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.