Heavy Weapons Companies in WW2

[cerri]

My uncle was a machine gunner with M company, 424th, 106th Division.

Can anyone elaborate on the specifications of the weapon a machine gunner would be using at that time? 30 cal? 50 cal? Mostly brownings? Would love more info...

[floydragsdale]

Hi Cerri:

The machine gun you are asking about was, I'm positive, a 50 Caliber gun.

The heavy weapons Co's. in a Regiment were: D, of the 1st Btn, H of the 2nd Btn and M of the 3rd Btn

Floyd
424th Reriment

[floydragsdale]

Hi Cerri:

The machine gun you are asking about was, I'm positive, a 50 Caliber gun.

The heavy weapons Co's. in a Regiment were: D, of the 1st Btn, H of the 2nd Btn and M of the 3rd Btn

Floyd
424th Reriment

[cerri]

Thanks for the quick reply, Floyd!

As far as the makeup of the group goes, it is my understanding that there were 4 guys to one gun? One gunner, one assistant, and two to hump ammo. Is that correct?

[floydragsdale]

Hi Cerri:

You have it correct. One man to fire the gun, one man to feed the amo into the gun and two more to keep the gun position supplied with ammunition.

Floyd

[Carl W.]

Hi Floyd and Cerri,

The 106th also still used the big watercooled .30 during the Bulge as a heavy machine gun for infantry support.
The .50 was used by artillery crews and on the deuce-and-a-half trucks.

Greetings
Carl

[cerri]

Thanks Carl...so Milo was likely using a 30 cal rather than the 50, since he wasn't on an arty crew or 2 1/2 truck then?

[floydragsdale]

Hi Cerri:

Carl is correct, and 66 years is a long time for me to remember every detail about weapons. Yet, I'm surprised to remember as much as I do.

Heavy weapons Company's used water cooled 30 caliber machine guns. The other Company's in the Battalion used 30 caliber light machine guns (not water cooled).

I can still see G.I's hiking along, in a column of twos, carrying parts of those guns and ammunition boxes. Just the machine gun alone was too heavy for one man to carry. A well trained gun crew was like a well oiled machine; every one did their part, automatically,

Floyd
424th

[jeffgarn]

Floyd,
You were in the 424th, my dad was also in the 424th, Co. H. do you remember anything about H Co.? Or about any of the guys in supply? dad was a SSgt. in supply but I don't hear or read anything about supply. Maybe supply was way behind the front, closer to HQ?
Thanks,
Jeff Garn

[connie]

Jeff,

I hope Floyd can add more insight to supply units within an infantry company. I have not noted anything written on this subject either.

When the bulge broke out my father was doing supply related work for a field artillery Battalion. (He was in the Service Battery of the 590th Field Artillery Battalion.) And, as you noted, they were billeted west of the battalion they served -- about 7 miles away by road, somewhat closer as the crow flies.

Connie

[floydragsdale]

Hello Jeff:

Every Infantry Company had a supply section. Stateside, it was always referred to as the Supply Room. Also, it was always located next to Company Hq. During the Bulge campaign, Supply was located where ever the Company Commander saw fit to place it.

Company Hq. & Supply, to my knowledge, were never physically located very far apart.

Floyd

[connie]

Jeff,

Today, under "Unit Specific Discussions" I added a screen shot of some names of men from 424 H that were listed in the 1948 Cub Magazine'

106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4830/thread

Connie