US Infantry Weapons and their Effects - 1943 Training Video

Today's post is a departure from the usual in that it is not in colour, though it should be interesting nonetheless. It is a US Army training film from 1943 entitled 'Infantry Weapons and Their Effects' (T.F. 7 1266). It depicts the use of many types of ammunition being fired from most of the standard US infantry weapons of the period. Films like this have always fascinated me as they show live ammunition in use, with the associated recoil and realistic damage to targets.

Of note is the penetration power of the .30-06 round fired by the M1 Garand, and the effect of the M1 Bazooka on a pillbox and sandbagged emplacement. The potential penetration from rifle rounds is always something Hollywood and TV studios seem to disregard. That and the recoil produced by such weapons, though I can understand it is difficult to grasp the true recoil of a weapon when it is only firing blanks.

Part 1

Part 2

I find it rather interesting that practically every one of the German soldiers is wearing a complete set of equipment, including tornister and bed roll. It is as if they have stepped straight out of a Reibert manual! Having said that, it looks as though the majority of the equipment they are using is WW1 vintage, including some M1916/17/18 pattern helmets. The uniforms they are wearing are rather odd, they look to be a mish-mash of US trousers with either WW1 tunics or converted tunics of some kind I am unable to identify. If anyone has any further info, please let me know.

It looks as though the PaK 40 and Panzer IV have been freshly captured from Heeresgruppe Afrika. I couldn't help but wince when the breech of the PaK 40 was burning, or indeed while the Panzer IV was being repeatedly struck by rounds! The pattern of residue around the hole caused by the Bazooka rocket hitting the Panzer IV was quite fascinating, you don't often see such features in period photos or films. A rather nice detail for the modellers out there!