Sub-Machine Gun Bandoliers in Airborne Unit Service

Late on in the Great War Germany had used Storm Troop units armed with the Bergmann MP (Maschine Pistole) M1918 sub-machine gun, firstly with a “snail-drum” high-capacity magazine. This 9mm weapon, in a pistol calibre, was designed to ensure the Storm Troops were equipped with a force multiplying, fully automatic, albeit short range weapon for trench clearance on the Western Front. The complex “snail drum” was soon replaced with a conventional, spring-loaded box magazine, of a type still employed today.

Almost simultaneously, the US Thompson entered its last design phase – also designed to break the deadlock of trench warfare.  Going through a number of design phases, the M1928A1 variant of the “Tommy Gun” was the first “machine carbine” selected for British service, but not until the utility of the type had been demonstrated by German forces, including  the parachute arm of Luftwaffe (the Fallschirmjaeger), at the commencement of WW2.

The German’s had procured the MP 38 (rather erroneously called the “Schmeisser” in the public imagination) and its successor the MP40 for more general service in infantry units, but when dropped in containers for use by the Fallschirmjaeger this (again 9mm), rapid firing, sub-machine gun, provided the firepower required for airborne assault.

The Thompson had also been primarily designed to accept a high-capacity, drum magazine, but while providing a significant volume of firepower, especially with it’s .45” ammunition, the drum was a heavy and unwieldy “field service” item. British Forces were soon equipped with a 20 round box magazine.  Despite having a relative low rate of fire however, the Thompson did go through a significant volume of ammunition when in the field.

The Thompson in British Airborne Service

The British parachute arm developed apace after Prime Minister Churchill’s statement of requirement in June 1940 for “a corps of at least 5000 men”.  Alongside the development of the parachute itself, bespoke clothing and helmets, it was determined that the parachutist would require a “machine carbine” equivalent to that employed by the Fallschirmjaeger – the only weapon commercially available however, sat on the other side of the Atlantic, the M1928A1 Thompson.

The question then immediately arose, in what does the parachutist carry his ammunition (in 20 round) magazines. The (relatively) newly issued 1937 Pattern webbing did not accommodate the Thompson magazines and those pouches available on the man were for ammunition for the cornerstone of the infantry section – the Bren Gun.  The Auto-Ordnance Company did offer a “carrying”  bag with magazine pouches, but this was unsuitable for the field. This requirement led to the “local” design and issue of the first machine carbine ammunition bandolier.

Bandoliers Thompson

The first machine carbine ammunition bandolier, the Museum does not hold an example, has been identified from a series of stills taken from training films, of both packing of the first “container” drop system – a canvas container, featuring slots for 5 SMLE rifles, and space for 2 + Thompsons and a Bren Gun (in valise), and a parachute infantry section training in the field.

It would appear that the webbing Bandolier will accept 8 (?) magazines, held upright in individual pouches, with a single flap protecting the magazines, secured by Newey Studs.  It appears adjustable with a 37 Pattern Webbing strap, connecting across the shoulder.

It is considered likely that this bandolier was employed on Op. Colossus. Where the Thompson M1928A1 was the key personal weapon. It is similar in design to the next Bandolier – for Sten Gun Magazines

Sten (1) – Pattern A

Stores Ref. A1/AA 5332 Bandolier, Sten gun, Pattern A

In the period between Op. Colossus and Op. Biting, it had been determined that a lighter, more compact weapon, in 9mm (to allow easier access to ammunition if behind enemy lines), was needed by the parachute arm.  The Sten Gun (Mk2) was rushed into service and first issued to C Company, of the recently established  2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, in time for Op. Biting. On 27/28 March 1942, a little over 6 months after Op. Colossus, the Sten Gun Mk2 can be clearly seen in post-operational Biting photographs, along with the Mk2 Bandolier, the Museum does not hold an example, although a similar Australian manufactured variant (potentially for the short-lived “Austen”) has been identified in collections.

The key identifier here is that the 7(?) magazines are, again held in individual pouches with a single flap protecting them, closed by Newy Studs, but at a slant, allowing them to form more readily around the body, with a 37 Pattern strap securing the webbing Bandolier over the shoulder.

Sten (2) Pattern B

Stores Ref. A1/AA 5332 Bandolier, Sten gun, Pattern B

Stores Ref. A1/AA 5332 Bandolier, Sten gun
Stores Ref. A4/AD 0065 Bandolier, Sten gun

Readers will be more familiar with the Pattern B, or what we can now locally call the Mk3.  Clearly lessons identified from the post-Biting operational report and the personal experiences of the individual parachutist saw the next development in Bandoliers. The individual pouches now return to an upright configuration, with a curve in the webbing fabric bandolier itself allowing it to form around the body.  It’s 7 pouches now retain individual flaps but with “quick release tabs2, rather than Newey Studs.  This pattern of Bandolier can clearly be seen on Airlanded troops, alongside the Mk2 Sten, in Tunisia in 1943, before the invasion of Sicily. 

Of course, it is also used in both Normandy and on Op Market Garden, being seen in numerous photographs with the MkV Sten Gun.  It continued to be issued after WW2 (references in 1948 and 1960 (above)) and can be seen with the MkV Sten on Op Musketeer in 1956.

References:

IWM Photographs and www.Karkeeweb.com. Written and researched by Mark Pitt.