jim c 351 Posted June 7, 2021 Report Share Posted June 7, 2021 navwings,Rumor has it that the smallest man in the squad frequently was awarded the BAR.I Kirbys case he desperately wanted the gun.Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpw43 Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 And their BAR man was a lefty too!I never understood why Littlejohn carried a Garand, instead of a BAR.A guy that size could easily handle a 20 lb BAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndArmored Posted June 9, 2021 Report Share Posted June 9, 2021 navwings,Rumor has it that the smallest man in the squad frequently was awarded the BAR.I Kirbys case he desperately wanted the gun.Jim C In 1944, dad was the shortest guy in his squad. He carried the BAR from the day he left England until Uncle Sam took it back after VJ day. Trained only on the M1 .30 and M2 .50, he was told to figure it out. A farm boy and hunter, he quickly learned how to put lead where it was needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconbob Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 Wow. I almost missed this. I too was a COMBAT fan. Maybe 7th gradefor me. I was allowed to watch ONE TV show during the school week and forme it was COMBAT. I have to admit that re-watching it all these years laterit does not have the same impact and a lot of the "action" looks contrivedand dumb. Went thru 2 or 3 Mattel Tommybursts with the perforated roll caps thatwould feed on the little spiked wheel inside the magazine. I remember the episode where the BAR man gets killed, and the replacement is an old guy. Kirby wants the BAR and gets it when thereplacement gets killed. Its amazing how many of us older guys have such fond memoriesof the show, Sgt. Saunders, and Thompsons and here we all are now. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 (edited) Bob,In the episode that you refer to, it accurate portrays why the BAR man was considered a most valuable soldier in the squad.The squad is moving up a hill when a MG opens fire on them. Every one in the squad hits the dirt, that is every one except the BAR man.He charges the enemy MG, wipes it out and dies in the process.That's also why the life expectancy of a BAR man, once he entered combat , was measured in minutes.Jim C Edited June 23, 2021 by jim c 351 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anjong-ni Posted June 23, 2021 Report Share Posted June 23, 2021 I remember a Combat! episode titled "The Tank". Nobody in the family left the couch for 60 minutes...Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate129 Posted June 26, 2021 Report Share Posted June 26, 2021 I didn't remember the episode Bob mentioned about the BAR man, did some Googling and learned it's named "Far From Brave," Season 1 episode 5: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnshooter Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 Its amazing how many of us older guys have such fond memoriesof the show, Sgt. Saunders, and Thompsons and here we all are now. BobTaking absolutely nothing away from the Herculean effort by Tracie in producing his book(s),I have found myself wishing Combat! and Saunders/Vic Morrow had received more mention,given the lifelong interest in Thompsons that show had instilled in so many of us "of that age". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 mnshooter,And don't forget Eliot Ness,Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnshooter Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 (edited) mnshooter,And don't forget Eliot Ness,Jim CAbsolutely.Robert Stack was a real Gun Guy, and a National Champion Skeet Shooter, setting two World Records.He also wrote Shotgunning columns for years in Guns magazine.Vic Morrow was in The Untouchables S2E11 "The Tommy Karpeles Story", seen here with Joseph "DR NO" Wiseman. Edited June 27, 2021 by mnshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger1385 Posted June 27, 2021 Report Share Posted June 27, 2021 I remember a Combat! episode titled "The Tank". Nobody in the family left the couch for 60 minutes...PhilJust watched that episode! After reading about the series here, I bought the entire series for like 30 bucks. Cheap entertainment. Beats a LOT of the crap on TV know days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navwings Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 I have always been amused that Vic M always wore a Garand belt; never a Thompson pouch in sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 I have always been amused that Vic M always wore a Garand belt; never a Thompson pouch in sight.Vic always wore a pistol belt. In the very earliest episodes he did wear a six cell magazine bag. However, he soon discovered that he could carry an endless supply of mags tucked inside his 1941 battle jacket ... Mags that only ran out of ammo when the plot called for it ... The magic of Hollywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim c 351 Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 Old trooper,Besides an unlimited number of XXX mags, that jacket also carried binoculars and hand grenades.Jim C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Mills Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 As has been mentioned here before, Vic's Thompson jammed a lot. Once in a while during a busy battle scene you'll see him trying to work the actuator to clear a jam, while the rest of the squad keeps firing. I saw that a few times when he was firing #8245. The other Thompson typically used was #4090, the one with the regular size comp as opposed to the "wide open" one (aka blank adaptor) on #8245. Jim c 351: Then there were those maps inside Vic's jacket pocket too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt21a Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 Yes the loadable military jacket Have the dvd series seems like everybody else has and music man Mills sent me the combat series log book. a great read.w/o going thru the shows does anybody remember Chip firing a 1911 45 auto in the series.And never once can i remember them picking up a MP-40 if they ran low.RON K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldtrooper Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 Sergeant Saunders combat load, or pretty close ... His .45 mag pouches were always empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Mills Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 Yes the loadable military jacket Have the dvd series seems like everybody else has and music man Mills sent me the combat series log book. a great read.w/o going thru the shows does anybody remember Chip firing a 1911 45 auto in the series.And never once can i remember them picking up a MP-40 if they ran low.RON K.RK: Vic's 1911 is used in Episode 19, Season 3: "More Than a Soldier" with Tommy Sands guesting. The Thompson runs outta ammo around the 3 minute mark, so out comes the 1911 and he starts firing it. You can also see the Thompson jamming before that, less than a minute into the opening scene. Those dang blanks anyhow.Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt21a Posted June 28, 2021 Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 Thanks FOR THAT RON.will watch it/Tommy Sands have not heard that name in years Frank Sinatras son in law and performed with him and CLINT WALKER IN NONE BUT THE BRAVE.{ man this freaking new chink k board is a bear}Met him in chicago well over 30 years ago. was a decent movie including greaseguns and carbines.Sinatra did a number of good war flics.in Never So Few they used the m.g.m. guns.Everybody chimed in on this one with good info. wonder who ended up with Saunders 45 auto.?RON K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnshooter Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 (edited) Saunders carried an unusual "M1911", as seen in S19E3, and a few appearances in other shows. It had a top rib and adjustable sight at the extreme rear of the slide; very Gold Cup like, but definitely not a GC.Never have figured out just what it is. Not the best photo, but here it is. No external extractor, and some sort of enlarged front bushing; possibly a blank adapter of some sort.Also shows Vic's short index finger, the reason for always using his middle finger on the trigger. Edited July 6, 2021 by mnshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DINK Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 Possibly a Star or Llama 1911 clone. I dimly recall that Hollywood had a hell of a time getting 1911s to work with blanks back then, but for some reason the Spanish copies were easier to adapt. I somehow remember Richard Basehart holding one with a locked-back slide in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gijive Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 (edited) Saunders carried an unusual "M1911", as seen in S19E3, and a few appearances in other shows. It had a top rib and adjustable sight at the extreme rear of the slide; very Gold Cup like, but definitely not a GC.Never have figured out just what it is. Not the best photo, but here it is. No external extractor, and some sort of enlarged front bushing; possibly a blank adapter of some sort.Also shows Vic's short index finger, the reason for always using his middle finger on the trigger.Marc, I don't have access right now to some publicity stills from "Hear No Evil", where Saunders is temporarily deaf. There are some close up stills of him holding the 1911 pistol, which I believe is actually a 9mm pistol adapted for blanks, based on the muzzle diameter. It has the adjustable rear sight. Maybe it is a Gold Cup series pistol, apparently they were introduced in the late 1950's. I believe in one of the photos you can see the round emblem with the Colt Trademark "Horse" on the grip. I'll check my photos when i get home in a few days and make another post on this topic. Edited July 6, 2021 by gijive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZelenka Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 Yes the loadable military jacket Have the dvd series seems like everybody else has and music man Mills sent me the combat series log book. a great read.w/o going thru the shows does anybody remember Chip firing a 1911 45 auto in the series.And never once can i remember them picking up a MP-40 if they ran low.RON K.There was one episode about a country boy who turned out to be an odd but effective soldier. He uses a captured MP40 if I recall correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mk VII Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 I remember the very smallest guy in our platoon - Chambers - getting the very heaviest weapon - the Charlie G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnshooter Posted July 6, 2021 Report Share Posted July 6, 2021 (edited) Here's a screen grab from "Hear No Evil", showing Saunder's 1911.A German grenade lands close, and makes Saunder's deaf for most of the show.Looking forward to seeing the still photos.If there is ever a Trivial Pursuit -"Combat Edition", board members here would run the entire card set. Edited July 6, 2021 by mnshooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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