Not really. It's kind of sad. Even sadder they don't see the *squee!*ing irony of the name they chose.
I don't know much about the exact details of this specific point. I would have to research the specific production numbers and issuance of sub-machine guns and machine guns to US infantry during WWII. Sub-machine guns generally have short effective ranges, as they are chambered for pistol cartridges. The M1918 BAR feeds from a 20 round detachable box magazine, but it weighs roughly twice what an M1 does. The M1919 Browning is belt-fed, but that gun tips the scales in excess of 30 pounds. US military commanders did become aware of the logistical issues involved in issuing those various small arms and calibers, and they attempted to remedy this in the Postwar period. However, they made a serious blunder in being dismissive of the German Sturmgewehr (StG 44). Being the first assault rifle, it was chambered in the intermediate 7.92X33mm Kurz, and it was compact, shoulder fired, and fed from a 30 round detachable box magazine. Since most infantry encounters occur at around 300 meters or less, every soldier issued such a gun could controllably fire the gun in full-auto or in bursts and still reach out to that 300 meter distance; the gap between the sub-machine gun and the battle rifle had finally been bridged. Unlike the US, Soviet military command quickly appreciated the concept of the assault rifle (Soviet arms designers were working on intermediate cartridge designs, but Hugo Schmeisser beat them to the punch), and they would develop the legendary AK-47 during the late 1940's. Truthfully, I feel it would have made the most sense for the US to adopt the Belgian FN FAL, which was originally intended to be chambered in an intermediate cartridge, .280 British. However, during the height of the Cold War, the US military command had prestige issues regarding the adoption of a foreign design. Conservatism in the US military command dictated the use of a full-power rifle cartridge, and it seemed like the US would cave in and adopt the FN FAL if it ended up being chambered in 7.62X51mm. However, after FN chambered the guns for such a caliber, the US ended up passing on the T48 (domestically produced FN FAL) in favor of the T44, which would become the M14. Contrary to what was initially stated, this gun couldn't be produced on existing tooling for the M1 Garand. Furthermore, while using it to simplify logistics looked superb on paper (it was to overcome the aforementioned logistical issues by replacing the M1 Garand, the M3 sub-machine gun, and the M1918 BAR simultaneously), the full-power rifle cartridge combined with the weight of a battle rifle made the gun difficult to control in full-auto for most GI's. During the Vietnam War, GI's armed with the M14 ended up being "outgunned" by NVA and NLF forces armed with Chinese and Soviet Kalashnikovs (the latter could be more controllably fired in full-auto). The Armalite AR-15 was developed into the M16, thereby giving the US a genuine assault rifle (intermediate 5.56X45mm cartridge). However, the gun was quickly pressed into service. No real R&D or military trials had been done beforehand. Furthermore, the initial guns had poor corrosion resistance, and corners were cut by switching the gunpowder and failing to issue cleaning kits. Needless to say, the gun developed a reputation for unreliability, and while the problems were eventually ironed out, people ended up getting killed due to a rifle jamming when it was needed the most. In terms of ballistics, the .30-06 didn't have a serious advantage over other full-power rifle cartridges of the time (7.92X57mm, .303 British, 7.62X54R, 7.7X58mm, etc.). It was the M1's self-loading mechanism that gave it the edge over the Mauser, Arisaka, Lee-Enfield, and Mosin-Nagant rifles. Obviously, I do enjoy shooting M14 variants, but then again, I am a civilian shooter relegated to a semi-auto variant. I won't deny that the gun has shortcomings for general military issue (it works well as a Designated Marksman Rifle), in addition to the fact that politics played a major role in the gun being adopted in the first place. It certainly isn't cheap, but I do highly recommend shooting the M1 Garand and M14/M1A (yes, I am irritated at Springfield Armory, Inc. calling their civilian M14 variant the M1A; some people seem to get confused and think one is talking about an M1A1 carbine when you mention it) if one gets the opportunity. While it isn't productive for them to violently confront neo-fascists (not to mention others who aren't actually fascist) at every opportunity they get, technically speaking, employing violence against one's opponents doesn't automatically constitute fascism. We could call every Allied WWII veteran and resistance fighter a fascist if that were the case. I am not against confronting neo-fascists in principle, but then again, there is a world of difference between the people of a Jewish neighborhood preventing a Neo-Nazi group from marching through their neighborhood to a small handful of anarchists trying to pick a fight with Neo-Nazis, in addition to some conservative groupings who aren't even fascist in the first place. Maybe it's just me, but it almost seems as if so-called SJW's are largely confined to the internet and university campuses.
On the subject of weaponry; a Canadian sniper in Mosul armed with a TAC-50 rifle just shattered the record for the longest confirmed kill through a sniper rifle; 3450 meters (old record was 2747 meters)
That is quite impressive. I obviously won't own anything chambered in .50 BMG due to costs (not to mention that I lack access to a long distance range), but I should try to get around firing one sometime. Let's look at the exploits of Jerry Miculek! Hitting a steel plate at 1000 yards with a revolver chambered in 9mm: Hitting a steel plate at 200 yards with a snub nose revolver at 200 yards while holding the gun upside down: "Quick scoping" a grape in just over half a second with an AR-15:
So far, the managerial aspect of the position into which I was promoted awhile ago is proving to be ridiculously easy. Getting more into building automation and basic locksmithing should also prove most interesting.
I feel like I'm apart of a rare or dying breed on this site. I'm barely remembered anymore, and only two veterans I know are still frequent. I have a feeling that I'm going to be another relic or forgotten memory by the time I'm gone I miss the good ol days of 2011/2012
Well, maybe if you'd stuck around instead of vanishing for a year at a time, more folks around here would know you. Yeah.
