Which would you pick up?

[witchbottles]

The salient points bring up another question. Did the Western Allies give "too much credence" to the idea of stigmatizing battlefield salvage of enemy weaponry / small arms?
it was standard practice in the desert, and in Russia, for both sides to willy-nilly use enemy weapons if needed or an effective use could be seen for them. The British outfitted an entire armored unit with italian tanks, much to their future chagrin. The russians were so enamored of the panszerfaust, they ensured that assault troops understood how to use it to create breaches in fortified / built up / solidly constructed resistance points.

and we all know the german affinity for captured weaponry.

so did America and Britain share the only real aversion to its battlefield use as a standard practice?

 

[Vinnie]

I think a lot depends on the use of artillery. If by using a captured weapon system you are likely to bring a whole lot of iron raining down on your head called in by a well meaning officer who is unknowing if your enterprise you are going to be rather circumspect about picking it up.

 

[RRschultze]

true, but the period of reference was Normandy 1944, 5-6 June.

I am not sure any allied parachutist actually dropped before Operation Varsity would have encountered an StG 44. They were not in Sicily, Normandy, Tunisia, Kanev, or Market-Garden, to the best of my knowledge. Perhpas the only place one might have found one would have been in Holland. Otherthan that, it would have only been during Monty's grand crossing of the Rhine, or the paras acting as poor bloody infantry meat plugs as in Bastogne and Foy.

Maybe the German para's around Carentan had some?

 

[Yuri0352]

Maybe the German para's around Carentan had some?[

Maybe the German para's around Carentan had some?

The Fallschirmjaeger in Normandy possessed a limited quantity of FG42's, however there is no evidence that any of these units were issued STG 44's or used these weapons during the Normandy campaign.

 

[witchbottles]

I would agree that the FG-42 was likely floating around at a few points - and American paras might be enticed to use such a weapon with vigor - it was a close match in design, function and purpose to the BAR.

Still I can understand the idea of taking whatever was found in the dark - ie the MP - any gun is better than no gun at all in combat. The exchange for a Sten later on struck me as a bit of a question - perhaps it all really comes about from the hindsight that the MP series was far more reliable and controllable than a Sten. (although it is really a question - after I studies it closely - of comparing meyer lemons to tropical lemons, really. Both designs suffered to an extent from the same failings.)

I do think at an aid station as described, one might have been able, with a bit of effort , to locate a SMLE, which would have stood the shooter in better stead, perhaps, than any SMG.

Again, that is likely the gift of hindsight. I doubt in a combat situation at night that the soldier even cared about anything more than acquisition of a firearm with a decent supply of ready ammunition, then he was off with his unit, in this case a wayward stick of jumpers looking for their unit.