The M1911 Colt Automatic Pistol was adopted by the US Army in 1911 and is carried by officers and command NCO's.
The pistol was recoil operated, magizine fed and self loading. The magizine held 7 rounds of .45 caliber ball amo.
The M1911 widely replaced the .45 revolver, although some were in use throughout the war (see thumbnail).
The M-1 Garand rifle is the main battle rifle carried by all ranks in WW2 and was in service with the US Army till the late 1950's. The M1 was loaded from the top of the receiver using an eight round clip of 30.06 bullets.
The M1 Carbine entered service in 1942 and was originally designed as a substitute for the M1911 pistol but found its way into the front lines and used primarily by officers and NCO's. The M1 was fitted with a detachable 10 round magazine.
A paratroop version was also in service that had a colapsable stock (see thumbnail).
The 2.36 Anti-Tank rocket launcher, nick-named the 'Bazooka' entered service in 1943. Later versions had a collapsible tube.
The M1919 Air Cooled Light Machine Gun was belt fed and fired the standard 30.06 bullets. This version was mounted on a tripod that was carried by the assistant gunner. Other versions had a shoulder stock and front bi-pod or were water cooled (see thumbnail).
The 3rd ID has one Light Machine Gun team. The photo was take Fort Hunter Ligget in 2006.
The 3rd ID currently has one Bazooka team.
M2 60 mm Mortar
The 60 mm Mortar was operated by a three man team and consisted of three main parts, the tube, basplate and bipod. The M2 was able to fire 30-35 rounds per minute and had a range of 2000 yards.
The 3rd ID has one M2 Mortar The photo was take Fort Hunter Ligget in 2006.
The M-1903 was an Americanized version of the German Mauser system and entered service in 1903 and was the primary battle rifle for the US Army at the onset of WW2.
Several variations of the were used in WW2, the most common being the 1903-A4 sniper version (see thumbnail)
The weapon was loaded using a 5 round 'stripper clip' of 30.06 caliber ammunition.
The BAR appeared at the end of WWI and was modified in 1940 to the M-1918-A2. The BAR was aircooled, gas operated automatic rifle fed by a detachable 20 round magizine of 30.03 ammunition.
The BAR was used as a squad weapon to provide suppresive fire.
Fully automatic BAR's are usually rented at RPS events and can be carried by a enlisted man with command approval.
The Thompson is a sub machinegun with a delayed blowback action, that fires .45 caliber ammunition stored in a detachable 20 or 30 round magizine.
The M1A1 entered service in 1942 ans was simplified version of the M-1928 A1 which was designed during WWI but never saw action.
A fifity round drum magizine was also available but did not see wide spread use other than special service troops.
