 1 rifle, that had the little plunger to release the bolt.

I believe there were more than a few of them made.

If I had known how uncommon they were I would have held onto it. At the time I thought they were all like that.

It had a 5 groove barrel, and was very accurate with 180 gr. Federal Classics.
 
I would think that a good mix of rifles of various manufactures would have been issued and used by all allies using the No4, including the Canadians. So yes, go for a Long Branch because it's Canadian, but keep in mind it may have been used by a Scotsman, and that Fazerkly could be more Canadian than you think. ;)
 
MapleSugar said:
Not necessarily.

I used to have a sporterized 1944 Long Branch No.4 Mk. 1 rifle, that had the little plunger to release the bolt.

I believe there were more than a few of them made.

If I had known how uncommon they were I would have held onto it. At the time I thought they were all like that.

It had a 5 groove barrel, and was very accurate with 180 gr. Federal Classics.
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A '44 Mk. I LB would be a very rare bird, considering that the conversion to I* manufacture took place early in '42. I suppose it is possible that unfinished Mk. I receivers could have been set up later.
Is there any record of a LB No. 4 Mk. I (as opposed to a I*) being set up as a T at SAL? Mk. I Savages were converted in the UK, perhaps LB Mk. I s could have been as well. But these weren't being set up for issue to Canadians.
 
O'Kelly's Boys said:
Lefty ####,

What is your reference to support the fact that 1st Canadian Div soldiers carried captured German wpns? Is there a Regt history perhaps? Was it because there was such a shortage of Canadian wpns/ammo that 1st Div soldiers had to resort to using captured German small arms or that they preferred to and were permitted to do so. Interesting statement.

Captured pistols are easy to hide, they're a trophy though, not your primary wpn.

I believe that Canadian leadership permitted a certain amount of variation with regard to wpns use, I just don't know much about the use of captured stuff. I have spoken with vets from the LSR (M) mech inf in NW Europe 44-45 and seen plenty of photos. They mounted 50 cals on their universal carriers and multiple 30s and 50s on their half-tracks. Their carriers looked crazy with all the machine guns and gear hanging off them.

Let us know.

Cheers,

O'Kelly's Boys
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Try talking to a vetran of the campaign.
You know like my father who's now aged 91.:cool:
His best buddy often carried a German GEW 43 while doing patrols, many MP38/40's were used in Ortona, because who wanted a No4 when it was house to house fighting, and lord knows not enough Thompson's were available.

And FWIW. Regt. Histories, are pretty sanitized.
And not every RSM was so stead fast in his discipline to be totally chicken chit, about stuff like weapon choices. Heck a lot of stuff was let go, because who wanted men out of the line on stupid charges when the casualty counts were exceeding the replacement troops.

You'd probably be shocked to know a good portion of the time while not engaged in the fighting(yes there were lots of those times) a good many of our soliders in that campaign were heavy into the vino a lot of the time.

Just last month at my Dad's birthday he was recalling a rather horrific incident that involved many bottles of absinthe, a show off with a Enfield 38/200, and a smart mouth with a William Tell mentality.

You'd also be suprised to find in the right circumstance a hard ball 230gr. 45ACP from a Thompson, will actually richochet of a full wooden cask of wine.

Bet ya never read about that stuff in any unit history!


And the NW Europe campaign for the 1st Div troops was not very well liked, they were forced into wearing nothing but their battle dress, all the ribbons and shoulder flashes etc. Too rigid for the boys called the D-Day Dodgers.
 
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Big Mozza - there are a few Longbranch's for sale in the EE right now... let me know if you need some assistance in working out a deal - some guys won't deal with newbies with zero trader rating. :)
 
Italian campaign

My father served with the Hasty P's in the war. He recalled being issued his first No.4 LB ,likely a '42 or '43 a couple months before the invasion. He joined his unit 2 weeks after the invasion as he was in hospital. He was in Mowat's unit (Intell.) shortly before requesting to go to a rifle company. When he acted as Platoon runner he carried a Thompson, otherwise he carried a MKIII* he picked up as he prefered the sights to a No.4. He was wounded 3 times by Christmas '44 (Rome) and was sent back to Canada. He served in Korea also.
My father Capt. Frank Robert McGuire passed away this Febuary and I miss him very much. He was a great soldier and Father.
Geoff
 
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