It's always a pleasure coming to the Royal Armouries to fire weapons from historical periods! If you enjoyed this video, hit the like button and stay tuned for part two, where Luke and Jonathan will be shooting the weapons of the Wehrmacht. 🔥🔥🔥
The concept of how serious a wound is and how triage is approached in relation to the time you were shot through out history is interesting though. Maybe even worth its own video.
British people talking about others getting shot: "A bullet anywhere on the body is going to be a problem" British people talking about the time they were shot: "What? This big hole in me chest? Nah, it's fine, no need to bother the doctor over it."
Woah, it’s THE Royal Armouries museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history that Johnathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history works at!
I see History Hit and Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history I watch.
It's quite nice of Jonathan Ferguson The Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armories Museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history, to do these videos. he is an icon.
I'm a former US Marine. In our initial instruction on the M1911, we were told that the heavy, slow.- moving round was an answer to the thick bamboo-and-tree-bark armor which Philippine insurgents wore during and after the Spanish-American War. Even in the World wars, against modern armies, the heavy slug would inflict more damage than did a high-velocity .38 or 9mm one.
Those were Moro rebels. And other Filipinos had to fight them as well. It was during that campaign that the first Asian and Filipino to earn a Medal of Honor happened (Jose Nisperos)
I did hear that the AK47 had something of an advantage in Vietnam because it had heavier slower rounds than the M16's high velocity rounds. So it had more of a chance of shooting through vegetation like bamboo and branches if they were in the way
Wow, the Garand they feature here is an early gas trap version, ever-so-rare today as almost all were converted to gas port configuration before & early on in the US involvement in WWII. There are less than 200 gas traps in existence today. I own 3 M1 Garands myself, including 2 early Springfield Garands (September 1941 & June 1942 manufactured rifles) witn one in original and one restored to original configuration, but I've never even seen a gas trap in person. I'd love hearing the back story on how that early weapon wound up in Great Britain. Keep up the good work gents!
That gas trap Garand was a neat surprise. Definitely a rare bird. I have a few M1 Garands and my favorite one is my early May 1941 example I got by chance from the CMP.
One of the uses for the Thompson was as a tank crew weapon when they had to dismount. It gave them something more substantial than a simple sidearm, but not so big as to be awkward to keep inside the tank. It was later replaced in that role by the cheaper M3.
For those asking where the BAR and M1 Carbine are, it entirely possible Jonathan doesn’t have any examples he is willing to fire. Carbines are notorious for having their extractors break after a period of time, so it’s possible he didn’t want to damage an original gun. The BAR, I assume it’s possible due to the range limitations and safety. Having fired a BAR from the bipod and shoulder, the gun is fairly controllable, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can push you back. Don’t want to shoot an area of the wall not reinforced and have a stray .30-06 round flying through. Keep in mind this is all speculation.
@@Vladpryde BARs are pretty widely available on the collector’s machine gun market in the USA. There’s over 100,000 machine guns on the transferable list, and there’s a decent amount of BARs. A lot of them were surplused to police forces and they ended up on the transferable machine gun market. Now, if it’s transferable, meaning anyone willing to go through the NFA process can buy it, then it’s definitely worth somewhere around that amount given it’s (presumably) a direct sale. When it comes to the BAR in the UK however, we have a bit of a different problem. BARs were issued out to the Home Guard under Lend Lease, but a lot of those also made it back to the States. I believe it was around 20,000 BARs were leased out. Compared that to the 87,000 Garands given to the Home Guard, and the fact that the British purchased the Thompson and 1911 directly, the BAR was a much more rare sight in the UK. Lack of available parts and not wanting to wear out/risk damaging original parts can be a very real reason not to shoot the gun.
@@ianbeedles1329 wow, even when part of the military, the gov’t cucks you in limiting your ammunition supply when firing cool guns. That being said, it is a very fun gun to shoot and one of my favorites. There’s a range in my state that rents one out to people. It’s pricey, but not nearly as pricey as owning the thing.
Jonathon has such a great understanding of firearms. He’s a bridge for Europeans who don’t have as much or any exposure to firearms on educating them on the mechanics and manual of arms of firearms. As a westerner it’s very refreshing and impressive to see how well he educates and handles all firearms.
@@robertwoodroffe123 My dad liked the Springfield as well. When he went to Vietnam they gave him an M-16. He was not happy, he preferred the stopping power of the older weapons.
If anyone is thinking of visiting The Royal Armouries in Leeds, I can thoroughly recommend it. It's probably the best museum I've visited. Let's be honest, any museum that has a Vickers machine gun set up in the lobby for visitors to fire ( electronically at a screen) has got to have a lot going for it. The whole place is a fantastic fantastic study in the history of weaponry, from the medieval to the present day
@@HistoryHit Please do keep it in mind, those of us who have tinnitus from shooting too much or other circumstances can be greatly pained by the fake ringing, it sets our ears to ring; we have to pause the video and wait for our ears to stop screaming at us and then we can continue to watch.
Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history, is looking rather dapper this episode.
Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history*
Rubbish. Just about any flintlock looks miles better. The 1911 has an unmistakable utilitarian charm, but it's just a tool, whereas certain handguns are unique, bona fide works of art.
@@alexanderhowarth6460 Can we agree that both are works of art? I also enjoy the craftsmanship put into flintlock pistols, but I should have specified modern handguns.
I visited a military museum just last week, and even seeing flintlocks and muskets up close, the m1911 gives me a childish excitement by just looking and watching it. I love the design so much, it's so bloody good.
@@Ash_Hudson no, art is by definition design for design's sake. I could grant you that 1911s are beautiful without granting that they are art. When I talk about a gun as a work of art, I'm really talking about the engravings and decorations you see on pistols made for royalty and that sort of thing. Gold etching and so on. I can see this comment becoming a pretentious essay on art and style and what makes the 1911 so iconic, so it's probably best I stop here, I regret replying in the first place. I'm glad you like the 1911, so do I.
My late father was an officer in the Army Ordnance Corps in WW2. Having been assigned in various capacities of testing captured Axis weapons and new American small arms, he opined that the best U.S. long arm was the M-2 Carbine (a selectable full/semi auto version of the ubiquitous M-1). The absolute worst being the M-3 "Grease Gun". He was an advocate of the 9mm (used by Germany & Italy) because of it's inherent accuracy and the ability of the average user to fire it more accurately in rapid fire than the 1911A1 in .45. The least accurate was the British Enfield Mk 3 .38/200 revolver, for several reasons. He was impressed with the Lee Enfield. 303 Jungle Carbine. His absolute favorite was the Springfield 1903A3-03
As a Brit that lives in the US and is able to own firearms.. I have to say the M1 Garand is the greatest rifle of all time. It's truly genius. No wonder the Americans were such a powerful force in WW2.
Will we also be getting similar, yet separate episodes on shooting British, German, Japanese, and Russian weapons? As well as some of the few other weapons used by countries like Canada and Australia etc in addition to their standard issue British weaponry?
Also if possible I'd love to see weapons from smaller countries actively involved in the war who had their own designs and not just the commonwealth ones.
I,have,a,Springfield,armory,stainles,steel,TRP,and,I,looge,it!I,feel,it,makes,me,a,beter,shot. I,don’t.let.many.trangers.shoot.it.but.when,they,frequently,say,the,same,thing.As,you probably,knowthe,the,TRP,inased,on,TheOpeerator,Springfield,created,for,the,F BbI,hostage,rescue,team,the,HRC.The,TRrP,has,much,less.hand,fitting,thann,the,Operator,to,make,it,more accessible,for,the,average,shooter Thank you for the video
@SampoPaalanen These weapons are often very rare, and their ammo is also very hard to find. As an example, the Mannlicher-Schönauer is basically extinct in it's original 6.5 chambering.
Jonathan is always a class act, and your doc style of a concise overview is well presented and fun to watch even though I was familiar with the subject already.
You actually don't realize how iconic American WWII firearms are until they're next to each other. And there's plenty missing, the BAR, M1 carbine, the 1897 trench gun, M1 grease gun etc etc
Really well done. Appreciate you paying homage as I sit around watching this clutching my SMLE, K98K and M1 Carbine. Reminds me there's plenty more to add to the collection
Yours? The garand is Canadian ergo British via the Commonwealth, the M1903 is a cheap tacky copyright infringement not only copying Paul Mausers Gewehr 1898 but also infringing on DWMs Spitzer rounds. The 1911 is a laughing stock, at least 10 iterations were developed while it competed directly with the Luger (designed and perfected in 1898) which ultimately saw all the greatest features from the Luger copied over as the yanks had to keep moving the goalposts to stroke their nationalist egos. Well done for the Thompson I guess, built around a flawed concept, that of the Blish Principle, but it works despite being chambered in an awful calibre. Not much to take pride in, it's just theft mixed with mediocrity, nationalism and excessive amounts of lard.
We sent hundreds of thousands of various firearms in various calibers to the Brits in World War II, they literally wanted anything and everything they could get their hands on fearing that they would be invaded early on in the war, the home guard had a little bit of everything issued to them.
@@andrewince8824 True about the Mauser, however, the Garand was an American project although the designer was Canadian born, the 1911 has nothing in common with the Luger at all, the Luger is actually a very poor combat pistol, was prone to failure and was exceptionally expensive to make, the .45acp sure was better than that 38-200 anemic Brit revolver caliber, your knowledge is not as good as you think it is and is actually at fault, sounds like you have a little anger problem there fella, what’s wrong?, some Yank pound your backside?😂
@@andrewince8824 you seem like one of those guys that would say the F22 isn't anything to boast about. Because if it wasn't for the Germans. Fighter jets wouldn't be a thing. Just say you don't like the USA dude.
Always love it when Brits upload videos on firearms. Something about the presentation I just love. Not to mention they are actually decent shots and value marksmanship over theatrical bs.
We marched, drilled and did PT with deactivated M1s in US Navy bootcamp in the 80s so I can say I carried an M1 in the military. Never did fire one. Also had training on the 1911, but didn't fire one of those either!
I would hazard to guess that if you did fire it in anger, that by the time you’d emptied the gun and your enemy had fired his gun, no one is going to hear the “ting” of your empty clip because everyone’s ears will be deadened and probably ringing too😁
Thanks for your service.... It is because of persons like you that my family and I sleep well each night in suburbia..... Because we know that you've got our backs! 🙂 Thanks again.
@@MrMightyZ My father and his 2 brothers were First Lieutenants from ROTC. They served rather safe and "cushy" positions in the 1950's. My aunt's husband though, he worked his way up to Seargeant in the 1901 Bomb group in Korea. He was a photographer. He not only took tactical images for the service but he also other, public image /war confidence images for the war effort. Knowing he was closest to the heat, than my other uncles, I asked him about the use of his side arm. --He said only once. He explained that it was late one night, as he was working in the photo lab: This big, hairy rat kept scurrying past the door nearby. Every couple minutes and that dirty rat would come by again. Having had enough of this distraction,, my uncle said he pulled his side arm from his belt and set it upon the table. The next time that annoying rat came by..... "Boom!" uncle says he blasted that dirty stinker into the middle of next week! 😀 It did leave a bit of a mess there, in the hall, but uncle says he eventually signed out and went to his barracks. He was woken a few hours later though. His superior officer wanted to see him. At that office, with his superior officer and the next higher ranking officer on base, they questioned my uncle about the big hole in the wall of the office across the hall from the photo lab. My uncle says he explained it just as he /I did here and the young officers could barely keep a straight face! He was eventually advized, "Next time, Seargeant..... Request a trap!" He was then dismissed. My uncle told me that he could still hear their laughter all the way down the hall where he finally exited the building. 😀
@@LG-ro5leYou just marched with that weapon. You were taught to shoot with the actual service weapon. When I was in Navy Boot in the 90s some units would march with M14s since they weren't used in service, like M1s had been retired for the other gentleman. When we went to the range we shot the M16A1.
That’s an early gas trap M1, excellent piece to have in your collection! I have an M1 Garand, M1 carbine, a 1911 and had several 1903/A3s and I love them all. I’ve fired an M1A1 Thompson, she was heavy but controllable.
Apropos of the Thompson. In basic my father had an idiot Sargent who said that the kick of the Thompson was so light you could put it against your chin and fire it. He then proceeded to demonstrate but instead of putting it in single shot mode he put it in full auto and pulled the trigger. The guy knocked out most of his teeth.
I've been binge-watching all the History Hit vids in this oeuvre over the last few days. While the content is great (as so many others have said), I also want to mention that Luke is a great presenter, very clear and personable, and obviously with great passion and background knowledge for every single era, object and location he looks at.
You guys forgot the M1 Carbine, I live in the USA and I own M1 Garand, M1903, M1911, British 303, German Mauser and M1 carbine, the M1 carbine is my favorite, lots of fun to shoot.
Lots of folks like to throw shade at the M1 (.30 carbine), for being ineffective, but no one that's ever 'Caught' one of those projectiles would be amongst them! For lighter weight/recoil (Which usually meant better accuracy from the shooter), the terrain they were meant to fight in was against them. Jungle warfare is hell on lighter cartridges/projectiles.
The M1 Carbine is my favorite hiking, vehicle and home defense weapon. So easy to sling over your shoulder. Light and easy to handle. Powerful PDW with .30. Carbine compared to pistol ammo
Absolutely great video. I think you should've added 2 other weapons to the list - the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and the M1 Carbine. According to the movie "To Hell and Back," Audie Murphy preferred the Thompson. In one scene he tells someone to give his Thompson back. I believe he was still a sergeant at the time. In the TV series "Combat," with Vic Morrow, Morrow carries a Thompson. My grandfather, who fought through much of WWII in Europe, said it was a very accurate portrayal, right down to the smallest guy carrying the BAR. My grandfather used the BAR and he was a small man. In several movies, I've seen where people carrying a Thompson would tape 3 magazines together. The 2 on the outside were oriented opposite to the one in the middle. This meant they could reload very quickly by just ejecting the expended magazine, flip them over and insert a fully loaded magazine. Admittedly, that adds a lot of weight, but gives you 90 rounds of almost continuous fire. Comment? In 1968 I went to Navy boot camp. We were issued Springfields that had been filled with lead to approximate the weight of the M1 Garand. We did our rifle qualifications using the Garand. While I didn't shoot very well, I rather liked the Garand.
Not really. It was very much a first generation submachine even in its simplified state. As a mass production military weapon it was very much behind the M3 Grease Gun.
@@IvanPrintsGunsActually it was around in the 20s. Technically was a gun that started in 1918 before the end of ww1. The early Thompsons had a cumbersome weight which was the biggest complaint. In ww2, it would shoot within nice close patterns, but was still a bit chunky. The main point however was the reduced spray pattern and the ability to shoot tight groups. Certainly by the end of ww2, it was up there with the STG44
The 1911 is still heavily used today by citizens among the United States (myself included) and even a lot of Law Enforcement, especially in states like Texas (a lot of Texas Rangers still select it and that still trickles down into local police and sheriff departments). Not a majority in Law Enforcement, but more than enough to be noticed. Just about every major and minor firearms manufacturer makes their own labeled version of the 1911.
My county Sheriff Dept issues Glocks. The county south of me lets their officers carry whatever they can qualify with, and most of those guys carry 1911s.
The 1911 has always been my favorite pistol ever since I played Call of Duty back in 2010. I thank video games for giving my love and fascination of guns.
If you ever take a Garand apart, you will see that the design is pure genius. It's a rifle that you can sleep with in the snow and mud for weeks at a time and it will spit out 30-06 rounds without a stoppage. Speaking of which, shooting 30-06 rounds with a Garand is easy - the rifle soaks up a lot of the recoil.
I feel somewhat sad for Jonathan when he says shooting a Garand is a rare occurrence for him. Here in the USA, the government sells civilians M1 Garands through the CMP. You can buy one in any state.
Semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and carbines have been prohibited for civilian use here in UK since 1986 - we have the Hungerford Massacre to thank for that.
Sure you can, if you’re lucky enough and have enough money to get one. Effective October 1, 2023, the CMP’s new yearly limit on M1 Garands will be 6 per calendar year..” Prices are anywhere from 750~3 or 4K.
@@Bagledog5000 yes, there’s hurdles to jump through, but Garands are still fairly abundant on the civvie market. They are going up in price. However, all of that can be eliminated if we bringback the 80,000 Garands from Korea that were supposed to come back but Obama blocked it and no one has done anything about them since. Hell, even if you don’t want to go through the CMP, I got mine for $1,500. The top quality CMP ones, last time I checked, go for around $1,750. Also, NO ONE should pay $3,000 for a barebones M1 Garand (unless it’s the sniper versions or the gas trap models, or it has specific provenance), just because some fudd lists his M1 on Gunbroker for $3,000 doesn’t mean the gun is actually worth that much. Also, the limit is six guns per individual, which isn’t a problem for anyone other than Garand collectors or paranoid boomers that still believe in “mUh sToPpIng pOwEr.”
@@Bagledog5000 We only have so much surplus.. CMP has been selling Garands forever so it only makes sense as time goes by that we run out of milsurp rifles and the price will go up. It's too bad.. I kinda missed my chance, but there are still plenty of Garands out there outside of CMP! At this point they're historic items and just like an SKS or Mosin, the price is gonna explode.
Fantasic to see a collab with my favorite British youtuber, Jonathan Ferguson keeper of firearms and artillery at the royal armouries museum in the UK.
'Old' hardly means 'Inadequate'! 🙂 I have friends who use black powder pistols/rifles, and 'I' sure's Hell wouldn't want to catch anything they're throwing! One thing to note regarding the semi-auto vs revolver capacity? Reload time. You can swap magazines FAR faster than it takes to manually reload a revolver. 😀
Esp. if you have a wound to your arm, hand or shoulder. You put the pistol between your legs and reload (one working arm helps though) just one example.
Awesome. I'm a historic firearms collector with 96 in my stable. Most are loaned out to museums. I have multiples of a few and I keep a few really special ones with me.
That was a beautiful group, Jonathan, with the 1911. When I fam-fired the Colt in 1976 in Boot Camp, I was issued a pistol whose slide was so loose it would visibly wobble side to side when in battery. I still was able to fire a group at 10 yards that was only twice the diameter of your own.
I know y'all are going for effect, but please, if doing future episodes, stay away from the ringing sound effect. As someone who suffers from tinnitus, it is not appreciated to wonder if it's me or the program.
If Jonathan's a guest, I'm watching. This is an outstanding series. Excellent work educating in an entertaining fashion! Gotta get the cameraman eye pro to protect against extracted shell cases.
my father was in the ministry of supply during the war, regarding the thompson was to expensive colt made 300 percent profit on each one which put it out of the budget for general use in the british forces
First gun I ever fired my grnadads M1 Garand that he carried through North Africa, Sicily and Italy then through France and Germany, he taught me how to shoot with it as well as strip it, clean it, reassemble it as well, by the time he was done I hitting targets at 300 yards with it iron site.
Let freedom ping! My favorite rifle is my M1. For a combat rifle, it's reasonably accurate, quick to reload, reliable, and semi auto. It's also got the best trigger and sights of any battle rifle. Probably the best thing we gave our infantry troops.
Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history❤
When I went to Vegas to shoot some guns at a firing range, as a Brit who’d never shot a gun in his life, I shot an M1911 colt and Thompson and it was pretty bloody magical! The M1911 was fantastic, it’s so simple to fire and had a hefty wallop. I understood why so many forces used it as a reliable sidearm for so long. The Thompson made me feel like a commando, or gangster, in its rate of fire. I would love to fire a garand one day and hear the ‘ping’ when a clip is finished! I really admire this era of weaponry.
1) US Maines held on to the M1903 so long because they initially rejected the M1. It wasn't until the front line troops demanded Garands after sampling ones "borrowed" from the Army on Guadalcanal that they revered position. 2) Every Army Rifle Squad had a designated grenadier. Problem was that the M1 grenade launcher ran into problems and wasn't adopted until late in WW2. Some grenadiers were carrying M19003s to launch grenades as late as the Okinawa campaign. 3) The M1903 IS a Mauser. The US had to pay Mauser a license fee and a royalty for each rifle manufactured after it lost in court. Even in WW1 the US continued paying royalties - into a special bank account that held the payments until after the war 4) The British had the opportunity to adopt the M1, but - after trials - rejected it. 5) Thompson - shown is either a M1 or M1A1 -simplified for production purposes - that did not accept the drum magazines (heavy, awkward and difficult and time consuming to reload). The original gun, the M1921 sold so poorly that only one batch was made and Auto-Ordnance was still selling M1921's updated to M1928's (forward pistol grip replaced by horizonal one and some simplification) until 1939, when the contracts rolled in (along with those lovely Pounds and Francs) from France and Britain (who took over the French contracts). 6) By mid-WW2 the US Army issued a submachine gun (M1 or M3) to Rifle Squad leaders.
They left out the M1 Carbine, which kinda foreshadowed the future of battlefield weapons, intermediate cartridge, semi-auto fire. The plain fact is during WWII the US had an amazing array of terrific small arms weapons.
Snipers don’t generally “sniper duel” like the movies. At least between two equally skilled snipers (vs some yokel or teenager with a scoped rifle, they’re toast) You’ll keep yourself safe, get as close as you reasonably can to the point where you’re pretty sure you know where they are, and call on artillery or air support to turn their entire surroundings into concrete confetti. Either the sniper dies or retreats, and the normal infantry can advance safely and secure the area. Rinse and repeat until you win the war
Too bad you didn't have M3 Grease Gun on this video. Still it is always good to see Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK doing excellent content.
M1 Garand....such a beautiful weapon. That puppy kicks like a mule though. I joined the Army in 1984 & we had M16A1's. My buddy had a Garand & we cooked off a few hundred rounds at the range with it. I LOVED it. Load it with your palm, NOT your thumb....unless you didn't like having thumbs.
I just wanted to say that your channel's logo is that of a Kung Fu movie production company based out of HK in the 70s. It was called Ho Hua films, I think.
We as members of a historical museum had a range day with historical Allied weapons and I must say my favorite was the Garand it was the first time I had fired one! next to the Enfield. What a lovely weapon. and accurate. Sorry I am Canadian and proud of our Military heritage. This was one of the Americans better weapon inventions for the war.
The full auto mode for the Thompson is for cover fire or to sweep a human wave formation with a lot of the enemy coming at you in mass and you fire from the hip sweeping back and forth.
When I was serving as a Combat Engineer in 84-86 our C.O and 1SGT were carrying ancient 45s with very little bluing left on them most likely used in Vietmam.
Nice shooting with the 1911 and Thompson. I own both an M1 Thompson and 1928 Thompson, fully functional. They're worth about $30,000 and $35,000 respectively. It's good to be American.
With regard to the M1911, you overlooked SPEED OF RELOADING. It takes only a seconds to drop a magazine and inset another, pull back the slide, and you're ready to go; MUCH LESS than reloading six chambers of a revolver.
It's always a pleasure coming to the Royal Armouries to fire weapons from historical periods! If you enjoyed this video, hit the like button and stay tuned for part two, where Luke and Jonathan will be shooting the weapons of the Wehrmacht. 🔥🔥🔥
W Wehrmacht.
@BigIron-mz4qp interesting thing to say 🤨📸
No "grease gun"? The M3 gets the short end of the stick, not as glamourous as the Thompson but far more useful.
You missing the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle in the list here. It served from WW1- early in Vietnam.
no M1 carbine or M3 grease gun or BAR?
They got his name wrong! It's *Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK* .
We're slow on the memes... sorry guys!
Which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history.
@@samzala yup don't forget his surname
77th like.
🥱
"A bullet anywhere on the body is going to be...a problem" The classic British understatement right there.
The concept of how serious a wound is and how triage is approached in relation to the time you were shot through out history is interesting though. Maybe even worth its own video.
Well, we wouldn’t want to make a scene over it would we!
Yep and some problems are worse than others. :D
I love how the British are famous for their dry humor and their humorous understatements lol
British people talking about others getting shot: "A bullet anywhere on the body is going to be a problem"
British people talking about the time they were shot: "What? This big hole in me chest? Nah, it's fine, no need to bother the doctor over it."
Always a pleasure to have you filming on-site, great vid!
Woah, it’s THE Royal Armouries museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history that Johnathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history works at!
Why is there no BAR?🤨
you got any soviet weapons?
I see History Hit and Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history I watch.
Lmao is that a game theory reference
@@GyattRizzler69 Gamespot. It's part of the intro to the firearms expert react series
You have to use his full title every time ahaha
@@parallel-knight yes
@@parallel-knight As he should!
It's quite nice of Jonathan Ferguson The Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armories Museum in the UK, home to thousands of iconic weapons throughout history, to do these videos. he is an icon.
“A bullet anywhere in the body is going to be a problem”
Wise words to live by.
Classic British observation. I love it.
That is Jonathan Ferguson, KOFAAATRAMITUKWHACOTOIWFTH.
I'm a former US Marine. In our initial instruction on the M1911, we were told that the heavy, slow.- moving round was an answer to the thick bamboo-and-tree-bark armor which Philippine insurgents wore during and after the Spanish-American War. Even in the World wars, against modern armies, the heavy slug would inflict more damage than did a high-velocity .38 or 9mm one.
Those were Moro rebels. And other Filipinos had to fight them as well. It was during that campaign that the first Asian and Filipino to earn a Medal of Honor happened (Jose Nisperos)
Drill Sergant know’s the 🌎
I did hear that the AK47 had something of an advantage in Vietnam because it had heavier slower rounds than the M16's high velocity rounds. So it had more of a chance of shooting through vegetation like bamboo and branches if they were in the way
Tested the pistol rounds in trials on live cows.
45 was the most effective on cows.
@@ivancorey7389 Cows with bamboo and bark on them?
Wow, the Garand they feature here is an early gas trap version, ever-so-rare today as almost all were converted to gas port configuration before & early on in the US involvement in WWII. There are less than 200 gas traps in existence today. I own 3 M1 Garands myself, including 2 early Springfield Garands (September 1941 & June 1942 manufactured rifles) witn one in original and one restored to original configuration, but I've never even seen a gas trap in person. I'd love hearing the back story on how that early weapon wound up in Great Britain.
Keep up the good work gents!
It was probably a lend-lease gun given to Britain for the Home Guard.
That gas trap Garand was a neat surprise. Definitely a rare bird. I have a few M1 Garands and my favorite one is my early May 1941 example I got by chance from the CMP.
One of the uses for the Thompson was as a tank crew weapon when they had to dismount. It gave them something more substantial than a simple sidearm, but not so big as to be awkward to keep inside the tank. It was later replaced in that role by the cheaper M3.
For those asking where the BAR and M1 Carbine are, it entirely possible Jonathan doesn’t have any examples he is willing to fire. Carbines are notorious for having their extractors break after a period of time, so it’s possible he didn’t want to damage an original gun.
The BAR, I assume it’s possible due to the range limitations and safety. Having fired a BAR from the bipod and shoulder, the gun is fairly controllable, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can push you back. Don’t want to shoot an area of the wall not reinforced and have a stray .30-06 round flying through.
Keep in mind this is all speculation.
It could also be cost? I saw a BAR for sale here in the States, probably the only one, and they wanted $100,000 for it.
@@VladprydeI guess it's less about "cost" and more about value. It's more about replaceability, which is very limited when something is so expensive.
@@Vladpryde BARs are pretty widely available on the collector’s machine gun market in the USA. There’s over 100,000 machine guns on the transferable list, and there’s a decent amount of BARs. A lot of them were surplused to police forces and they ended up on the transferable machine gun market.
Now, if it’s transferable, meaning anyone willing to go through the NFA process can buy it, then it’s definitely worth somewhere around that amount given it’s (presumably) a direct sale.
When it comes to the BAR in the UK however, we have a bit of a different problem. BARs were issued out to the Home Guard under Lend Lease, but a lot of those also made it back to the States. I believe it was around 20,000 BARs were leased out. Compared that to the 87,000 Garands given to the Home Guard, and the fact that the British purchased the Thompson and 1911 directly, the BAR was a much more rare sight in the UK. Lack of available parts and not wanting to wear out/risk damaging original parts can be a very real reason not to shoot the gun.
@@ianbeedles1329 wow, even when part of the military, the gov’t cucks you in limiting your ammunition supply when firing cool guns. That being said, it is a very fun gun to shoot and one of my favorites. There’s a range in my state that rents one out to people. It’s pricey, but not nearly as pricey as owning the thing.
Sorry, accidentally deleted my comment (blame fat fingers on a small screen 😀).
Really enjoying this series of you guys and Jonathon firing historic firearms.
Unfortunate the BAR wasnt included in the list, but still a great video!
Or the M1 Carbine
I noticed.
@@lavrentivs9891 Or the M3 Grease gun.
Hopefully, we will see the BAR in a WWI video
or the m2 carbine
Jonathon has such a great understanding of firearms. He’s a bridge for Europeans who don’t have as much or any exposure to firearms on educating them on the mechanics and manual of arms of firearms. As a westerner it’s very refreshing and impressive to see how well he educates and handles all firearms.
Great to see Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK on History Hit.
My father served in both ww2 and Korea. He had the highest regard for the 1911 .45 and the M-1
So M1 Garand !? or M1 carbine , M1 ( 1942’) Thompson,
@@robertwoodroffe123 the garand
@@loudelk99 had one ☝️ Springfield mfg from Italian campaign
@@robertwoodroffe123 My dad liked the Springfield as well. When he went to Vietnam they gave him an M-16. He was not happy, he preferred the stopping power of the older weapons.
@@loudelk99 M14 would have worked
If anyone is thinking of visiting The Royal Armouries in Leeds, I can thoroughly recommend it. It's probably the best museum I've visited. Let's be honest, any museum that has a Vickers machine gun set up in the lobby for visitors to fire ( electronically at a screen) has got to have a lot going for it. The whole place is a fantastic fantastic study in the history of weaponry, from the medieval to the present day
Wouldn't that break the screen, electronically?
😂😂😂😂@@maxlumens9085
I question the necessity of editing in fake tinnitus to the video.
The dramatic music was a bit much at times as well.
That what was it then. I was starting to worry that mine got suddenly worse ahahahah
For a Brit, 1 man firing a gun in a basement is a traumatizing event.
That was really annoying
Yeah that could go. I already have it in real life pretty bad, no need for it to be simulated.
We can do away with that ringing after firing next video guys lol
Thanks for the feedback. We'll bear this in mind for the next video.
@@HistoryHit Please do keep it in mind, those of us who have tinnitus from shooting too much or other circumstances can be greatly pained by the fake ringing, it sets our ears to ring; we have to pause the video and wait for our ears to stop screaming at us and then we can continue to watch.
What in the world made someone think that was even remotely a good idea to add???
Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of firearms and artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history, is looking rather dapper this episode.
Jonathan Ferguson is an absolute diamond fella !!! would love to have a bit crack with him !!!
Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history*
Crack kills.
The 1911 is absolutely without a doubt the most beautiful handgun ever made.
Rubbish. Just about any flintlock looks miles better. The 1911 has an unmistakable utilitarian charm, but it's just a tool, whereas certain handguns are unique, bona fide works of art.
@@alexanderhowarth6460 Can we agree that both are works of art? I also enjoy the craftsmanship put into flintlock pistols, but I should have specified modern handguns.
It is the handgun to which almost all modern handguns are modeled after.
I visited a military museum just last week, and even seeing flintlocks and muskets up close, the m1911 gives me a childish excitement by just looking and watching it. I love the design so much, it's so bloody good.
@@Ash_Hudson no, art is by definition design for design's sake. I could grant you that 1911s are beautiful without granting that they are art. When I talk about a gun as a work of art, I'm really talking about the engravings and decorations you see on pistols made for royalty and that sort of thing. Gold etching and so on. I can see this comment becoming a pretentious essay on art and style and what makes the 1911 so iconic, so it's probably best I stop here, I regret replying in the first place. I'm glad you like the 1911, so do I.
My late father was an officer in the Army Ordnance Corps in WW2. Having been assigned in various capacities of testing captured Axis weapons and new American small arms, he opined that the best U.S. long arm was the M-2 Carbine (a selectable full/semi auto version of the ubiquitous M-1). The absolute worst being the M-3 "Grease Gun". He was an advocate of the 9mm (used by Germany & Italy) because of it's inherent accuracy and the ability of the average user to fire it more accurately in rapid fire than the 1911A1 in .45. The least accurate was the British Enfield Mk 3 .38/200 revolver, for several reasons. He was impressed with the Lee Enfield. 303 Jungle Carbine. His absolute favorite was the Springfield 1903A3-03
One thing worth mentioning - one man played a part in either the development of each weapon, or the cartridge they fired- John T Thompson
As a Brit that lives in the US and is able to own firearms.. I have to say the M1 Garand is the greatest rifle of all time. It's truly genius. No wonder the Americans were such a powerful force in WW2.
Lived in the USA back the 80s great time for a gun enthuist
@@VillyVassel-eo3qo I'm sad I missed all the affordable milsurps.
Will we also be getting similar, yet separate episodes on shooting British, German, Japanese, and Russian weapons? As well as some of the few other weapons used by countries like Canada and Australia etc in addition to their standard issue British weaponry?
Also if possible I'd love to see weapons from smaller countries actively involved in the war who had their own designs and not just the commonwealth ones.
I,have,a,Springfield,armory,stainles,steel,TRP,and,I,looge,it!I,feel,it,makes,me,a,beter,shot.
I,don’t.let.many.trangers.shoot.it.but.when,they,frequently,say,the,same,thing.As,you probably,knowthe,the,TRP,inased,on,TheOpeerator,Springfield,created,for,the,F
BbI,hostage,rescue,team,the,HRC.The,TRrP,has,much,less.hand,fitting,thann,the,Operator,to,make,it,more accessible,for,the,average,shooter
Thank you for the video
This would be an amazing series.
@@SampoPaalanen Yup, the Australian Owen gun and the AUSTen, too.
@SampoPaalanen These weapons are often very rare, and their ammo is also very hard to find.
As an example, the Mannlicher-Schönauer is basically extinct in it's original 6.5 chambering.
Great job Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, keep it up!
Dude I love the grouping with the 45 nice!
He even used the period correct grip.
He thinks that more practice and a different hold would improve it !
Jonathan is always a class act, and your doc style of a concise overview is well presented and fun to watch even though I was familiar with the subject already.
You actually don't realize how iconic American WWII firearms are until they're next to each other. And there's plenty missing, the BAR, M1 carbine, the 1897 trench gun, M1 grease gun etc etc
Really well done. Appreciate you paying homage as I sit around watching this clutching my SMLE, K98K and M1 Carbine. Reminds me there's plenty more to add to the collection
Warms my American heart to see our cousins across the Atlantic enjoying our guns.
Thanks for sending us so many in WW2!
Yours? The garand is Canadian ergo British via the Commonwealth, the M1903 is a cheap tacky copyright infringement not only copying Paul Mausers Gewehr 1898 but also infringing on DWMs Spitzer rounds. The 1911 is a laughing stock, at least 10 iterations were developed while it competed directly with the Luger (designed and perfected in 1898) which ultimately saw all the greatest features from the Luger copied over as the yanks had to keep moving the goalposts to stroke their nationalist egos.
Well done for the Thompson I guess, built around a flawed concept, that of the Blish Principle, but it works despite being chambered in an awful calibre.
Not much to take pride in, it's just theft mixed with mediocrity, nationalism and excessive amounts of lard.
We sent hundreds of thousands of various firearms in various calibers to the Brits in World War II, they literally wanted anything and everything they could get their hands on fearing that they would be invaded early on in the war, the home guard had a little bit of everything issued to them.
@@andrewince8824
True about the Mauser, however, the Garand was an American project although the designer was Canadian born, the 1911 has nothing in common with the Luger at all, the Luger is actually a very poor combat pistol, was prone to failure and was exceptionally expensive to make, the .45acp sure was better than that 38-200 anemic Brit revolver caliber, your knowledge is not as good as you think it is and is actually at fault, sounds like you have a little anger problem there fella, what’s wrong?, some Yank pound your backside?😂
@@andrewince8824 you seem like one of those guys that would say the F22 isn't anything to boast about. Because if it wasn't for the Germans. Fighter jets wouldn't be a thing. Just say you don't like the USA dude.
Always love it when Brits upload videos on firearms. Something about the presentation I just love. Not to mention they are actually decent shots and value marksmanship over theatrical bs.
Jonathan Ferguson is a treasure. Thank you, Sir!
We marched, drilled and did PT with deactivated M1s in US Navy bootcamp in the 80s so I can say I carried an M1 in the military. Never did fire one. Also had training on the 1911, but didn't fire one of those either!
I would hazard to guess that if you did fire it in anger, that by the time you’d emptied the gun and your enemy had fired his gun, no one is going to hear the “ting” of your empty clip because everyone’s ears will be deadened and probably ringing too😁
Thanks for your service.... It is because of persons like you that my family and I sleep well each night in suburbia..... Because we know that you've got our backs! 🙂 Thanks again.
@@MrMightyZ My father and his 2 brothers were First Lieutenants from ROTC. They served rather safe and "cushy" positions in the 1950's. My aunt's husband though, he worked his way up to Seargeant in the 1901 Bomb group in Korea. He was a photographer. He not only took tactical images for the service but he also other, public image /war confidence images for the war effort. Knowing he was closest to the heat, than my other uncles, I asked him about the use of his side arm. --He said only once. He explained that it was late one night, as he was working in the photo lab: This big, hairy rat kept scurrying past the door nearby. Every couple minutes and that dirty rat would come by again. Having had enough of this distraction,, my uncle said he pulled his side arm from his belt and set it upon the table. The next time that annoying rat came by..... "Boom!" uncle says he blasted that dirty stinker into the middle of next week! 😀 It did leave a bit of a mess there, in the hall, but uncle says he eventually signed out and went to his barracks. He was woken a few hours later though. His superior officer wanted to see him. At that office, with his superior officer and the next higher ranking officer on base, they questioned my uncle about the big hole in the wall of the office across the hall from the photo lab. My uncle says he explained it just as he /I did here and the young officers could barely keep a straight face! He was eventually advized, "Next time, Seargeant..... Request a trap!" He was then dismissed. My uncle told me that he could still hear their laughter all the way down the hall where he finally exited the building. 😀
What kind of BS ‘training’ is that if they dont even teach you how to fire the weapon
@@LG-ro5leYou just marched with that weapon. You were taught to shoot with the actual service weapon. When I was in Navy Boot in the 90s some units would march with M14s since they weren't used in service, like M1s had been retired for the other gentleman. When we went to the range we shot the M16A1.
That’s an early gas trap M1, excellent piece to have in your collection! I have an M1 Garand, M1 carbine, a 1911 and had several 1903/A3s and I love them all. I’ve fired an M1A1 Thompson, she was heavy but controllable.
Look at the body language of Jonathan after giving the rifle to Luke. 17:28.
For someone who doesn't practice much, that's pretty impressive grouping with the Thompson on full auto! Great demo Jonathan, please do more!
Apropos of the Thompson. In basic my father had an idiot Sargent who said that the kick of the Thompson was so light you could put it against your chin and fire it. He then proceeded to demonstrate but instead of putting it in single shot mode he put it in full auto and pulled the trigger. The guy knocked out most of his teeth.
I've been binge-watching all the History Hit vids in this oeuvre over the last few days. While the content is great (as so many others have said), I also want to mention that Luke is a great presenter, very clear and personable, and obviously with great passion and background knowledge for every single era, object and location he looks at.
You guys forgot the M1 Carbine, I live in the USA and I own M1 Garand, M1903, M1911, British 303, German Mauser and M1 carbine, the M1 carbine is my favorite, lots of fun to shoot.
Lots of folks like to throw shade at the M1 (.30 carbine), for being ineffective, but no one that's ever 'Caught' one of those projectiles would be amongst them! For lighter weight/recoil (Which usually meant better accuracy from the shooter), the terrain they were meant to fight in was against them. Jungle warfare is hell on lighter cartridges/projectiles.
@@AniwayasSongtrue, and the m1 carbine was often carried by special ops and especially medica
Also missing in action is Browning’s BAR.
The M1 Carbine is my favorite hiking, vehicle and home defense weapon. So easy to sling over your shoulder. Light and easy to handle. Powerful PDW with .30. Carbine compared to pistol ammo
How could anyone forget that, Then again the M1 Garand gets all the attention in WWII media and so does the Thompson and BAR
It's nice to see Jonathan actually shoot some of these guns for a change :)
I got my first 1911 Colt 45 when I was 8 years old. It taught patience.
Tom Hanks blew up a tank with it.
As always, very entertaining and educational. Thank you!
Absolutely great video. I think you should've added 2 other weapons to the list - the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and the M1 Carbine. According to the movie "To Hell and Back," Audie Murphy preferred the Thompson. In one scene he tells someone to give his Thompson back. I believe he was still a sergeant at the time. In the TV series "Combat," with Vic Morrow, Morrow carries a Thompson. My grandfather, who fought through much of WWII in Europe, said it was a very accurate portrayal, right down to the smallest guy carrying the BAR. My grandfather used the BAR and he was a small man.
In several movies, I've seen where people carrying a Thompson would tape 3 magazines together. The 2 on the outside were oriented opposite to the one in the middle. This meant they could reload very quickly by just ejecting the expended magazine, flip them over and insert a fully loaded magazine. Admittedly, that adds a lot of weight, but gives you 90 rounds of almost continuous fire. Comment?
In 1968 I went to Navy boot camp. We were issued Springfields that had been filled with lead to approximate the weight of the M1 Garand. We did our rifle qualifications using the Garand. While I didn't shoot very well, I rather liked the Garand.
Love the group that Jonathan got with the M1911A1… especially one handed -very nicely done!
M1 Thompson was way ahead of it's time. The Rate of fire, stability and accuracy is amazing.
Heavy and expensive. But runs fine!
Not really. It was very much a first generation submachine even in its simplified state. As a mass production military weapon it was very much behind the M3 Grease Gun.
The M1 Thompson wasn't developed until 1942, placing it resoundingly behind the SMGs other countries were using. It was hilariously *behind* its time.
No it was not. Having fired Thompsons on multiple occasions, including trying out an M1928A1 and M1A1, they are terrible guns.
@@IvanPrintsGunsActually it was around in the 20s. Technically was a gun that started in 1918 before the end of ww1. The early Thompsons had a cumbersome weight which was the biggest complaint. In ww2, it would shoot within nice close patterns, but was still a bit chunky. The main point however was the reduced spray pattern and the ability to shoot tight groups. Certainly by the end of ww2, it was up there with the STG44
My kink is that I love watching people handle firearms with good trigger discipline.
Dunno if my tinnitus appreciates the fake tinnitus sound effect. 😂
Love the Garand and Thompson! Always have. Grease gun, too, was pretty cool.
The 1911 is still heavily used today by citizens among the United States (myself included) and even a lot of Law Enforcement, especially in states like Texas (a lot of Texas Rangers still select it and that still trickles down into local police and sheriff departments). Not a majority in Law Enforcement, but more than enough to be noticed. Just about every major and minor firearms manufacturer makes their own labeled version of the 1911.
My county Sheriff Dept issues Glocks. The county south of me lets their officers carry whatever they can qualify with, and most of those guys carry 1911s.
The 1911 has always been my favorite pistol ever since I played Call of Duty back in 2010. I thank video games for giving my love and fascination of guns.
One question I have, since you have the Thompson, where is the BAR?
No BAR available to shoot unfortunately.
If you ever take a Garand apart, you will see that the design is pure genius. It's a rifle that you can sleep with in the snow and mud for weeks at a time and it will spit out 30-06 rounds without a stoppage.
Speaking of which, shooting 30-06 rounds with a Garand is easy - the rifle soaks up a lot of the recoil.
I thought my tinnitus was acting up and getting bad, then i realized it was an effect in the video.
Yes, for Gods sake, WEAR YOUR EARPRO
I really like the editing in these two videos. Even better than the ones from last year! 😎👍🏻
I feel somewhat sad for Jonathan when he says shooting a Garand is a rare occurrence for him. Here in the USA, the government sells civilians M1 Garands through the CMP. You can buy one in any state.
Semi-automatic centre-fire rifles and carbines have been prohibited for civilian use here in UK since 1986 - we have the Hungerford Massacre to thank for that.
@@tacfoley4443 I hate that for you.
Sure you can, if you’re lucky enough and have enough money to get one.
Effective October 1, 2023, the CMP’s new yearly limit on M1 Garands will be 6 per calendar year..”
Prices are anywhere from 750~3 or 4K.
@@Bagledog5000 yes, there’s hurdles to jump through, but Garands are still fairly abundant on the civvie market. They are going up in price. However, all of that can be eliminated if we bringback the 80,000 Garands from Korea that were supposed to come back but Obama blocked it and no one has done anything about them since.
Hell, even if you don’t want to go through the CMP, I got mine for $1,500. The top quality CMP ones, last time I checked, go for around $1,750. Also, NO ONE should pay $3,000 for a barebones M1 Garand (unless it’s the sniper versions or the gas trap models, or it has specific provenance), just because some fudd lists his M1 on Gunbroker for $3,000 doesn’t mean the gun is actually worth that much.
Also, the limit is six guns per individual, which isn’t a problem for anyone other than Garand collectors or paranoid boomers that still believe in “mUh sToPpIng pOwEr.”
@@Bagledog5000 We only have so much surplus.. CMP has been selling Garands forever so it only makes sense as time goes by that we run out of milsurp rifles and the price will go up. It's too bad.. I kinda missed my chance, but there are still plenty of Garands out there outside of CMP! At this point they're historic items and just like an SKS or Mosin, the price is gonna explode.
Fantasic to see a collab with my favorite British youtuber, Jonathan Ferguson keeper of firearms and artillery at the royal armouries museum in the UK.
'Old' hardly means 'Inadequate'! 🙂 I have friends who use black powder pistols/rifles, and 'I' sure's Hell wouldn't want to catch anything they're throwing!
One thing to note regarding the semi-auto vs revolver capacity? Reload time. You can swap magazines FAR faster than it takes to manually reload a revolver. 😀
Esp. if you have a wound to your arm, hand or shoulder. You put the pistol between your legs and reload (one working arm helps though) just one example.
@@krossen4
Yes.
We practice various ways to stay in the fight, should we receive injuries/wounds.
Awesome. I'm a historic firearms collector with 96 in my stable. Most are loaned out to museums. I have multiples of a few and I keep a few really special ones with me.
No 30 carbine?
Uh, y'all ain't gotta add the tinnitus sound between shots, I already have that...
The characteristic "hump" in front of the Springfield's rear sights is very aesthetic.
He keeps saying both "Gárand" and "Garánd." 😆 It's funny. I do that, too.
That was a beautiful group, Jonathan, with the 1911. When I fam-fired the Colt in 1976 in Boot Camp, I was issued a pistol whose slide was so loose it would visibly wobble side to side when in battery. I still was able to fire a group at 10 yards that was only twice the diameter of your own.
I know y'all are going for effect, but please, if doing future episodes, stay away from the ringing sound effect. As someone who suffers from tinnitus, it is not appreciated to wonder if it's me or the program.
Noted. Thanks for the feedback and apologies if it caused any distress.
What ringing sound effect?
If Jonathan's a guest, I'm watching. This is an outstanding series. Excellent work educating in an entertaining fashion!
Gotta get the cameraman eye pro to protect against extracted shell cases.
The irony of "what a sound" during the garand segment, while seconds before I turned it all the way down because of the war-movie tinnitus EEEEEE
As an American it's always so cute watching the English get so dramatic about shooting a gun.
If you want drama, you should watch some videos from your home turf 😅
My grandfather served in the Pacific theater always cool watching stuff on WW2.
A bit overedited, no?
This is brilliant Luke, very nice to see Johnathan again well done guys 😁😁😁
We could do without the dramatic heartbeat sound effects. .
my father was in the ministry of supply during the war, regarding the thompson was to expensive colt made 300 percent profit on each one which put it out of the budget for general use in the british forces
No M1 Carbine????
Because it's focused on guns that are more well known
Great line "A bullet in the body anywhere is going to be a problem"
Luke's buddy got the chop did he?
Was wondering the same thing.. what happened to louis?
First gun I ever fired my grnadads M1 Garand that he carried through North Africa, Sicily and Italy then through France and Germany, he taught me how to shoot with it as well as strip it, clean it, reassemble it as well, by the time he was done I hitting targets at 300 yards with it iron site.
It's crazy to imagine a timeline where the WW2 US forces carry around a Luger as their standard issue sidearm.
I hadn’t even thought of that, that really is a bit bizarre!
Let freedom ping! My favorite rifle is my M1. For a combat rifle, it's reasonably accurate, quick to reload, reliable, and semi auto. It's also got the best trigger and sights of any battle rifle. Probably the best thing we gave our infantry troops.
Why add so much music throughout the video? Can't a person appreciate silence or speech?
Jonathan Ferguson, the keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK, which houses a collection of thousands of iconic weapons from throughout history❤
When I went to Vegas to shoot some guns at a firing range, as a Brit who’d never shot a gun in his life, I shot an M1911 colt and Thompson and it was pretty bloody magical! The M1911 was fantastic, it’s so simple to fire and had a hefty wallop. I understood why so many forces used it as a reliable sidearm for so long. The Thompson made me feel like a commando, or gangster, in its rate of fire. I would love to fire a garand one day and hear the ‘ping’ when a clip is finished! I really admire this era of weaponry.
1) US Maines held on to the M1903 so long because they initially rejected the M1. It wasn't until the front line troops demanded Garands after sampling ones "borrowed" from the Army on Guadalcanal that they revered position.
2) Every Army Rifle Squad had a designated grenadier. Problem was that the M1 grenade launcher ran into problems and wasn't adopted until late in WW2. Some grenadiers were carrying M19003s to launch grenades as late as the Okinawa campaign.
3) The M1903 IS a Mauser. The US had to pay Mauser a license fee and a royalty for each rifle manufactured after it lost in court. Even in WW1 the US continued paying royalties - into a special bank account that held the payments until after the war
4) The British had the opportunity to adopt the M1, but - after trials - rejected it.
5) Thompson - shown is either a M1 or M1A1 -simplified for production purposes - that did not accept the drum magazines (heavy, awkward and difficult and time consuming to reload). The original gun, the M1921 sold so poorly that only one batch was made and Auto-Ordnance was still selling M1921's updated to M1928's (forward pistol grip replaced by horizonal one and some simplification) until 1939, when the contracts rolled in (along with those lovely Pounds and Francs) from France and Britain (who took over the French contracts).
6) By mid-WW2 the US Army issued a submachine gun (M1 or M3) to Rifle Squad leaders.
They left out the M1 Carbine, which kinda foreshadowed the future of battlefield weapons, intermediate cartridge, semi-auto fire. The plain fact is during WWII the US had an amazing array of terrific small arms weapons.
Well done with the tinitus sounds.
I was checking my own ears when that went off.
Snipers don’t generally “sniper duel” like the movies. At least between two equally skilled snipers (vs some yokel or teenager with a scoped rifle, they’re toast) You’ll keep yourself safe, get as close as you reasonably can to the point where you’re pretty sure you know where they are, and call on artillery or air support to turn their entire surroundings into concrete confetti.
Either the sniper dies or retreats, and the normal infantry can advance safely and secure the area. Rinse and repeat until you win the war
Too bad you didn't have M3 Grease Gun on this video. Still it is always good to see Jonathan Ferguson, keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in the UK doing excellent content.
M1 Garand....such a beautiful weapon. That puppy kicks like a mule though. I joined the Army in 1984 & we had M16A1's. My buddy had a Garand & we cooked off a few hundred rounds at the range with it. I LOVED it. Load it with your palm, NOT your thumb....unless you didn't like having thumbs.
I just wanted to say that your channel's logo is that of a Kung Fu movie production company based out of HK in the 70s. It was called Ho Hua films, I think.
We as members of a historical museum had a range day with historical Allied weapons and I must say my favorite was the Garand it was the first time I had fired one! next to the Enfield. What a lovely weapon. and accurate. Sorry I am Canadian and proud of our Military heritage. This was one of the Americans better weapon inventions for the war.
The full auto mode for the Thompson is for cover fire or to sweep a human wave formation with a lot of the enemy coming at you in mass and you fire from the hip sweeping back and forth.
I watched this high and had a great time
im watching this high rn lol it is great
I can’t believe 19 and 20 years old lugged and fired the M1 Garand rifle. Beast of a weapon.
You forgot rapid reload when it comes to the 1911 vs revolver debate. It only takes a few seconds to change magazines in a 1911 vs reload a revolver.
There are revolver clips or "rings" for quick loading but I have absolutely no idea whether they were invented before or after that time 🤷♂️
When I was serving as a Combat Engineer in 84-86 our C.O and 1SGT were carrying ancient 45s with very little bluing left on them most likely used in Vietmam.
Nice shooting with the 1911 and Thompson. I own both an M1 Thompson and 1928 Thompson, fully functional. They're worth about $30,000 and $35,000 respectively. It's good to be American.
Full-Auto Thompson always put a smile on my face
With regard to the M1911, you overlooked SPEED OF RELOADING. It takes only a seconds to drop a magazine and inset another, pull back the slide, and you're ready to go; MUCH LESS than reloading six chambers of a revolver.