Canadian tank crews small arms

[Ed Storey]

Stens for Canadian AFV Crews in Korea, not Thompsons.

[chris vickery]

Not wanting to dispute you Ed but I know first hand that it was well known duirng Korea for Canadian troops to use US made weapons.
One Korea vet that I speak with used a M1 carbine on a regular basis while he was serving (CASF PPCLI, Kapyong). He mentioned Canadians as often scrounging for US made weapons that for whatever reason were thought of as superior to whatever the Crown was offering up at the time...

[jdmcm]

Stens it is! Thanks guys!

[Ed Storey]

Don't go confusing the small arms used by the Infantry in Korea with those used by the AFV crews. Yes, there are certainly lots of images of M1 Carbines being used by the Infantry, so I would be interested in seeing an image of one being used by an AFV crewman.

[chris vickery]

Ed, my thoughts being that Canaidan armoured crewmen perhaps following in the footsteps of their WW2 brethren, the Brits at least as well as a few Canadians seemed to have an affectinado with the Thompson SMG for one as well as the M3 grease gun.
I understand that the infantry was an entired different entity from the armoured corps whic BTW was very limited in the Korean engagement.
According to my friend who was in the PPCLI, American equipment was often chosen due to the fact that supplies were so much easier to obtain in theatre.
He mentioned that during re-supply it was often a case of "how many do you want?"

[Ed Storey]

Don't confuse WWII Thompson use with Korea. The Thompson was used early in WWII by the Canadian Army for training in the UK and in the Italian theatre. The Sten began replacing the Thompson in 1942 and the Thompson was not used by Canada in NW Europe. Remember the Thompson takes .45 cal ammunition and the Sten 9mm which impacts on the supply chain every time you introduce a new calibre of ammunition.

The RASC Standing Orders for 1 Commonwealth Division, the formation that the Canadian 25th Brigade fought under, clearly lists the variety of ammunition that the Division is require to supply and .45 cal ammunition is not on that list. The list does contain 9mm, 7.92mm BESA as well as .30 cal Belted, .50 cal Belted and .30 cal Carbine.

Some 60 years ago our U.S. may well have been very generous with their weapons and I have no doubt that 'gentlemen deals' were reached; but please do not let these colourful stories overshadow the facts.