Weapons of 6th AARR

Weapons of the 6th AARR

The 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment had a wide variety of weapons to accomplish its mission, from .38 caliber revolvers up to 37mm and 2 Pounder tank connon to 3" and 4.2" mortars. Our club has a large selection of these weapons in the collections of our members. Although some of the weapons are actual functioning firearms, such as revolvers and rifles, most of the weapons are "non-guns". All the cannons and mortars are either de-milled former weapons, or replicas, and simulate gunfire either by the use of propane gas or blank gunpowder charges. The machineguns are all dummy machineguns made with some original parts to make them look real, and also fire propane to simulate machinegun fire. Submachineguns and light machineguns, such as the Bren Guns and Sten Guns, are either semi-automatic versions of the weapons that only fire one shot at a time using blanks, or "BFONG" (Blank-Fire-Only Non-Guns) that fire blanks, but cannot fire real bullets. Our "Arsenal", has a very impressive bark, with no bite.

37mm M6 Tank Cannon

The 37mm M6 Gun was the main armament of the M22 Locust Light Tank. The gun fired solid shot, composite shot, high explosive, and cannister ammunition, and when fitted with the "Littlejohn" adaptor, also fired supervelocity 'squeeze bore' ammunition. The Littlejohn adaptor was fitted to standard M6 guns by cutting the barrel short and threading it. The adaptor could be fitted or removed by the crew in minutes to switch between standard and supervelocity rounds. Guns fitted with the Littlejohn were used in Operation Varsity.

The photo to the left is of an M6 tank cannon that has been pulled complete with gunshield, trunnions and mounting plate from an M22 Locust tank that underwent restoration in Belgium. The gun at left is a live cannon, meaning it can still fire actual service ammunition. Our 37mm gun for our Locust is a replica gun, using a real 37mm barrel from a demilitarized gun, fitted to a replica breach and adapted to fire propane to simulate cannon fire.

The photo to the left shows a Locust with Littlejohn adaptor in place. The photo to the right shows a Locust of 6th AARR with the Littlejohn adaptor removed. An unadapted M6 gun barrel protrudes past the front of the hull. When the gun is adapted to take the Littlejohn, the barrel was cut short and the end of the barrel threaded. The Littlejohn could then be screwed on to fire the supervelocity ammunition, or removed in a few minutes by the crew to fire standard ammunition. At least some of the Locusts used in Operation Varsity had Littlejohns, as evidenced by the loading of the gliders for the mission.

To the left and right are actual examples of the ammunition used by the M6 gun of the Locust tank, both with and without Littlejohn fitted. The top left round is a service SV (Supervelocity) round, as can be identified by the ballistic cap applied that differentiates it from the experimental rounds often seen in photos that have a more rounded tip. Below left shows a standard APBC (Armour Piercing Ballistic Capped) round. To the top right shows an HE (High Explosive) round. Normally these were painted yellow, or olive drab with yellow markings. Below right is a Canister round, which contained 100 steel balls and acted as a giant shotgun shell, spraying the balls divergently as soon as the canister split on leaving the muzzle.

.30 Caliber M1919A4 Machinegun

The .30 Caliber Browning M1919A4 was the coaxially mounted machinegun used in the M22 Locust Tank. It was a belt fed gun that used 250 round cloth belts that were fed out of a can mounted on the opposite side of the 37mm cannon. Our .30 Caliber Browning is a propane gas firing dummy gun, manufactured by "Hoosier Hotshots".

Above shows the M1919A4 "Gas Gun". Other than the propane and oxygen hose fittings and the electrical plug hanging from the rear, it looks like a real machinegun.
These will be hidden inside the spent brass bag that hangs below the gun when mounted inside the tank.

To the left and above show details of the Gas Gun's internal components. It works similarly to a car engine, with combustion chamber where the gas and oxygen are injected, and fired by a spark plug, controlled with a solenoid and electronic circuit board.

3" Ordnance ML Mortar

The 3" Ordnance Muzzle Loading Mortar was a development of the WW1 Stokes Mortar. There were several variations as the war progressed, mainly improvements on the sight and refinements of the other components to make them lighter and to ease production. Our mortars are originals with replica tubes (barrels). The 6th AARR 3" mortars were carried by tracked Universal Carriers, as our club mortars will be after our carriers have completed restoration.

The 3" Mortar in the photo above has the later "light weight" base plate. Light weight in the sense that it's lighter than the earlier base plate, as it is anything but light. The mortar sight is not in place, but kept in its leather case until needed to prevent damage.

Normally, the mortar is carried in storage brackets on the back of the universal carrier, and emplaced on the ground for firing. The ammunition is stored in heavy-duty cardboard tubes that are carried in racks inside the vehicle.

The above photo is an example of an actual 3" Mortar HE (High Explosive) round. The cap on the front is a safety cap and is removed before firing. There was a variety of different rounds used with the 3" Mortar.

PIAT

The Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank, better known as the "PIAT", was the standard infanty anti-tank weapon of the Royal Army. As it used a 3" shaped-charge warhead, it was the most effective anti-tank weapon in the 6th AARR, although the 37mm gun of the M22 Locust had a much longer range. The PIAT could, and regularly did, destroy german Tiger and Panther tanks, as well as any other armoured vehicle the germans employed. The 37mm gun with Littlejohn could only dispose of lightly armoured vehicles, or medium tanks from the side or rear. Below is a projectile for the PIAT.

Above and to the right is an example of an original PIAT. The PIAT was primarily an anti-tank weapon, but had a variety of different projectiles, and could be used as a mortar as well as for killing tanks. In the right hand photo, on the left side of the weapon, are the front and rear sights. Looking closely at the rear sight, you can see a bubble level and adjusting knob for the tangent sight that could be used for "plunging fire" like a mortar.

Vickers Gun

The Vickers Gun is a .303 caliber belt fed, liquid cooled medium machinegun. Our Vickers gun is a dummy machinegun which is converted to fire propane. The 6th AARR used eight Vickers Guns mounted on jeeps during the Normandy Campaign. After returning from Normandy, and for the rest of the war, the Vickers Guns were then mounted on tracked Universal Carriers, and organized into the Recce Troops of the Reconnaissance Squadrons. Two MMG Carriers of the 6th AARR can be seen on the other side of the Dingo in the far right photo.

Bren Gun

The Bren Light Machinegun Was used throughout the 6th AARR, from the dismounted infantry Assault Sections located in the Blitz Troop all the way to the Tank Troops used for air defence against german aircraft. In addition to our one semi-auto bren gun, we have several propane firing dummy bren guns for the various vehicles. Here our club members are practicing live fire of the semi auto bren during January 2013 on the range.

Sten Gun

The sten gun was particularly handy for airborne troops, being compact, light, and delivering a high volume of fire, while being able to carry a large amount of ammunition, as it fired 9mm pistol cartridges. Our Sten Guns are either semi-automatic versions or "BFONG" Blank-Fire-Only Non-guns. The Sten being fired to the right is a BFONG, being test fired at the range as it is a convenient place to make lots of noise. This particular verson of the Sten is a Mk V, with wooden butt stock and pistol grip. Some had a forward grip attached to the barrel cooling jacket, but this was discovered to cause problems as the band that held it to the barrel could work its way loose and slide back over the ejection port while firing the weapon.

Enfield No. 4 Mk 1 Rifle

The two most common rifles in the British Army in WW2 were the Enfield No. 1 Mk III and Enfield No. 4 Mk 1. By the time the 6th Airborne Division dropped into Normandy, the No. 4 Mk 1 was the standard rifle in the division. This rifle was the most common weapon in the Division, and most of the members of the Blitz Troop would be equipped with it, along with the Bren and Sten guns. Vehicle crews would also have Enfield No. 4 Mk 1 rifles as part of their standard equipment along with pistols, revolvers and sten guns.

Webley and Enfield Revolvers

Armour crews in the Royal Army were issued with a variety of pistols and revolvers. Two of the most common were the .38 caliber Webley mk IV and Enfield No 2 mk 1. The main difference between the two were that they were made in different factories, An additional modification was the Enfield No 2 Mk 1* revolver, which had the spur removed from the hammer. This was done because the hammer spur had a tendency to get caught on protrusions inside tanks and fire the weapon by accident.

Links

Hoosier Hot-Shot, Manufacturer of propane machine gun simulator and display guns
http://www.hoosierhotshot.com/

Indianapoli Ordnance, manufacturer of semi-automatic versions of machineguns and blank-fire-only non-gun (BFONG) machineguns
http://www.indianapolisordnance.com/

WW2 Steel, manufacturer of gas gun components for machineguns and cannon fire simulators
http://www.ww2steel.com/Gasguns/Gasguns.html

Smith Manufacturing Group, manufacturer of semi-automatic versions of machineguns
http://smgguns.com/

Gunbroker, online firearms auction site, similar to ebay. Best place to track down and purchase WW2 british weapons, parts kits and ordnance
http://www.gunbroker.com/

Link to the wikipedia page for the M3/M6 Cannon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/37_mm_Gun_M3

Link to the wikipedia page for the M1919 Browning machinegun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1919_Browning_machine_gun

Link to the wikipedia page for the British 3" Mortar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnance_ML_3_inch_Mortar

Link to the Wikipedia page for the PIAT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIAT

Link to the Wikipedia page for the Vickers Gun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vickers_machine_gun

Link to the Wikipedia page for the Bren Gun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bren_light_machine_gun

Link to the Wikipedia page for the Sten Gun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sten

Link to the Wikipedia page for the Enfield Rifle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Enfield

Link to the Wikipedia page for the Enfield No. 2 and Webley .38 Revolver
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_No._2