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Post by darthdract on Aug 12, 2011 15:21:54 GMT 8
I hope this is not OT I am just curious what type of light weapons the American forces where using during the 1941 -1942 campaign in Bataan do they have the M1 Garand already, I know they are still using doughboy helmet helmets
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Post by batteryboy on Aug 12, 2011 16:46:30 GMT 8
Regiments of the 12th Infantry Division (called the Philippine Division), the 31st Infantry (US and all American), the 45th Infantry and 57th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) together with the 26th Cavalry Regiment (Philippine Scouts) were equipped with the early model of the M1 Garand even befor the war broke out.
The Japanese sent back captured Garand rifles to study them in order to come up with their own automatic rifle.
On the US side, they sent back a captured Japanese flamethrower from the early Philippine campaign to study it. If I recall, it was the igniter that the US studied and copied it to be installed in the standard US flamethrower
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Post by darthdract on Aug 12, 2011 18:40:00 GMT 8
Nice Thanks Batteryboy got to sleep for now
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Post by okla on Aug 12, 2011 20:53:12 GMT 8
Hey Battery....Ironic that the flamethrower used by the Americans had an igniter designed and perfected by the Japanese. I wonder what those Japs, holed up in caves on Iwo Jima, would have thought had they known that they were about to be "lit up" by an igniter of their own design. I also wonder why a better attempt to copy the M-1 rifle wasn't accomplished by the enemy. I had always been under the impression the the Japanese were the very best at copying, imitating or improving upon items initially developed in other countries. Today's automobiles for example.
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Post by batteryboy on Aug 13, 2011 1:16:01 GMT 8
You said it Okla my friend. The Japanese did a reverse engineering of the M1 Garand but instead of the 8-round clip, it was fed by a 10-round box magazine that holds the 7.7mm ammo and was loaded via two 5-round stripper/charger. Not more than 250 were built and was never really adopted as a standard use or was fully produced in great numbers. This is how it looked like: Note the box magazine that makes the rifle roughly resemble a SMLE (Short Magazine Lee Enfied) It was said that there were problems with the feeding and ejection mechanism. Cheers, B-boy
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Post by The Phantom on Aug 13, 2011 1:31:29 GMT 8
Batteryboy, how much of the southern Philippines did the Japanese defend in 1945?
I know of the Genko Line near Manila.
I know they were in force around Los Banos when the American Civilian prisoners were rescued via Laguna De Bay while the battle of Manila was ongoing. I know the Filipino Guerrillas were thick around Los Banos, and helped in the raid to free the prisoners. I know of the Filipinos massacred by the Japanese in Los Banos after the POW's were freed and no troops were left behind to stop the slaughter.
Did the Japanese defend LeGazpi, Albay? Did they merely fight a delaying action as they headed for the mountains around Baguio?
This year I visited Taal town in Batangas, I would have to think it was not defended or destroyed by the Japanese in 1945.
Its not all that far from the U.S. landings by Parachute on Tagaytay Ridge or the amphibious landings in Nasugbu, Batangas. The town of Taal is south of the road to Manila so perhaps it was merely a backwater to where all the fighting was taking place.
But the town is still as Spanish in historical buildings as Vigan in Illocas, only smaller.
I have heard there are Japanese tunnels and caves near Tagaytay Ridge, were they used or abandoned?
We talked to some older residents of Tagaytay that said they were able to pick up rifles, 45's etc after the parachute drop. Two women in their 80's told us of their going to school to learn Japanese.
They watched the Japanese in 1945 did a tunnel under the highway on the ridge and hide supplies in it and cover the entrance and never return to dig it up.
Maybe Yamashita's gold?............A little fun,,,,,,,,,
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Post by victor on Aug 13, 2011 1:46:12 GMT 8
I'd like to add that the 14th Engineer Battalion, PS were also armed with M1's too. Here's a picture of a Scout with an M1 (click for bigger). It looks like a gas port M1. Scout with M1 Close-up
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Post by okla on Aug 13, 2011 2:03:20 GMT 8
Hey Battery....I don't think that thing the Japs came up with re; the M-1 was or would have been an improvememt over the model they captured. How can you improve on perfection, methinks? Their ordnance folks, if not reproducing the M-1 as it was, should have just sat down at the drafting boards,etc and invented a shoulder fired weapon of their own design. I always enjoy and value the excellent material you reveal to us "geeks" out here in the hinterland. Keep it coming, please. Cheers. Vic.......I have viewed that photo of the Scouts many times over the years and had never "picked up" on the M-1 being held by the soldier in the rear. These are tough, but friendly looking "hombres"....I do hope that the Scout displaying the Japanese Samurai sword had "ditched" it before the surrender. I have always heard and read that the conquerors frowned on such items being found on our POWs. Japanese money,etc was a extra big "NO NO'. I read, years ago, that an American Brigadier General was being roughed up by some ignorant, low IQd Japanese Buck Private because he though that the single star on the Officer's collar was an insignia taken from a dead Japanese enlisted man. Fortunately, an enlightened enemy Officer intervened. Several strange and contradictory events took place during the surrenders of both Bataan and Corregidor. For instance I read/heard of two old classmates from UCLA that were reunited at Cabcaben...one a Japanese Infantry Officer and the other an American NCO. That ain't my kind of class reunion, what say you?
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Post by victor on Aug 13, 2011 4:42:49 GMT 8
Same here Okla. I didn't realize that was actually a garand until I received a higher quality version of the photo from Donald Plata, the director and producer of Forgotten Soldiers. He scanned the photo from the National Archives. Otherwise those other copies of this photo on the web are all grainy versions. One other detail I picked up from this photo is that the guy on the left is a medic. (click for bigger) ---- by the way www.imdb.com/title/tt1843156/
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Post by okla on Aug 13, 2011 5:47:05 GMT 8
Hey Vic....Who was it who said, "a picture is worth a thousand words" Methinks, maybe, we should go back and enlarge all photos in our possession. No tellin' what we might discover, doncha think? Keep up your great work. Cheers.
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