We had to keep some of the information in this video brief to keep it within a reasonable time frame. If you are interested in more detail about the total ammo load for the squad and the weight of a lot of this stuff, check out our written article (with graphics) here: www.battleorder.org/post/us-ammo-load-ww2 It includes a brief comparison at the end, comparing the total amount of ammo carried by the U.S. versus Germany and Japan.
My dad was regular Army in WW2. I often heard him tell people he was called the squad mule because he always carried a lot more than he was allowed. This was because early on he once ran out of ammo and barely made it out alive. He said he carried two pistols, three to five times a normal load of ammo and then added lots of grenades. especially Willy Peter (white phosphorus). He said he used it a lot and carried a canteen of mud for when he got it on him. His arms and legs were scared from burn, fragment and bullet wounds.He lost his left eye to a mortar round in Germany. He never had a good nights sleep since the war. He passed away in 1976.
@@mr.zondide2746 Yes, The close call occured after taking a hill near St Lo. The SS counter attacked and he was knocked silly by a grenade as he searched bodies for ammo. He was captured and beaten severely during questioning. But the Army counter attacked and that gave him a chance to escape. He fought in many major actions including the Bulge.
My grandfather (who I never met) was also regular Army in WWII in the Pacific theater. He received the Bronze Star for his actions in battle. He suffered from terrible flashbacks after the war and wound up dying from a brain aneurysm. When my father was becoming military age it was the same time as the conflict in Vietnam and my grandfather was so against war by this time that he did everything he could to keep my father from having to go. My father wound up serving in the National Guard and that somehow kept him away from that conflict. I'm not too sure how that worked because I see National Guard serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
@@556m4 My dad had a bronze star also. From the stories he told I often wondered why he did not have more. So I asked him. He said officers had to put you in for metals and his kept getting killed before it could happen. Besides , he didn't want metals to remind him how many people he killed! When I graduated high school Vietnam was still going on and my draft number was 4. So the only choice I had was join the service I wanted or be drafted into the Army. My mom insisted I go Navy to keep me out of danger. But then I went into the Seabees and wound up building bases in the jungle anyway. But I saw no action. Just heard it in the distance.
556m4 all wars are different, and during Vietnam the federal government never called up National Guard or Reserve units. Instead they relied on draft calls from 1965-1972. In World War 1 and II and Korea many National Guard divisions were mobilized, of course they were mostly filled with draftees. But in Vietnam only regular army divisions went overseas. The National Guard divisions had quotas at the time and there were waiting lists, so if you were of draft age you were lucky to get in. That was during Vietnam. If you joined a national Guard division, say the 40th, in 1949 you were out of luck
Where was your Dad Europe? My Dad was in Europe, Belgium. He was on mortars in the British army Wish he hadn't passed when I was so young, I'd have loved to find out more. I remember him saying don't stand next to the guy with the flamethrower and never run in a straight line. He still got shot in the arse though
@@somethingelse4878 he enter north Africa at Casablanca I think, fought in the battle monte casino, saw the alps, the rest was just a few stories about how he was injured
In Iraq in 2004, we started out carrying seven 30-round magazines with 210 rounds, then increased during that summer to 14 magazines for 420 rounds. That shit was so heavy.
Depending on the type of magazine each loaded 30-round mag weighs a little over a pound - so 14 magazines is about 15 pounds for 420 rounds. A loaded M1 Garand clip weighs about a half pound, so 30 clips would be about 15 pounds, but only 240 rounds for that weight.
Jacob Hunter Other than the fact that ounces = pounds, pounds = pain, I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! You’re concerned about a soldier having 420 rounds in a combat situation, while I usually keep 60-90 for my suppressed AR15, 15+1 and an extra magazine for my .40s&w, and 6+1 in a .380, all in two rapid access safes beside/on my nightstand. That’s just for self defense in a peaceful rural area in the middle of nowhere USA. If you’re going to war, or even just defending yourself or your family, you don’t want to get killed from a lack of shooting back.
My Dad was also a US Army Infantryman during the Ruhr campaign. He carried a full cartridge belt(80 rounds) and three bandoliers (48x3=144 rounds) for a total of 224 rounds. Also, each rifleman was supposed to carry one bazooka rocket. Other than that, just his canteen, shovel, and K-ration box under his field jacket held in place by his cartridge belt suspenders. He also said he was blesses that he was not required to carry any pack. And he threw away his bayonet. He also carried 2 grenades hooked to his field jacket. I remember him looking at the news with true pity when he saw what the GI had to carry in Iraq and Afghanistan. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 82.
Former paratrooper here. Thanks for the baseline data. A few thoughts Basic loads and units of fire are often calculated by noncombat personnel. An official basic load can be expended in just a few minutes of combat. We typically carried two or three times the basic load plus mg ammo, mortar rounds and C4. Radios and batteries too. Sadly, the army lags behind in issuing carry bags and other useful accoutrements. From talking to WWII vets I learned that it was no different for them. Official issue bags were 6 to 12 months behind in issuance. Pockets and rucksacks served in the interim just as it was for us Desired weight of a combat load (everything from uniforms and food to ammo and water. Lots and lots of water) was 48 pounds. Actual combat loads would be around 100 pounds. Add about 30 pounds if you had a radio and batteries Thx
Michael MacMannrtr, Iraq Combat Vet here and can attest to how true that is. Normal rifle combat load for M16/M4 is 210 rounds in 7 mags, and 45 rounds in 3 mags if issued a M9 sidearm. Over my time in theater, I increased my mag count to 12 mags for my rifle and 4 mags for my sidearm, with a spare bandolier of rifle ammo on stripper clips in my Assault pack. I also kept a few loose rounds scattered about my person, because I absolutely refused to allow myself to be taken alive by an enemy (though the odds of being placed in a position where that was possible where extremely unlikely). When I was mounted in a humvee, My gunner and I also kept a ready bag of 7.62mm linked ammo for the M240 we had mounted on the truck in case we had to bail out that we could easily grab so we would still have ammo for our MG, the fact that the 240 is man portable is why I refused to mount a .50 cal on my truck (that and Rules of engagement allowed us to use the 240 for more circumstances than the .50).
In Desert Storm, humping in the desert with 6th Marines, we carried our ammo loads, but then helped out the 60mm mortar crews by carry extra mortars for them. As an Artillery FO, I carried a pr of binos, a laser range finder, a DCT (digital comms terminal) with more batteries, extra radio batteries for my radio operator. Great times!
Dwight Turner the Army did an evaluation in the 30’s. They found that despite specific load outs for infantrymen, that given a rucksack with more pockets or a bigger main , Soldiers would just keep adding things into rucks off the books. Water , ammo, socks , chow.
I still have my poncho liner and large ruck . I busted 6 frames from jumping all the time. Held together by green duct tape I carried everything from : 21 30 round mags, 4 grenades , 1 smoke, compass, bayonet, 2 canteens, pressure bandage, AN/PVS -7. In the ruck : 2 2quart canteens, intrenchment tool, 400 7.63MM , 600 5.56 , 10 Loaded magazines , 4 fragmentation grenades, 1 claymore mine, 400 5.56MM SAW, 4 Batteries for the AN/PRC - 77, 15 empty sandbags, 5 pairs socks, 5 t-shirts,5 pairs boxers, hygiene kit, weapons cleaning kit, 2 LAW’s, A couple of years ago I had my C&P exam at the VA Hospital . I brought my old Rucksack. It really helped . It helped secure 40% of my 80% claim. I’m still paying for those damn stripes !
I bought a small skid with 3 cardboard boxes on it from an estate sale. I opened one of the boxes and it had these crazy vintage dresses from the 20’s for sure and in the bottom wrapped in stockings was a gi muset bag, in the bag was an engraved German Luger, and a liberator stamped pistol that was dropped to our allies during ww2. I thought the Luger was the treasure, happy to say I found out my example was unfired and quite valuable. Fascinating time in our history
For D-Day they eschewed it. The thinking and organization (which I think BO has a video on) was that jumping an LMG with each squad would give them better more and better sustained firepower. They kept to that idea but starting in Market-Garden and into The Bulge and later during Varsity, you see BAR's appearing (as BO mentions in the video).
i love this, recent experience for those who want some info. afghan 2017, we carried 7 mags of 30 rounds. SAW gunners 400 rounds in pouches (x2 200, x2 100 plus a 100 starter belt attached i.e. nutsack) then 500 in their ruck or butt pack. but we carried in the M-ATV and MAXXpro's "speed bags". assault packs with 1600 rounds 5.56 in stripper clips. and 8 200 belt 5.56 boxes (tied down obviously) and the 240's matching the SAW's. also as many frags and smokes and "bangers" as we can store in the truck and gunners hatch.
This video is very informative, and has answered a number of questions I've had. I came across a factoid from another video that the para troupers that landed on June 5 in Normandy were carrying 140 pounds of supplies EACH when they jumped. They were expecting to fight for three days before there would be any chance of relief or resupply.
As a former collector of GI web gear I was told that few, if any 5-cell pouches wereever issued for the 30-rd SMG magazines. There WERE three-cell canvas pouches for the 30-round mags and some GIs and/or Marines cut the top flaps off the five-cell 20 rd mag pouches to allow the 30 rd magazines to fit (although with the added risk of the mags falling out. Nice video!
If I'm not mistaken, in saving private ryan tom Hanks had a 5rd cell pouch with 30rd clips, plus he would pull more clips out of the inside of his jacket.
@@LoneWolf051 Right on Kevin. Like this is my GUN. Weapons can be for example revolver. semi auto pistol, single or double action. . Rifle. bolt action, semi, full auto. Shotguns are pump, semi, single or double barrel. Magazine vs Clip. Clips are for hair. Bullets vs Cartridges . one is the projectile the latter is an actual functioning unit. Bullet, case, powder, primer. machine gun vs sub machine gun. The latter uses pistol cartridges. My favorite. calling a Colt 1911,Glock , etc an automatic instead of semi automatic
@@johnjleszun7409 You should ditch that 1911 and get a Desert Eagle (Deagle), most powerful gun in the world! It has 8 50 mm BMG bullets in the clip (same ammo as the barret auto sniper) so it's illegal according to the geneva convention to use against humans. I you carry this remember to shoot at an attackers phone or watch or something ;) Antimaterial...
I’m US Army Infantry 1966 and we were always told that all USMC Infantry squads also had a still photographer assigned. And each Platoon had a motion picture cameraman assigned. Haha
That’s funny my father was at the 38th parallel in 1953 next to the marines and the joke then was, “how many men in a marine rifle squad? Five men and five photographers “
Reading about jungle fighting in the Pacific and it surprised me the extent of grenade combat. In some cases it was the primary arm, no one wanted to expose themselves to fire a rifle. Much of the time the side with the high ground had a significant advantage as they could throw/roll grenades farther. Many fights were turned based on the number of hand grenades dragged up/down mountains or through jungles. I reminded me of ww1, where German storm troop tactics sometimes only armed men with a pistol and a bag of grenades, and not always a pistol.
It should be noted that veteran 505th PIR on D-Day did adopt B.A.Rs in their squad set up alongside other variations in the way they organised their squads.
I don't doubt unofficial acquisitions like that were common. The glider infantry were outfitted like regular infantry squads (with BARs), so they would have been around on the ground and somewhere in the division's T/O. For things like this I try to stick with what is most realistic for the by-the-book organizaiton/equipment as that is the most general and I can't possibly account for the thousands of squads that served (plus I don't have data on what an airborne squad with a BAR would have looked like on hand) Edit: Plus they ended up adding it to the official T/O&E in December 1944 in the build up for Operation Varsity, so it makes sense that there'd be some small scale usage
LOL! On his second tour in Iraq, my brother was the SAW man. I think he said he was issued 600 rounds. He would go to ammo supply and carry 1200 or more!
Kind of strange that the US Army airborne squad had a crew served weapon instead of a BAR. I wonder how strict these units were with thier SOP's. Usually before deployment everyone has to go by the book but once the rounds start flying common sense kicks in and people start improvising. At least that's how my unit was and I imagine WW2 soldier's and Marines adapted much quicker. The only reason we got change things up was because the SF guys in are AO told are commanders that it was stupid not to. It would be interesting to see the different types of squads that were put together. Usually TMs/FMs just show the basic shit
At a reenactment, we took an original general purpose ammo bag, and fit, I believe, 24 BAR magazines in it. It was definitely at least 18, and I'm pretty sure over 20.
I was interested to see if they carried what we did. They out numbered current infantry squads 12-9. The basic rifleman currently carries 210 rounds I 7 magazines. The 203 had that plus 24 hedp 40mm rounds. The automatic riflemen carried 800 rounds but he was mtoe allowed 1200 rounds in 200 round drums but we never had that much ammo. My squad leaders and I carried 330 rounds. I was also suprised that airborne trooper's didn't jump with their weapons in a 1950 type bag that we jumped with when I was in LRSD. The 1950 Allowed you to insert a 20 round magazine but not a 30 round magazine, so you were issued one 20 round and 7 , 30 round magazines from the arms room when you got to your company
@@shawnmurphy4069 I didn't serve in a LRS unit in Iraq. I was in 1/24 Infantry Regiment, 1st Bde Combat Team (stryker), 25th Inf Div. When I was in LRSD we carried 12/30 round magazines and one 20 round magazine. This was in 87-89 for my time with Dco 151 LRSD and I could be confused in my memory between there and Fco 425 LRS, 97-99. I mostly remember me getting scuffed up a lot...no tab, hit the slab...good times. When I pscd to Lewis I was in the light fighter unit there and we transform later. I was a squad leader in Mosul Iraq and ten magazines was all I had room for on my IBA. The load out was somewhat challenging to figure out how to have enough of what we might need on any given patrol. Weapon, Prc 148 and spare battery, pvs 14 and extra batteries for them, my pac4c, m68, my under gun light and hand held taclight, two ir beacons, ir chem lights, normal chem lights, trama kit, civilian gps, compass, two fragmentation grenades, two flash bang grenades, two smoke grenades one white one colored, water, map and something to write with. I am sure I missed something. But I don't remember carrying body armor in LRS. Of course I don't remember wearing a brain bucket except for green ramp to the ground.
Basically. In the 2020s they're going to add an Assistant Squad Leader and a Squad Systems Operator (for a drone) but the fireteams are going to stay the same (except with optional Carl Gustaf/MAAWS and a M38 SDMR going to guys).
Lyall Peder: If you haven't watched episodes of Combat recently, do look them up and take another look. Most hold up very well to modern sensibilities and seem accurate to the times. My father who was a WW II Air Corps veteran, refuse to let any of the 'mock' WW II show be watched in his house other than Combat and Twelve O'clock High.
@reverse thrust McHale's Navy, Hogan's Heros, the Gallant Men and all the rest were banned from our TV. My father found no humor in what he had experienced.
@@cdjhyoung the biggest error of Combat, was their ages. Their ages averaged 40 while real life something like 22. Still great show. Watched it with my father, discharged, July 1945.
@@williamgibb5557 I frequently share that complaint about war movies - look at the ages of the actors from Band Of Brothers. But in reality, not all grunts were that young. I think the draft age in WW II was 35, volunteer enlistments ran to age 45. Some platoon members might have been that age. My father landed in England as a 26 year old Second Lieutenant. He was four years older than the Colonel of his squadron.
Yeah I’m watching Combat as we speak. They got a lot of firepower for half a squad. And I noticed Caje is always firing his M-1 left handed. Also his hair is too long. I watch Twelve O’clock High on you tube too, that’s a good show
Good short briefing. In Urban Combat 1 or 2 in an infantry squad would be tasked as Grenadiers with a musette bag M1936/M36 AKA Light Field Pack with Over the shoulder suspension strap with 24 Mk 2 Fragmentation Grenades for close combat in the rubble. Later in Korea during the Chosen Battle one company expended 2,000 Grenades in 10 minutes up in the northern east flank battle. That will give an idea of usage rates in close combat.
I talked with a couple ‘Nam vets that when on patrol that carried up to 1000+ rounds of 556 in mags, a belt of 7.62, 10 grenades, pistol with some mags, poncho, cigarettes, and gum. Mag pouches were ditched and they carried 30 round mags in 2qt canteen carriers. I bet there were guys like this in WW2 with a rucksack packed just with BAR mags and grenades.
I've got a couple metal ammo boxes which carried 192 rds in cloth bandoleers. Dad was in WW2, KOREA and Vietnam and he generally carried what you list her for an Army rifleman in WW2. of course if they could they carried spare ammo boxes, and of course vehicles carried extra ammo.
I served in OIF and had to hump an entire ICU with full kit, basic combat load, and m16. It was in Uday's Palace. I'm glad I didn't break my ankle that day. Also had an opportunity to use that Gold toilet........
I was a Corpsman in the FMF. We were taught in Field Med School ( Pendleton or Lejeune ) by HM’s from the Fleet and 03’s. We were taught to never carry a magazine fully loaded. Thus a Rifle mag was 28 round , a Pistol 12-14. Was that taught to others ? As I read the comments Combat Vets carried 30 and 15 respectively
Depends on type of magazine and type of firearm. When I started out way back in the days we always underloaded the metal mags we were issued with one or two rounds. Now a days with the plastic ones we have it's not needed, only gotta make sure you don't put one or two extra in by mistake. But it's not a bad habit to have. It's not a
You just earned a subscription, how ever I would have to get out a calculator to convert pounds to kilograms so I can understand how much this stuff actually weighs. Also just a thought maybe have a summary page where it has all their equipment on the left and the tabulated data of all the equipment at a glance, after the neat graphics of course?
How was ammo issued for BARs? Rifle ammo came in 8 rd clips, but BARs didn't use those clips. Did they issue separate ammo, or did they take ammo out of clips to load into BAR mags? How about MGs? did the ammo come pre loaded in disposable belts, or were they expected to save belts and reload them?
@@noodles5438 I know that. That's the whole point. Garand ammo comes in clips. Modern mg ammo comes in disintegrating link belts. In the old days with cloth belts I believe the belts were reusable. So did mg gunners reload cloth belts from lose Rds, or did mg ammo come prepacked in new belts? Then you have BAR gunners. Did they have magazine charging tools like we had with our FALs? If they did then their ammo would have to come packed in the same sort of stripper clips that 1903 ammo came in. The quartermaster is now stocking 30 Cal ammo in three different forms. Is that how it happened?
Minute Man Heard some vets say that the M1919 belt would get loose after using it a bit so yes they reused it, and from what I can find on the BAR they did not use a magazines charging tool. Not sure about your last question though, would have to look into that last one.
@@noodles5438 Reloading cloth belts from lose rounds must have been a time consuming, tedious job. I assume after you have done it, that they must have packed the belts into boxes for storage, because the belts are very prone to dirt, and water and are very unwieldy.
I dont know if this is covered in any other videos you've done. But Id love to see armament carried for Corpsemen / Medics during ww2. Just saw Hacksaw Ridge and it seemd like quite a fuzz for him to be a unarmed medic.
Just curious. A para machine gunner carried a Carbine as secondary weapon, while the Ranger machine gunner carried a handgun. It isn't just about the extra weight, but the trouble to carry another longish weapon as well. What is wrong with a hand gun for personal protection? And a para Company commander had no handgun? only a knife.
I've always seen ww2 from the UK/US side and the Germans as a faceless mass But after reading Sniper on the Eastern front the book about Sepp Allerberger, and Panzer Commander by von luck my eyes are open. I got them as ebooks so they didn't cost a lot and Alexa can read them, and I find that relaxing
You can never carry enough ammo,carry as much as you can and then carry a little more .every one had to carry a lot of ammo for the mortor team you carried a little extra for them ,then you had to carry a little for the SAR,then what you needed for yourself and then extra for everyone else.Afganistan was a long way from home
I know it might not be the most prominent part of the war and not the most interesting, especially for US viewers, but would it be possible for you to make a video about polish infantry squad? Also, you are doing a great job, keep it coming, and I can't wait for the videos showcasing germans.
I'm no expert peeps but ill give my insight. For WW1 and WW2 era warfare this is. I heard for most military operations they carry for what they most likely encounter. SF and hard-core frontline carry way more than they need. Example pilots and tank crewman and non frontline units and reccon unit's are up against hard and harsh odds. Paratroopers and Marines and special forces units sill carry way more as they are outmumbered outgunned and deep behind enemy lines they are up against alot. Chefs, Engineers, desk monkeys and pilots and tank crewman is a different matter completelty. Not every regiment or unit is reguarly combat. Pilots and tank crewman live 90% of the time in a tank once they get shelled at or break down they have poor survival odds. If you crash your plane and only have a small knife and a handgun your odds of survival after a few days decreases. Surviving against the wilderness and other stuff food ammunition is not only limited but harsher. Trying to fight off search parties and enemy patrols coming after you is nearby impossible. If a syrian pilot crashes In ISIS held territory sooner or later the place is gonna be crawling around hunting them down in large packs and numbers. So i heard the standard ammo loads for assualt rifles 30 and 20 rnd magazines Is 180/250 rnds depending on unit and mission. For 30 rnd magazine SMG or Assault rifles It's between 5-8 loaded magazines 150 to 240 bullets. Some Austrian and German armies It's 5 mags standars ect. Britain it's 180 or 210. Some millitarys differ between 5 to 8 30 rnd mags. I heard 4 major factors In determining how much soldiers carry... 1. Weight and cost- Not high risk and small mission and small unit warfare carry less. Ammo is exspensive so.... 2. Odds and statistics I heard most firefight In Afghanistan highly trained soldier's fire between 1 to 3 mags per firefight. If conserved and fired at a slow rate of fire ammo can last hours. Most firefights by not very well trained militias and close quarter combat don't use alot of ammo. I heard well trained british troops standard is dropping to 4 mags for not frontline troops and for troops with short and safe missions they carry 4 mags. British troops our troops are way better trained and equipped and conserve ammo compared to other nations. American and some european militas fire bullets like its going out of fashion. I think for British troops it's 4 to 12 mags on front of soldier ect otherless not trained and average militarys carry way more. Leading back to odds and stats im sure soldiers will take notes on how much they use in differrnt situations. For self defence In USA they are stats 1. Most civilians will fire between 1 to 10 bullets per assualt/robbery/fights/attemped rapes ect. Any Firefights for civilians reaching above 8 to 10 shots is extremely rare. Most firefights for US citizens are between 1 to 5 bullets per defence case. 1 to 7 seconds long and between 1 to 10 yards away. Needing to reload is unheard of needing more than or 3 or 4 times is next to never with civilians. Needing to reload more than twice Is almost never likely. So i think standard for sidearms Is 30-60 rndss.
We had to keep some of the information in this video brief to keep it within a reasonable time frame. If you are interested in more detail about the total ammo load for the squad and the weight of a lot of this stuff, check out our written article (with graphics) here: www.battleorder.org/post/us-ammo-load-ww2
It includes a brief comparison at the end, comparing the total amount of ammo carried by the U.S. versus Germany and Japan.
The video was great but it was missing one thing, Armored Division Infantry Units loadout. That is not talked about enough in these videos.
I was stationed in West Germany in 1974 as a Veterinary Food Inspection Specialist I carried 1 clipboard 1 ball point pen and a thermometer.
@Johnston Steiner somebody needs to distinguish mess hall supplies from animal feed.
@@BiggestCorvid You tell the difference by the temp.
Nice.
Being a military issue clipboard I assume it weighed in at five pounds minimum. And the list price for the pen was $20.
Was carrying the load taxing?
My dad was regular Army in WW2. I often heard him tell people he was called the squad mule because he always carried a lot more than he was allowed. This was because early on he once ran out of ammo and barely made it out alive. He said he carried two pistols, three to five times a normal load of ammo and then added lots of grenades. especially Willy Peter (white phosphorus). He said he used it a lot and carried a canteen of mud for when he got it on him. His arms and legs were scared from burn, fragment and bullet wounds.He lost his left eye to a mortar round in Germany. He never had a good nights sleep since the war. He passed away in 1976.
Very interesting, different perspective you don’t get from history books or movies. Sounds like he saw heavy action
@@mr.zondide2746 Yes, The close call occured after taking a hill near St Lo. The SS counter attacked and he was knocked silly by a grenade as he searched bodies for ammo. He was captured and beaten severely during questioning. But the Army counter attacked and that gave him a chance to escape. He fought in many major actions including the Bulge.
My grandfather (who I never met) was also regular Army in WWII in the Pacific theater. He received the Bronze Star for his actions in battle. He suffered from terrible flashbacks after the war and wound up dying from a brain aneurysm. When my father was becoming military age it was the same time as the conflict in Vietnam and my grandfather was so against war by this time that he did everything he could to keep my father from having to go. My father wound up serving in the National Guard and that somehow kept him away from that conflict. I'm not too sure how that worked because I see National Guard serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
@@556m4 My dad had a bronze star also. From the stories he told I often wondered why he did not have more. So I asked him. He said officers had to put you in for metals and his kept getting killed before it could happen. Besides , he didn't want metals to remind him how many people he killed!
When I graduated high school Vietnam was still going on and my draft number was 4. So the only choice I had was join the service I wanted or be drafted into the Army. My mom insisted I go Navy to keep me out of danger. But then I went into the Seabees and wound up building bases in the jungle anyway. But I saw no action. Just heard it in the distance.
556m4 all wars are different, and during Vietnam the federal government never called up National Guard or Reserve units. Instead they relied on draft calls from 1965-1972. In World War 1 and II and Korea many National Guard divisions were mobilized, of course they were mostly filled with draftees. But in Vietnam only regular army divisions went overseas. The National Guard divisions had quotas at the time and there were waiting lists, so if you were of draft age you were lucky to get in. That was during Vietnam. If you joined a national Guard division, say the 40th, in 1949 you were out of luck
My dad carried a bar in ww2, I asked how much ammo he carried and he said "as much as he and his ammo carrier could take".
Where was your Dad
Europe?
My Dad was in Europe, Belgium.
He was on mortars in the British army
Wish he hadn't passed when I was so young, I'd have loved to find out more.
I remember him saying don't stand next to the guy with the flamethrower and never run in a straight line.
He still got shot in the arse though
@@somethingelse4878 he enter north Africa at Casablanca I think, fought in the battle monte casino, saw the alps, the rest was just a few stories about how he was injured
BAR . Not bar .
Fully loaded perk equipped
B.A.R not bar
In Iraq in 2004, we started out carrying seven 30-round magazines with 210 rounds, then increased during that summer to 14 magazines for 420 rounds. That shit was so heavy.
Depending on the type of magazine each loaded 30-round mag weighs a little over a pound - so 14 magazines is about 15 pounds for 420 rounds. A loaded M1 Garand clip weighs about a half pound, so 30 clips would be about 15 pounds, but only 240 rounds for that weight.
@@matisseenzer2383 An entire 5.56 round weighs less than the projectile of a .30 m2 round.
Who the heck needs 420 rounds?? Did someone at the Pentagon think that the Iraqi insurgents were bulletproof?
Jacob Hunter Other than the fact that ounces = pounds, pounds = pain, I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it! You’re concerned about a soldier having 420 rounds in a combat situation, while I usually keep 60-90 for my suppressed AR15, 15+1 and an extra magazine for my .40s&w, and 6+1 in a .380, all in two rapid access safes beside/on my nightstand. That’s just for self defense in a peaceful rural area in the middle of nowhere USA. If you’re going to war, or even just defending yourself or your family, you don’t want to get killed from a lack of shooting back.
No one ever complained about losing a firefight because they had too little ammo.
My Dad was also a US Army Infantryman during the Ruhr campaign. He carried a full cartridge belt(80 rounds) and three bandoliers (48x3=144 rounds) for a total of 224 rounds. Also, each rifleman was supposed to carry one bazooka rocket. Other than that, just his canteen, shovel, and K-ration box under his field jacket held in place by his cartridge belt suspenders. He also said he was blesses that he was not required to carry any pack. And he threw away his bayonet. He also carried 2 grenades hooked to his field jacket.
I remember him looking at the news with true pity when he saw what the GI had to carry in Iraq and Afghanistan. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 82.
Oh. He also carried hi rain coat folded onto the back of his cartridge belt, just like Audie Murphy, he said.
Wow that's awesome, thanks for sharing.
Former paratrooper here. Thanks for the baseline data. A few thoughts
Basic loads and units of fire are often calculated by noncombat personnel. An official basic load can be expended in just a few minutes of combat.
We typically carried two or three times the basic load plus mg ammo, mortar rounds and C4. Radios and batteries too.
Sadly, the army lags behind in issuing carry bags and other useful accoutrements. From talking to WWII vets I learned that it was no different for them. Official issue bags were 6 to 12 months behind in issuance. Pockets and rucksacks served in the interim just as it was for us
Desired weight of a combat load (everything from uniforms and food to ammo and water. Lots and lots of water) was 48 pounds. Actual combat loads would be around 100 pounds. Add about 30 pounds if you had a radio and batteries
Thx
Michael MacMannrtr, Iraq Combat Vet here and can attest to how true that is. Normal rifle combat load for M16/M4 is 210 rounds in 7 mags, and 45 rounds in 3 mags if issued a M9 sidearm. Over my time in theater, I increased my mag count to 12 mags for my rifle and 4 mags for my sidearm, with a spare bandolier of rifle ammo on stripper clips in my Assault pack. I also kept a few loose rounds scattered about my person, because I absolutely refused to allow myself to be taken alive by an enemy (though the odds of being placed in a position where that was possible where extremely unlikely). When I was mounted in a humvee, My gunner and I also kept a ready bag of 7.62mm linked ammo for the M240 we had mounted on the truck in case we had to bail out that we could easily grab so we would still have ammo for our MG, the fact that the 240 is man portable is why I refused to mount a .50 cal on my truck (that and Rules of engagement allowed us to use the 240 for more circumstances than the .50).
Caesars troops carried 100 lbs im convinced no matter what it will always be 100 lbs
I would jump over 100lbs regularly. Then I became an RTO. LOL
@@TNRonin Word. I jumped my own - no rto
FISTer?
as a 2lt, my first plt sgt told me - while you may have too much ammo to carry, you can never carry enough ammo
It's always wise to listen to experienced NCO's. Most young officers didn't and paid the price along with their men. Semper Fi
Thats just stupid
@@DrLoverLover Stupid....how so?
@@DrLoverLover ever been in combat? Ammo goes a lot quicker than you think
In Desert Storm, humping in the desert with 6th Marines, we carried our ammo loads, but then helped out the 60mm mortar crews by carry extra mortars for them.
As an Artillery FO, I carried a pr of binos, a laser range finder, a DCT (digital comms terminal) with more batteries, extra radio batteries for my radio operator.
Great times!
Dwight Turner the Army did an evaluation in the 30’s.
They found that despite specific load outs for infantrymen, that given a rucksack with more pockets or a bigger main , Soldiers would just keep adding things into rucks off the books.
Water , ammo, socks , chow.
I still have my poncho liner and large ruck . I busted 6 frames from jumping all the time. Held together by green duct tape I carried everything from : 21 30 round mags, 4 grenades , 1 smoke, compass, bayonet, 2 canteens, pressure bandage, AN/PVS -7. In the ruck : 2 2quart canteens, intrenchment tool, 400 7.63MM , 600 5.56 , 10 Loaded magazines , 4 fragmentation grenades, 1 claymore mine, 400 5.56MM SAW, 4 Batteries for the AN/PRC - 77, 15 empty sandbags, 5 pairs socks, 5 t-shirts,5 pairs boxers, hygiene kit, weapons cleaning kit, 2 LAW’s,
A couple of years ago I had my C&P exam at the VA Hospital . I brought my old Rucksack. It really helped . It helped secure 40% of my 80% claim. I’m still paying for those damn stripes !
I bought a small skid with 3 cardboard boxes on it from an estate sale. I opened one of the boxes and it had these crazy vintage dresses from the 20’s for sure and in the bottom wrapped in stockings was a gi muset bag, in the bag was an engraved German Luger, and a liberator stamped pistol that was dropped to our allies during ww2. I thought the Luger was the treasure, happy to say I found out my example was unfired and quite valuable. Fascinating time in our history
Gahhh, you lucky devil
This is a very professional and promising channel. Keep it up.
Thank you for doing the necessary research and for putting this video together. Well done!
I've seen pictures of WWII Army Paratroopers with the BAR. Doesn't seem like they would deny them the BAR, it was a very effective weapon.
For D-Day they eschewed it. The thinking and organization (which I think BO has a video on) was that jumping an LMG with each squad would give them better more and better sustained firepower. They kept to that idea but starting in Market-Garden and into The Bulge and later during Varsity, you see BAR's appearing (as BO mentions in the video).
This was the first hit on my search for this topic. Well done. Would like to see the text boxes up just a bit longer though.
You're going a great way! I'm loving your videos, very informative and full of knowledge. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the support :>
i love this, recent experience for those who want some info. afghan 2017, we carried 7 mags of 30 rounds. SAW gunners 400 rounds in pouches (x2 200, x2 100 plus a 100 starter belt attached i.e. nutsack) then 500 in their ruck or butt pack.
but we carried in the M-ATV and MAXXpro's "speed bags". assault packs with 1600 rounds 5.56 in stripper clips. and 8 200 belt 5.56 boxes (tied down obviously) and the 240's matching the SAW's. also as many frags and smokes and "bangers" as we can store in the truck and gunners hatch.
Your content is great, please keep it up. You're a little quiet, please increase the volume.
Pretty sure you're a little deaf
This video is very informative, and has answered a number of questions I've had. I came across a factoid from another video that the para troupers that landed on June 5 in Normandy were carrying 140 pounds of supplies EACH when they jumped. They were expecting to fight for three days before there would be any chance of relief or resupply.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
As a former collector of GI web gear I was told that few, if any 5-cell pouches wereever issued for the 30-rd SMG magazines. There WERE three-cell canvas pouches for the 30-round mags and some GIs and/or Marines cut the top flaps off the five-cell 20 rd mag pouches to allow the 30 rd magazines to fit (although with the added risk of the mags falling out. Nice video!
If I'm not mistaken, in saving private ryan tom Hanks had a 5rd cell pouch with 30rd clips, plus he would pull more clips out of the inside of his jacket.
You actually used “ clip “ and “ magazine “ correctly:)
'clip' and 'magazine' can both fit under the universal term 'gattery', as they all fulfill the function of loading a 'gat'.
@@Leo___________ tell that to a DI in basic lol
Shut up
@@LoneWolf051 Right on Kevin. Like this is my GUN. Weapons can be for example revolver. semi auto pistol, single or double action. . Rifle. bolt action, semi, full auto. Shotguns are pump, semi, single or double barrel. Magazine vs Clip. Clips are for hair. Bullets vs Cartridges . one is the projectile the latter is an actual functioning unit. Bullet, case, powder, primer. machine gun vs sub machine gun. The latter uses pistol cartridges. My favorite. calling a Colt 1911,Glock , etc an automatic instead of semi automatic
@@johnjleszun7409 You should ditch that 1911 and get a Desert Eagle (Deagle), most powerful gun in the world! It has 8 50 mm BMG bullets in the clip (same ammo as the barret auto sniper) so it's illegal according to the geneva convention to use against humans. I you carry this remember to shoot at an attackers phone or watch or something ;) Antimaterial...
My Uncle Gerald told me that no marine in his right mind wanted to be assigned a BAR. LIFE EXPECTATION WAS GREATLY SNORTENED
I have just found your channel. Watching in the UK and enjoying it. I love your intro to this video!
Lol love the garand thumb intro. Instantly subscribed
These videos are just as amazing as your posters and Instagram posts, please keep it up
Glad you like them!
I’m US Army Infantry 1966 and we were always told that all USMC Infantry squads also had a still photographer assigned. And each Platoon had a motion picture cameraman assigned. Haha
That’s funny my father was at the 38th parallel in 1953 next to the marines and the joke then was, “how many men in a marine rifle squad? Five men and five photographers “
you just received another probably regular viewer. Cheers m8
Thanks mate!
Reading about jungle fighting in the Pacific and it surprised me the extent of grenade combat. In some cases it was the primary arm, no one wanted to expose themselves to fire a rifle. Much of the time the side with the high ground had a significant advantage as they could throw/roll grenades farther. Many fights were turned based on the number of hand grenades dragged up/down mountains or through jungles.
I reminded me of ww1, where German storm troop tactics sometimes only armed men with a pistol and a bag of grenades, and not always a pistol.
It should be noted that veteran 505th PIR on D-Day did adopt B.A.Rs in their squad set up alongside other variations in the way they organised their squads.
I don't doubt unofficial acquisitions like that were common. The glider infantry were outfitted like regular infantry squads (with BARs), so they would have been around on the ground and somewhere in the division's T/O. For things like this I try to stick with what is most realistic for the by-the-book organizaiton/equipment as that is the most general and I can't possibly account for the thousands of squads that served (plus I don't have data on what an airborne squad with a BAR would have looked like on hand)
Edit: Plus they ended up adding it to the official T/O&E in December 1944 in the build up for Operation Varsity, so it makes sense that there'd be some small scale usage
I'm calling flannel daddy and telling him you shitposted without his permission.
Good video too I guess
I hope he punishes me
@@BattleOrder 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
LOL! On his second tour in Iraq, my brother was the SAW man. I think he said he was issued 600 rounds. He would go to ammo supply and carry 1200 or more!
Kind of strange that the US Army airborne squad had a crew served weapon instead of a BAR. I wonder how strict these units were with thier SOP's. Usually before deployment everyone has to go by the book but once the rounds start flying common sense kicks in and people start improvising. At least that's how my unit was and I imagine WW2 soldier's and Marines adapted much quicker. The only reason we got change things up was because the SF guys in are AO told are commanders that it was stupid not to.
It would be interesting to see the different types of squads that were put together. Usually TMs/FMs just show the basic shit
This is a really great presentation
At a reenactment, we took an original general purpose ammo bag, and fit, I believe, 24 BAR magazines in it. It was definitely at least 18, and I'm pretty sure over 20.
I was interested to see if they carried what we did. They out numbered current infantry squads 12-9. The basic rifleman currently carries 210 rounds I 7 magazines. The 203 had that plus 24 hedp 40mm rounds. The automatic riflemen carried 800 rounds but he was mtoe allowed 1200 rounds in 200 round drums but we never had that much ammo. My squad leaders and I carried 330 rounds. I was also suprised that airborne trooper's didn't jump with their weapons in a 1950 type bag that we jumped with when I was in LRSD. The 1950 Allowed you to insert a 20 round magazine but not a 30 round magazine, so you were issued one 20 round and 7 , 30 round magazines from the arms room when you got to your company
LRS also, E/51st our load out was 13 30rd mags
@@shawnmurphy4069 I didn't serve in a LRS unit in Iraq. I was in 1/24 Infantry Regiment, 1st Bde Combat Team (stryker), 25th Inf Div.
When I was in LRSD we carried 12/30 round magazines and one 20 round magazine. This was in 87-89 for my time with Dco 151 LRSD and I could be confused in my memory between there and Fco 425 LRS, 97-99. I mostly remember me getting scuffed up a lot...no tab, hit the slab...good times.
When I pscd to Lewis I was in the light fighter unit there and we transform later. I was a squad leader in Mosul Iraq and ten magazines was all I had room for on my IBA. The load out was somewhat challenging to figure out how to have enough of what we might need on any given patrol. Weapon, Prc 148 and spare battery, pvs 14 and extra batteries for them, my pac4c, m68, my under gun light and hand held taclight, two ir beacons, ir chem lights, normal chem lights, trama kit, civilian gps, compass, two fragmentation grenades, two flash bang grenades, two smoke grenades one white one colored, water, map and something to write with. I am sure I missed something. But I don't remember carrying body armor in LRS. Of course I don't remember wearing a brain bucket except for green ramp to the ground.
Are you a member of the LRRA? We have an association Facebook page. Its dedicated to keeping the history of LRRPs and LRS alive.
Bruh MoH Airborne and European Assault music is taking me baaaaaaaack
Too right! Straight up chills when each track came on
Love the Medal of Honor music
9:05 so the usmc organization pretty much hasn't changed since WW2
Basically. In the 2020s they're going to add an Assistant Squad Leader and a Squad Systems Operator (for a drone) but the fireteams are going to stay the same (except with optional Carl Gustaf/MAAWS and a M38 SDMR going to guys).
Wow...220 rounds of 30-06? My back is hurting just thinking about it.
Our gunners carry 500-600 rounds of 7.62x51 in their webbing. We basically load our troops to the point they can't run.
Luke Jackson damn... thank god for our military🇺🇸🙏
I think Kirby only reloaded his BAR twice the entire time he carried it on combat!
Lyall Peder: If you haven't watched episodes of Combat recently, do look them up and take another look. Most hold up very well to modern sensibilities and seem accurate to the times. My father who was a WW II Air Corps veteran, refuse to let any of the 'mock' WW II show be watched in his house other than Combat and Twelve O'clock High.
@reverse thrust McHale's Navy, Hogan's Heros, the Gallant Men and all the rest were banned from our TV. My father found no humor in what he had experienced.
@@cdjhyoung the biggest error of Combat, was their ages. Their ages averaged 40 while real life something like 22. Still great show. Watched it with my father, discharged, July 1945.
@@williamgibb5557 I frequently share that complaint about war movies - look at the ages of the actors from Band Of Brothers. But in reality, not all grunts were that young. I think the draft age in WW II was 35, volunteer enlistments ran to age 45. Some platoon members might have been that age. My father landed in England as a 26 year old Second Lieutenant. He was four years older than the Colonel of his squadron.
Yeah I’m watching Combat as we speak. They got a lot of firepower for half a squad. And I noticed Caje is always firing his M-1 left handed. Also his hair is too long. I watch Twelve O’clock High on you tube too, that’s a good show
lol the garand thumb intro got me
what happened?
Good short briefing.
In Urban Combat 1 or 2 in an infantry squad would be tasked as Grenadiers with a musette bag M1936/M36 AKA Light Field Pack with Over the shoulder suspension strap with 24 Mk 2 Fragmentation Grenades for close combat in the rubble. Later in Korea during the Chosen Battle one company expended 2,000 Grenades in 10 minutes up in the northern east flank battle. That will give an idea of usage rates in close combat.
I talked with a couple ‘Nam vets that when on patrol that carried up to 1000+ rounds of 556 in mags, a belt of 7.62, 10 grenades, pistol with some mags, poncho, cigarettes, and gum. Mag pouches were ditched and they carried 30 round mags in 2qt canteen carriers.
I bet there were guys like this in WW2 with a rucksack packed just with BAR mags and grenades.
Keep up the great work! Semper Fi
I've got a couple metal ammo boxes which carried 192 rds in cloth bandoleers. Dad was in WW2, KOREA and Vietnam and he generally carried what you list her for an Army rifleman in WW2. of course if they could they carried spare ammo boxes, and of course vehicles carried extra ammo.
The Garand thumb intro though 😂😂😂
Immediately subscribed
Glad to have you :p
I served in OIF and had to hump an entire ICU with full kit, basic combat load, and m16. It was in Uday's Palace. I'm glad I didn't break my ankle that day. Also had an opportunity to use that Gold toilet........
@Kyle Reese Hahaha, yeah, that toilet. Hahahaha!
Thank you to all who served. My freedom was never easygoing.
I was a Corpsman in the FMF.
We were taught in Field Med School ( Pendleton or Lejeune ) by HM’s from the Fleet and 03’s.
We were taught to never carry a magazine fully loaded.
Thus a Rifle mag was 28 round , a Pistol 12-14.
Was that taught to others ? As I read the comments Combat Vets carried 30 and 15 respectively
Depends on type of magazine and type of firearm. When I started out way back in the days we always underloaded the metal mags we were issued with one or two rounds. Now a days with the plastic ones we have it's not needed, only gotta make sure you don't put one or two extra in by mistake.
But it's not a bad habit to have.
It's not a
You just earned a subscription, how ever I would have to get out a calculator to convert pounds to kilograms so I can understand how much this stuff actually weighs. Also just a thought maybe have a summary page where it has all their equipment on the left and the tabulated data of all the equipment at a glance, after the neat graphics of course?
Hey buddy, about 2.2 lbs to you kilo. Hope that helps make it easy for you. John
A LOT easier than Klics and miles...!
Really helpful. Thanks!!
Great animations in this video.
I was lucky enough to shoot a
BAR at Camp Pendleton in the
Spring of 1963! Love it❤
Just remember those are the official loads
Unofficially more ammunition was often carried if circumstances demanded
Wonderful channel.
Good video
They had the sergeants of the USMC colts 1911?
after ww2 can you do like cold war vietnam or korea ? btw love ur content and i followed ur IG
Yes! We plan to cover material from all over the 19th to 21st century
Great Video
Flannel daddy is a legend
How was ammo issued for BARs? Rifle ammo came in 8 rd clips, but BARs didn't use those clips. Did they issue separate ammo, or did they take ammo out of clips to load into BAR mags? How about MGs? did the ammo come pre loaded in disposable belts, or were they expected to save belts and reload them?
Bars and M1919 used same ammo, Garand used clips, BAR used Mags, and M1919 used a belt. Bar can’t used Garand clips,
@@noodles5438 I know that. That's the whole point. Garand ammo comes in clips. Modern mg ammo comes in disintegrating link belts. In the old days with cloth belts I believe the belts were reusable. So did mg gunners reload cloth belts from lose Rds, or did mg ammo come prepacked in new belts? Then you have BAR gunners. Did they have magazine charging tools like we had with our FALs? If they did then their ammo would have to come packed in the same sort of stripper clips that 1903 ammo came in. The quartermaster is now stocking 30 Cal ammo in three different forms. Is that how it happened?
Minute Man Heard some vets say that the M1919 belt would get loose after using it a bit so yes they reused it, and from what I can find on the BAR they did not use a magazines charging tool. Not sure about your last question though, would have to look into that last one.
@@noodles5438 Reloading cloth belts from lose rounds must have been a time consuming, tedious job. I assume after you have done it, that they must have packed the belts into boxes for storage, because the belts are very prone to dirt, and water and are very unwieldy.
I love this content
Pistols were found to be desirable as more quickly gotten in hand after a soldier hit the ground or might get hung up in a tree.
I dont know if this is covered in any other videos you've done. But Id love to see armament carried for Corpsemen / Medics during ww2. Just saw Hacksaw Ridge and it seemd like quite a fuzz for him to be a unarmed medic.
None
Your videos are awsome I can't wait to see more. Is there a place we can send suggestions for future videos?
Thank you! And you can just leave them in the comments
Just subscribed!! Awsome!!!!!!!
Great stuff, cheers
Hehe, good intro! Ima smack that like button
What about the M-3 or M-3A1 grease gun?
What was the ammo load for that sub-machine gun ?
Just curious. A para machine gunner carried a Carbine as secondary weapon, while the Ranger machine gunner carried a handgun. It isn't just about the extra weight, but the trouble to carry another longish weapon as well. What is wrong with a hand gun for personal protection?
And a para Company commander had no handgun? only a knife.
Very interesting. I often wondered what kind of load out the boys had. Considering what they were facing, I think they were well armed.
Increase volume please
I've always seen ww2 from the UK/US side and the Germans as a faceless mass
But after reading Sniper on the Eastern front the book about Sepp Allerberger, and Panzer Commander by von luck my eyes are open.
I got them as ebooks so they didn't cost a lot and Alexa can read them, and I find that relaxing
The underappreciated hero of Panzer Commander was his Opel Cadet staff car. That thing made epic journeys throughout the war!
You need more Flannel.
well done.
Question, mow many rockets of M1A1 or M9 Bazooka they carry?
1:41 It was 1944: you can say "men".
You can never carry enough ammo,carry as much as you can and then carry a little more .every one had to carry a lot of ammo for the mortor team you carried a little extra for them ,then you had to carry a little for the SAR,then what you needed for yourself and then extra for everyone else.Afganistan was a long way from home
first thung you need to do is fix your sound level as you are to quiet
Can you make a video about modern ammo
Awesome!
QUALITY
Thank you!
I know it might not be the most prominent part of the war and not the most interesting, especially for US viewers, but would it be possible for you to make a video about polish infantry squad? Also, you are doing a great job, keep it coming, and I can't wait for the videos showcasing germans.
Mortal sin ! Running out of ammo !
more like a friggin nightmare
How would Armored Infantry or the Rangers differ?
How many much distance needs to take a squad of infantrymen in a trench (in meters)??
You need to steal another TH-camrs volume level.
what did garand thumb do?
Nobody ever complained about losing a firefight because of too little ammo.
I guess this makes you the NEW Flannel Daddy.
;)
I know they where rare but what about shotguns?
Axis and Commonwealth ammo load videos coming in a few weeks
**Two years later **
Well that was a fucking lie.
Riflemen dont carry guns, they carry rifles or weapons. If you get confused they came up with a sweet little poem about it.
What's the difference between the M1 and the M1A1 carbine? Is it just the stock?
I think the M1A1 has a tab on the barrel for a bayonet attachment
Yes, originally, the only difference was the folding stock on the M1A1
ALL HAIL GARAND DADDY!
"Can you handle a cornshucker?"
Good video if I could only hear it
I'm no expert peeps but ill give my insight.
For WW1 and WW2 era warfare this is.
I heard for most military operations they carry for what they most likely encounter. SF and hard-core frontline carry way more than they need.
Example pilots and tank crewman and non frontline units and reccon unit's are up against hard and harsh odds.
Paratroopers and Marines and special forces units sill carry way more as they are outmumbered outgunned and deep behind enemy lines they are up against alot.
Chefs, Engineers, desk monkeys and pilots and tank crewman is a different matter completelty.
Not every regiment or unit is reguarly combat. Pilots and tank crewman live 90% of the time in a tank once they get shelled at or break down they have poor survival odds.
If you crash your plane and only have a small knife and a handgun your odds of survival after a few days decreases.
Surviving against the wilderness and other stuff food ammunition is not only limited but harsher. Trying to fight off search parties and enemy patrols coming after you is nearby impossible.
If a syrian pilot crashes In ISIS held territory sooner or later the place is gonna be crawling around hunting them down in large packs and numbers.
So i heard the standard ammo loads for assualt rifles 30 and 20 rnd magazines Is 180/250 rnds depending on unit and mission.
For 30 rnd magazine SMG or Assault rifles It's between 5-8 loaded magazines 150 to 240 bullets.
Some Austrian and German armies It's 5 mags standars ect. Britain it's 180 or 210.
Some millitarys differ between 5 to 8 30 rnd mags.
I heard 4 major factors In determining how much soldiers carry...
1. Weight and cost- Not high risk and small mission and small unit warfare carry less. Ammo is exspensive so....
2. Odds and statistics
I heard most firefight In Afghanistan highly trained soldier's fire between 1 to 3 mags per firefight. If conserved and fired at a slow rate of fire ammo can last hours.
Most firefights by not very well trained militias and close quarter combat don't use alot of ammo. I heard well trained british troops standard is dropping to 4 mags for not frontline troops and for troops with short and safe missions they carry 4 mags.
British troops our troops are way better trained and equipped and conserve ammo compared to other nations. American and some european militas fire bullets like its going out of fashion.
I think for British troops it's 4 to 12 mags on front of soldier ect otherless not trained and average militarys carry way more.
Leading back to odds and stats im sure soldiers will take notes on how much they use in differrnt situations.
For self defence In USA they are stats
1. Most civilians will fire between 1 to 10 bullets per assualt/robbery/fights/attemped rapes ect.
Any Firefights for civilians reaching above 8 to 10 shots is extremely rare.
Most firefights for US citizens are between 1 to 5 bullets per defence case.
1 to 7 seconds long and between 1 to 10 yards away.
Needing to reload is unheard of needing more than or 3 or 4 times is next to never with civilians.
Needing to reload more than twice Is almost never likely.
So i think standard for sidearms Is 30-60 rndss.
Those were massive loads XD
Thanks....
Hard to hear volume low .