otis24
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The Brits did issue a British .303 Jungle Carbine.
WW-II Remington carbine - any ideas?
- Thread starter Double-O-Dave
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I forget exactly where I saw it but at Ft.Bliss 50 some years ago I saw a 1903 carbine. They had a glass case with a mounted horse and dummy trooper decked out in full gear. 1903 calvery carbine included. Was in the lobby of some administration building. To much security to add it to a collection.
...Personally I would not have wanted to be in a spotting balloon with someone slinging .44 bullets in my direction.
I never learned how my great uncle came to own this rifle. He said that .44 bullets worked on deer.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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Properly greasing and waterproofing a long arm to use in a salt water environment would be quite a chore.
I normally would agree but didn't Mad Jack Churchill land in Italy and at Normandy waving a claymore with a long-bow and bagpipes?
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Mad Jack wasn't a frogman! He just waded ashore from a landing craft like other troops. And he used the Scots basket hilted sword, not a true claymore. And he did that in a Commando raid into Norway, too, I think. I don't know if he used a bow. He'd certainly be aware of the rep of English archers during the Middle Ages. We did quite a number on the French with bows at Agincourt, for instance. My own ancestors lived not too far from Nottingham, where the Robin Hood myth arose.
Another Scots officer, Lord Lovat, used his own Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine in battle. I think from photos that his handgun was a Colt .45 auto.
In, The Longest Day , you can see him played, I believe, by Peter Lawford as his commandos were piped ashore. I used to know the name of the piper, too. I saw a TV interview with him.
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THE PILGRIM
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Comparing Mad Jack to a Frogman is comparing a Drama Queen to a guy who works for a living!
I don't know that I would compare him to a drama queen, but I do take and appreciate your point. He was indeed one wild dude. No matter, I think they would all be speaking German over there but for us!
Mad Jack Churchill: The Sword-Wielding, Bagpipe-Playing Badass Of WWII
Mad Jack Churchill: The Sword-Wielding, Bagpipe-Playing Badass Of WWII
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Mad Jack was a serving officer in a regiment that undertook exceptional risks. I'd say that he worked for a living!
I think he wanted to seem a little larger than life and a bit daft to inspire his men, like Caesar's wearing a red cloak in battle.
Frogmen worked hard, too, at great risk.
What was your point? I can't grasp it.
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flagman1776
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[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ajMEH8uIQA[/ame]
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Double-O-Dave
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Good evening:
Wow - the responses are very surprising. Some of you have implied that I fabricated the story, or that I was asking about a work of fiction. True, I did not do a proper citation of the work. Sorry about that, but since I left grad school in 1991, I haven't had a need to do a formal citation. I listed the title of the book and the author - who is an internationally recognized author. The book was copyrighted in 2018, and I just finished reading it about a week ago. I am also guilty of not listing word-for-word the story as written by the author.
For those of you who are interested, the British sailor mentioned in the book was Wally Blanchard, and his story begins on page 232 of the book. The author describes Blanchard thusly: "...he had trained as a specialist naval frogman whose role was to defuse or blow up the underwater minefield." As far as the firearm used by Blanchard, the author described it thusly: "...The German gunner had no reason to suspect that Blanchard was a crack shot. Nor did he know that he was armed with an American Remington carbine that worked when wet, emitting 'an excellent short-range, rapid-firing single shot'.
I'm still unsure of what kind of firearm Blanchard used, but based on the somewhat confusing description of it, I suspect it was some kind of Remington single-shot rifle that had been modified probably by cutting it down (carbine), as well as some kind of modification that would allow it to function while it was wet. I doubt it was any kind of rifle that was in the normal inventory of either the Royal Navy or the US military's arsenal. Instead, it was something that was probably specially made by the equivalent of James Bond's "Q-branch". D-Day was 75 years ago. Blanchard, if he is still alive, would be in his 90's. Therefore, I doubt I'll ever know exactly what kind of Remington carbine he used on D-Day. I'll just let my puzzlement remain.
Thank you to those who have tried to help.
Regards,
Dave
Wow - the responses are very surprising. Some of you have implied that I fabricated the story, or that I was asking about a work of fiction. True, I did not do a proper citation of the work. Sorry about that, but since I left grad school in 1991, I haven't had a need to do a formal citation. I listed the title of the book and the author - who is an internationally recognized author. The book was copyrighted in 2018, and I just finished reading it about a week ago. I am also guilty of not listing word-for-word the story as written by the author.
For those of you who are interested, the British sailor mentioned in the book was Wally Blanchard, and his story begins on page 232 of the book. The author describes Blanchard thusly: "...he had trained as a specialist naval frogman whose role was to defuse or blow up the underwater minefield." As far as the firearm used by Blanchard, the author described it thusly: "...The German gunner had no reason to suspect that Blanchard was a crack shot. Nor did he know that he was armed with an American Remington carbine that worked when wet, emitting 'an excellent short-range, rapid-firing single shot'.
I'm still unsure of what kind of firearm Blanchard used, but based on the somewhat confusing description of it, I suspect it was some kind of Remington single-shot rifle that had been modified probably by cutting it down (carbine), as well as some kind of modification that would allow it to function while it was wet. I doubt it was any kind of rifle that was in the normal inventory of either the Royal Navy or the US military's arsenal. Instead, it was something that was probably specially made by the equivalent of James Bond's "Q-branch". D-Day was 75 years ago. Blanchard, if he is still alive, would be in his 90's. Therefore, I doubt I'll ever know exactly what kind of Remington carbine he used on D-Day. I'll just let my puzzlement remain.
Thank you to those who have tried to help.
Regards,
Dave
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From your expanded quote, my guess would be a Remington Rolling Block in carbine length, which can be fired fairly rapidly as well as easily drained of seawater without modifications.
I don't want to try this with any of MY rifles or carbines 
, but I would think that as one was coming up out of the water, all you would have to do would be to point the firearm's muzzle down a bit and open the action slightly to drain out any water in the bore.
, but I would think that as one was coming up out of the water, all you would have to do would be to point the firearm's muzzle down a bit and open the action slightly to drain out any water in the bore.
Apologies in advance for the thread drift, but after watching that video I couldn't help but wonder whether or not any of the fellas shown in the film might have been William Hopper, who played the PI "Paul Drake" in the original Perry Mason series.
His bio indicates that in WWII not only was he a member of the newly formed UDT, but also did volunteer service in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and was awarded the Bronze Star.
There was in fact a Model 1903 carbine. A number were made as field modifications to 1903s, especially for the Army 158th Infantry, my old Arizona National Guard outfit, when they were initially assigned to protect the Panama Canal zone in WWII. The nickname for the 158th was "Bushmasters" and the name stuck to the carbine, as well. "Bushmaster carbines" are now rare, as most were destroyed after the war.
The 158th was lauded by General MacArthur following its WWII service in the Philippines and other areas in the Pacific theater: "No greater fighting combat team has ever deployed for battle."
Here are some pictures.
John
(Proud former member of the 158th)
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BLACKHAWKNJ
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Without pictures, seeing the original text, knowing something about the author-did he serve, did he talk to veterans or just write from secondary sources ?
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Double-O-Dave
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I doubt the author ever served in the military of any country. His book jacket photo shows a man who appears to be in his 40s to 50s. I've already returned the book to the library so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure he used a number of sources for his book.
Regards,
Dave
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