M1A1 Carbines and Jungle Camo

[thirtyround]

Gents, Thought Id post this interesting photo. I have no info on it. Appears to be the pacific theater. M1 and M1A1 Carbines.... Can anyone tell by the uniforms or equipment if these cats are Army or Marines.... I'm leaning Marines. Cheers, JB

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by thirtyround

[thirtyround]

Apparently photo didn't make it, Ill try another method / attempt .

[thirtyround]

M1 Carbine pacific 3

Edited March 11, 2021 by thirtyround

[BillyDixon]

im wery suprised to see an miai carbine in pacific ! i hope someone can enlighten us on this !@! just wondering

[jim c 351]

Don't let yourself get surprised.

Where ever you find gliders, paratroopers, tanks and enlisted personal who are firearms enthusiasts you will find M1A1 carbines.

Might not be the persons issue weapon, but who cares. (except for collectors in 2021).

Jim C

PS I don't think the US Army issued camo, but a soldier could have traded a Marine an M1 rifle for some camo.

Edited March 11, 2021 by jim c 351

[Oldtrooper]

Don't let yourself get surprised.

Where ever you find gliders, paratroopers, tanks and enlisted personal who are firearms enthusiasts you will find M1A1 carbines.

Might not be the persons issue weapon, but who cares. (except for collectors in 2021).

Jim C

PS I don't think the US Army issued camo, but a soldier could have traded a Marine an M1 rifle for some camo.

Jim ... From what I have read the army did issue camo to some units, but ceased the practice due to the similar appearance to the disruptive camo used by the Waffen SS

 

Steve

 

 

 

[TSMGguy]

Right, it was the P42 combat suit, US Army.

[BillyDixon]

did erroll flynn carry an M1A1 carbine in old movie operation burma ?? trying to rember

[jim c 351]

Correct, except I think the title was "Objective Burma".

One of the few old movies to feature a M1A1 carbine. One of my favorites.

Jim C

[Sandman1957]

Jim, pretty positive they are Army. USMC didn't have name tags, nor button down pockets. Plus if a Marine had just stole it from the Army, he'd be grinning like a mule eating briars!!

[NFA amnesty]

11TH Airborne Division. Not sure if they were ever issued camo fatigues, but they had M1A1 carbines.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Airborne_Division_(United_States)

Edited March 12, 2021 by NFA amnesty

[NFA amnesty]

M1 Carbine pacific 3.jpgM1 Carbine pacific 3

The soldier in the middle with the M1A1 is wearing jump boots. Look at the other two, they have leggings.

[thirtyround]

OK,

Here we go, Hang with me here. Pic of our early Para Marine here, Look at the camo pattern over his heart, the brown splotches , the big one then the 3 above it at 10, 12, 2 o'clock. Now go back to our 3 hero's and the M1A1's. The guy in the middle, look at his left knee (his left)... do you not see the same camo pattern except its upside down?

 

[thirtyround]

Para Marines, 1943 Caledonia

 

 

[BillyDixon]

first time i ever saw a johnson L.M.G. and M1A1 carbine together in photo , wow just sayn

[Oldtrooper]

A little off topic, but in one of the photos I posted above, one of the men has a Thompson that appears to have a vertical grip that is attached to a horizontal fore end ... Or am I misidentifying it?

 

[thirtyround]

Oldtrooper, Good catch, pretty much nailed it. Looks somewhat improvised or "homemade".

[DINK]

Apparently this was a fairly popular modification during WW II. There are pictures of Winston Churchill and Ike on a "field day" with the troops and the Thompsons they are shooting have this modification. Sorry, but my picture posting skills suck.

[inertord]

Front grip modification photo

[gijive]

The soldiers in the picture are most likely US Army Rangers in the Philippines. There are other pictures on the Internet of Rangers with one-piece Army Jungle Suits, holding M1 Carbines, etc. The one-piece were also issued to Marines in early campaigns on a limited basis, but the Marine Corps camouflage uniforms were two-piece and a different pattern than Army two-piece camouflage uniforms. I'm fairly certain these are US Army guys.

 

 

 

Update:

 

I located the original source for the above photograph online and it is actually the U.S. Army Alamo Scouts that invaded Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea in August 1944. The picture caption identifies the individuals as:

 

William E. Nellist (middle) pictured with unidentified trainees from the 4th Class. Cape Kassoe, Hollandia, DNG. August 1944.

 

Here is another picture from the same group:

 

 

Here is a link to the site in case you are interested in additional information.

 

http://www.alamoscouts.com/

 

http://www.alamoscouts.com/special_forces/photo_archives.htm

 

 

 

 

 

red with unidentified trainees from the 4th

 

Edited June 4, 2021 by gijive

[jbbarber]

Gents, I know its an older thread, but thought I would post a very informative link that covers WW2 camo uniforms used by USMC and Army during WW2 as we had a good discussion on it in this thread, and basically unanswered questions.  I think the link will explain a lot of history on camo used.  Within this link, take note there are "touch for image " buttons throughout, very good imagery here.  Enjoy - Cheers, JB

Photo Essay #2: Early Printed Camouflage Uniforms of the Pacific War (1942-43) (usww2uniforms.com)

  

[RoscoeTurner]

I must have missed this the first time around.  My great uncle was in the I&R platoon of the 165th Inf Regt during WWII in the Pacific.  I specifically asked him what uniform he wore and it was the one piece camo.  He said he preferred that over the others.