True Story - Why we are still free

[Ellis Kinney]

True story and most people will never know it.

Here’s an interesting side bar.

After the Japanese decimated our fleet in Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941, they could have sent their troop ships and carriers directly to California
to finish what they started.
The prediction from our Chief of Staff was we would not be able to stop a massive invasion until they reached the Mississippi River .
Remember, we had a 2 million man army and war ships…..
All fighting the Germans.

So, why did they not invade?

After the war, the remaining Japanese generals and admirals were asked that question.
Their answer…..

They know that almost every home had guns and the Americans knew how to use them..

The world's largest army.... America 's hunters!

I had never thought about this....

A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion:

There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin .

Allow me to restate that number.

Over the last several months, Wisconsin 's hunters became the eighth largest army in the world.

More men under arms than in Iran ..

More than in France and Germany combined.

These men deployed to the woods of a single American state to hunt with firearms, and no one was killed.

That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan 's 700,000 hunters All of whom have now returned home.


Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that the hunters of those four states alone
would comprise the largest army in the world.
The point?

America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower.

Hunting -- it's not just a way to fill the freezer. It's a matter of national security.

That's why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed.

Food for thought when next we consider gun control.

Ellis Kinney

 

[ben brown]

your number maybe true and that maybe the reason they didn't invade but we weren't in Germany at that time we didn't declare war on germany tell about a weak later after germany declared war on us. we did declare war on japan on the 8th of dec.

 

[blunosr]

That hadn't occured to me either. I have a few firearms, and they make me happy, and somehow more secure. Although I have no intention of ever pointing them at a fellow human being. I did my stint in the military, as I think everyone should. I am proud to have served my country (Canada), and would do so again if called upon.

I think everyone should have at least some training on firearms. I also think everyone should know where meat comes from, and should be very thankful to the Farmers who do the things the public doesn't want to know about. If I had a glass to hand I would toast a hearty "Thank You!" to all the Farmers of our world. And to us Hunters too... I for one, share my meat with those less fortunate.

Canada is in the throes of getting rid of our long-gun registry, and I'm hoping and praying that we do. If they back out on their promise to get rid of that registry I will never, ever vote Conservative ever again...

My Father died last year, and this summer I had to give up his guns to the police because they said it would be just too much paperwork for me to keep them... A gunsmith I know lambasted me for giving them up. He said the police just take them home themselves. That had me steaming to think I might have been tricked out of my Father's guns. Some of which had some sentimental meaning for me.
Anyways, water under the bridge...

Bye for now,

 

[old]

Same held true to one country that Hitler did not try to invade either can you tell me the name of that country. I will say it is one that the gov. gave a gun to all males at the age of 16 and gave them the ammo to get good with the rifle they gave out. But yes the person who has a gun is the one who will save any nation if it ever comes to that type of war

 

[Chris(WA)]

Switzerland!

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hitler had no motive to invade Switzerland. He considered them German people plus they have no natural resources to speak of. They're economy is based on tourism and banking. You dont invade a country that could help you finacially.

 

[Allan in NE]

Oh Whew! That's a relief!

Always wondered how those pop-gun boys would react if someone was actually shootin' back at 'em.

Sure is strange that such a large percentage don't bother to join the service tho.

You're free because men went over there and kicked thier yellow little azzes eyeball to eyball. Not because of the limp-wristed boys that stayed at home and hunted opposum.

Allan

 

[billonthefarm]

Per capita I doubt any nation has the firepower of the United States public BUT, perhaps we owe our real saftey to the fact that our government spends more money on the military than the next 14 largest military powers COMBINED! The men and women in uniform are the best trained and best equipped fighting force the world has ever seen and our government does a pretty good job of letting the world see what we are capable of. All that being said, the american public has alot of firepower if push ever came to shove, sure enough!
bill

 

[Tony in Mass.]

Ben, recheck your facts, Hitler had a fit about Pearl Harbor, even tho the US navy and Coast Gaurd were already violating neurtrality. Our congress declared war on them first, after a supper/nap recess following the war on Japan vote. Cris, IIRC, Goering? Was watching a Swiss review of troups, a few years before the war- and asked a young officer in the group "how many men do you think would be ready for battle in a day?" The young man said " there would be one million Swiss Guards mobilized within 24 hours heir general". Goering said" What would happen if an army of 2 million showed up on your borders?" The Lt thought a second and said 'That would be very costly. Each Swiss Guard would have to fire his rifle twice" and started doing the math at Swiss taxpayer monetary loss of 2 rounds of ammuntion, ect etc. Germany never threatend Switzerland after that.
Blunosr, then who would you vote for? You Canucks got to get rid of the geriatric hippies in both... well, all 3 parties....
Ellis... but back then, like the Swiss National Guard, American guys knew how to hit what they were aiming at- the first time. Moms in the depression would send the boy out hunting with one bullet stories were true. Since 1812, no country really wanted to confront American rifles on US soil. Except Mexico. And it seems they get help from Washington

 

[dr sportster]

Where did you get this info ? Lots of folklore. Better check your facts on when we entered the war against Germany .

 

[sixtyninegmc]

Holy cow. I agree with the jist of your post, the armed American citizenry is an effective deterent, but stating bogus facts just makes pro-gun folks and hunters look stupid. We were not at war with Germany, we were shipping supplies to England and escorting convoys out of north american waters, that was about it. We had a very small, all volunteer professional military prior to the outbreak of war, not a large, well armed force as you say. Japan did not want to fight America, they wanted us to sue for peace and continue to sell oil and iron to them on the open market, they knew they could not take it from us.

As inspiring as your post is, it is mostly bogus, and that makes it somewhat depressing that we cannot be content with the true valor and patriotism that occurred in the days following Dec. 7, 1941.

 

[MarkB_MI]

The idea that the Japanese didn't invade California because of deer hunters is pretty much balderdash.

The Japanese military saw the attack on Pearl Harbor as a preemptive strike. One that would effectively eliminate the ability of the US to conduct war in the Pacific. At the time of the attack, their foremost concern was to guarantee oil supplies so they could continue to conduct their various wars in southeast Asia and the south Pacific. The US had placed an oil embargo on Japan, meaning they had to find oil closer to home. Knocking out the US Pacific fleet would guarantee that America couldn't interfere with those plans.

Even if the Japanese had wanted to invade the US mainland, their failure to find and destroy the US Navy's aircraft carriers made it impossible for them to do so. It's unlikely that they were in any way concerned about the armed US citizenry. After Pearl Harbor, the US Navy still had full control of the Pacific between Hawaii and California. And any invading Japanese surface vessels approaching the US west coast would have been met by US aircraft based on the mainland.

 

[Dean Olson]

My buddies and I have had this conversation more than once around the campfire.

I suspect that IF an invading army ever hit our shores it would NOT be on the Gulf coast. IF they could even think of getting past the TX,LA,MS,AL,FL boys, that leaves the boys in OK,AR,GA,TN etc. as backup.

Say all you want about rednecks but they have lots of guns and know how to use them.

I also submit that they will rise to the occasion, if needed, irregardless if they/we have ever been shot at.

I suspect if the west coast get's hit the invaders will get well into the country before we and the midwesterners can get over there to stop them.

I truly believe that the do bads will never come in by ship in enough numbers to get to shore, our Air Force/Navy will put a stop to that quick.

I do believe a big enough ground force can move up through Mexico undetected to do some real damage before we figure it out.

I think we will never see such a thing.

However with our military policing the rest of the world it makes you wonder how fast we can get them back home if the need arises.

 

[aFORDable]

Deer don't shoot back. Big difference in sitting in a tree stand and being a grunt. (101st. Infantry VN)

 

[Bob Huntress]

I agree with the sentiment, but almost every fact cited is false. We were not already fighting Germany. Each year there are casualties from hunting. If no one was accidently shot hunting this year, it would be a first. When you consider the high number of hunters and the low number of injuries, it is an acceptable risk, but to say that no one was accidently shot is false. About the only uncontested fact in the statement is the date, Dec 7, 1941 as the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. Don't feed into the notion that those of us who support the right to bear arms do so on false information. A true uncontestable reality is that our Constitution says we have that right to keep and bear arms. Gun control nazis can't effectively argue against that fact, as they could against the article cited.

 

[old]

Ah but a very large number of the people I know who sit in deer stands are also ones that have sat on ships and in air planes and tanks etc etc etc. Ya deer do not shoot back but most of the deer hunters I know know how to shoot back and many have done so

 

[flying belgian]

Like a dear old friend of mine says....It's a good story, even if it ain't true.

 

[JMS/.MN]

Saying "true" doesn"t make it true. Military is disciplined.....as in OBEY. Too many hunters can"t even obey a "No Trespassing" sign. And organized? Yeah, right.

 

[ben brown]

(quoted from post at 19:08:52 12/07/11) Ben, recheck your facts, Hitler had a fit about Pearl Harbor, even tho the US navy and Coast Gaurd were already violating neurtrality. Our congress declared war on them first, after a supper/nap recess following the war on Japan vote. Cris, IIRC, Goering? Was watching a Swiss review of troups, a few years before the war- and asked a young officer in the group "how many men do you think would be ready for battle in a day?" The young man said " there would be one million Swiss Guards mobilized within 24 hours heir general". Goering said" What would happen if an army of 2 million showed up on your borders?" The Lt thought a second and said 'That would be very costly. Each Swiss Guard would have to fire his rifle twice" and started doing the math at Swiss taxpayer monetary loss of 2 rounds of ammuntion, ect etc. Germany never threatend Switzerland after that.
Blunosr, then who would you vote for? You Canucks got to get rid of the geriatric hippies in both... well, all 3 parties....
Ellis... but back then, like the Swiss National Guard, American guys knew how to hit what they were aiming at- the first time. Moms in the depression would send the boy out hunting with one bullet stories were true. Since 1812, no country really wanted to confront American rifles on US soil. Except Mexico. And it seems they get help from Washington

actley my fact are right we declare war on germany on dec 11th i know we we involve early

 

[Bob Huntress]

I believe that goes to his sentiment, though I could be wrong. It sounds like his point is the whether the .223 round that penetrates your chest was fired by a soldier or a hunter, will not determine how dead you will be. I actually agree wit that point, also. Traditionally our fighting force and our local hunters share many of the same members. There are many hunters who also serve in the military. Militias as they were during the Revolutionary War comprised a fairly large portion of our fighting force, and they were not nearly as subject to the same disipline as the Continental Army. Perhaps I may have sounded a bit to harsh on the article. The facts that were cited were by in large incorrect, yet, I agree that there does exist a relationship between our national security and our second amendment. The ability of Americans to keep, bear and become proficient with fire arms is directly related to or security. Here's an example. When I was in the Coast Guard, we only shot when it was time for qualifing scores. If that is the only time that any of us ever shot, there is a high failure rate. I have personally failed the range for lack of practice, while others who hunt and sport shoot tend to earn fairly high scores in marksmenship.

 

[Tony in Mass.]

You are correct Ben, sorry. Always seemed to hear 'Japan on the evening of the 8th, Axis voted on the evening of the 10th'- so I got into the subject deeper- I was always lead to believe congress had 'a recess, and began debating Italy and Germany'. The 'meal and rest' was 36 hours? and debate lasted until -yes, Hitler and Mussolini knew the next shoe was going to drop, and- who cared at that point huh? You really want to get me confused, mention the international date line....

 

[Walt in Jaxn Tn.]

Old, That country was Switzerland and the weapon was the Schmidt Rubin T-bolt rifle 7.5x55 proably the best shooting military issue rifle with iron sites
Quote
K31s are also noted for their excellent accuracy and quality. The Swiss considered individual marksmanship to be of utmost importance. Therefore, the K31 was made with tight tolerances and excellent overall craftsmanship. Many shooters are able to achieve one minute of arc with unmodified K31s. This means that a group of bullets shot at 100 yards will stay within a 1" diameter area, a group at 200 yards will stay within 2", etc. This is achievable with factory sights
This was a quote from wikipedia
I bought one of these rifles in a Walgreens store in Columbia Mo. back in 1973 with the issue cleaning kit and 2 boxes of ammo for $13.00. When I got home, I called my brother and he also went over to Columbia and purchased one. Mine was stolen years later. My brother still has his.
If you still want to know why Hitler didn't invade Switzerland then, Google it.

 

[oldtanker]

Actually Germany and Italy did declare war on us first.

The US Army ground forces were at 241,000 on Dec 7 1941 and the US Army Air Corp was about 60,000. The US Marine was less than 50,000 (2 divisions plus support). Most of our ships and aircraft were obsolete with the Navy in the process of switching over from bi-wings to mono wing fighters. Even the new F4 Navy fighter was not up to the task. WWII hero Joe Foss (highest scoring ace Pacific) when ask how to fight a Zero said something along the lines of "one on one, no advantage dog fight....you run (dive away, the only way an F4 could out perform the Zero)". And the P40 was a joke! But we did come back from that with the F4U, F6F, P38, P47, P51 and other things that proved to be very effective.

Admiral Yamamoto did say to an aide after the attack that he feared that they "had awakened a sleeping giant". A senior Japanese officer had cautioned against a land invasion of main land America because of the number of guns in the hands of the common people....something about "a gun behind every blade of grass".


The [b:69ee9ca365]Greatest Generation[/b:69ee9ca365] did in fact win that war with substandard equipment with guts and a nation that could produce 83,000 tanks from1942-1945 and 12,000 aircraft, 30 supply ships and subs a month backing them up.

The 556 round has proven to be inadequate and isn't known for knocking down guys at 100 meters with a chest shot to the point that the Army is teaching triple shot with it now......2 in the chest and one in the head to make sure they stay down. Sure 70% of the soldiers love the 556.......they are support troops! Their life isn't depending on it! They don't want to pack around a bigger gun, it gets in their way while they are flipping burgers, punching a key board or turning a wrench. My son completed infantry training this spring....they are teaching triple tap with the 556 and double with the 9MM. That is why US Army Spec Ops is developing new rounds like the 6.8 Rem SPC that only requires a new upper receiver on the M16/M4 but can hit hard enough to give a killing shots out to 450 meters on a live pig. You can talk about shot placement all you want......but when the target is shooting back it makes it a little harder, trust me I know. The Army taught us the 8 steady hold factors to hit a target...... they all go out the window the first time you are ambushed! Examples are a killer shoots an unarmed guy in the head, point blank range with a 25 ACP and then strangles him to finish the job. Another shoots a woman in the throat point blank with a .38....turns her into a quadriplegic who dies of cancer 2 years later. Or the guy, who at very close range shoots an unarmed man with a 556 twice and fails to kill him. Plus add in that the original Stoner design blows hot gasses and carbon right into the bolt face...in dry dusty conditions.....causing heat and jamming problems. What ever happened to one shot one kill?????

Rick....old soldier learning how to be an ole farmer......

 

[oldtanker]

Tony...10 Dec in Europe....9 Dec here....we countered on the 11th.

Rick

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 22:27:57 12/07/11) Old, That country was Switzerland and the weapon was the Schmidt Rubin T-bolt rifle 7.5x55 proably the best shooting military issue rifle with iron sites
Quote
K31s are also noted for their excellent accuracy and quality. The Swiss considered individual marksmanship to be of utmost importance. Therefore, the K31 was made with tight tolerances and excellent overall craftsmanship. Many shooters are able to achieve one minute of arc with unmodified K31s. This means that a group of bullets shot at 100 yards will stay within a 1" diameter area, a group at 200 yards will stay within 2", etc. This is achievable with factory sights
This was a quote from wikipedia
I bought one of these rifles in a Walgreens store in Columbia Mo. back in 1973 with the issue cleaning kit and 2 boxes of ammo for $13.00. When I got home, I called my brother and he also went over to Columbia and purchased one. Mine was stolen years later. My brother still has his.
If you still want to know why Hitler didn't invade Switzerland then, Google it.

Walt Germany did not attack the Swiss because simple logs rolled down mountains would have caused great casualties and the fact the the Swiss did business with everyone....no natural resorces...so why waste time and troops plus equipment?

Rick

 

[Anonymous-0]

Dave, I fear you have made a few mistakes. Joe Foss (and I met him when was Governor of SD) shot down 26 aircraft. Richard Bong, in a P 38 shot down 40. To give the devil his due, Tetsyzo Iwamoto shot down between 80 and 202 aircraft, making him the highest scoring Ace of the Pacific. Also the P40 was no joke, Gen. Clair Chennault and the Flying Tigers (ie American Volunteer Group, AVG China)used the P40 with great success against the Zero. The P40 was a old design, but an excellent and stable weapons platform in ground attack roles, the British used it in North Africa and the Russians on the eastern front. They would have been hurting without it. Except for the M4 tank I don't think any American equipment was substandard, what ? M1 Garand, B17, B24, B29, the fighters you mentioned, GMC trucks, the 100 + aircraft carriers we built, cryptography, proximity fusses, our field guns were better than the 88s, our subs, our supply chain was inexhaustable. Save the M4 what was substandard ?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Rick, sorry I called you Dave

 

[Anonymous-0]

(quoted from post at 18:40:35 12/07/11) Oh Whew! That's a relief!

Always wondered how those pop-gun boys would react if someone was actually shootin' back at 'em.

Sure is strange that such a large percentage don't bother to join the service tho.

You're free because men went over there and kicked thier yellow little azzes eyeball to eyball. Not because of the limp-wristed boys that stayed at home and hunted opposum.

Allan

someone's gonna get em in a wad pretty soon..... Better duck..

 

[MarkB_MI]

Actually, Chennault's Flying Tigers saw few if any Zeros. Their successes were against older, inferior aircraft. Even so, they tried to fight 2 to 1 against the Japanese.

The P-40 was a good but not great aircraft. It was simply the best fighter we had at the outbreak of the war. It could dive faster than any of the Japanese aircraft it went up against, and so the P-40 pilots always tried to maintain plenty of altitude in order to escape attacking Japanese.

 

[Gun guru]

Nice statistics, but.....All those hunters are not organized under a command. Millions and millions of gun owners with ammo but...no commmander or info to send them to fight in any direction. On a small scale, like my town in which I live it would work, 300 guys show up on one end of the street with rifles and the enemy is there hiding out in one building cause a cell phone message gave the info of enemy troop locations.....Then....OPEN FIRE!! and the enemy eats bullets. But on a large scale it would be gurilla warfare. My state of Michigan has lots and lots of gun owners.

 

[Gun guru]

The swiss have a well armed citizenry. All Males over the age of 18 have to have their Sig 550 rifle ready with a small amount of ammo. The swiss are great marksmen with these rifles cause they shoot alot of ammo. Mark Heim of the pro-gun group Pro-tell explains this very well. Mark Heim is a Swiss citizen who explains that in less than 24 hours all swiss males can be ready with rifle/reporting for duty.

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 00:06:46 12/08/11) Dave, I fear you have made a few mistakes. Joe Foss (and I met him when was Governor of SD) shot down 26 aircraft. Richard Bong, in a P 38 shot down 40. To give the devil his due, Tetsyzo Iwamoto shot down between 80 and 202 aircraft, making him the highest scoring Ace of the Pacific. Also the P40 was no joke, Gen. Clair Chennault and the Flying Tigers (ie American Volunteer Group, AVG China)used the P40 with great success against the Zero. The P40 was a old design, but an excellent and stable weapons platform in ground attack roles, the British used it in North Africa and the Russians on the eastern front. They would have been hurting without it. Except for the M4 tank I don't think any American equipment was substandard, what ? M1 Garand, B17, B24, B29, the fighters you mentioned, GMC trucks, the 100 + aircraft carriers we built, cryptography, proximity fusses, our field guns were better than the 88s, our subs, our supply chain was inexhaustable. Save the M4 what was substandard ?

Scott, you are correct, I forgot about Bong. I wasn't counting people who did not fly US built Aircraft.

All of our armor vehicles were substandard with the exception of the Priest self propelled gun (Artillery) until very late in the war when the M26 tank started production About 20 actually saw combat. The biggest problem in the early part of the war was the Sherman was out gunned.

The P40 did well when they could make one diving pass at a Zero and run. And we then sent them to Russia and England. The P39 was also a dud. The Russians loved it as a tank buster. The F4 and F4F's only redeaming feature was the fact that they could take an incredable amount of damage and get the pilot home.

B24 wasn't fielded until 1943, B25 enterd service in 1941 as did the A20.

Most soldiers were still carrying the Springfield 03A3 in 41. Yes it was adopted in 36 but because of budget considerations the Army couldn't afford to replace them in a timely manner. The BAR was a good gun but it's German counterpast....the MG42 was better because it could lay down more fire. Germany had good artillery but the 88MM gun was an anti aircraft gun. German commanders found thay could use it as regular artillery or better yet as an anti tank gun.

We did stand out with being motorized from the rest of the world.

So on Dec 7th 1941 we were in pretty sad shape and ill prepared for war.

So yea I'd say we went into WWII with a heck of a lot of substandard equipment. Imagin getting ready to make an attack as an infantryman, supported by Sherman tanks facing Tiger Tanks and MG42s. Sure you are carrying the M1......so that makes it pure guts that carried the fight at that point. Or being a Marine pilot flying from Henderson Field in 42.

Our Military is famous for claiming to have the best equipment and food in the world......provided by the cheapest bidder!

Heck the Brits had to show us how to fix the P51....by installing the Rolls/Merlin engine in it and granting lience to Packard to make that engine here.

Aircraft production 1939-1945: We out produced Germany and Japan by an almost 2-1 margin.

Tanks: Again we produced so many that when we faced off against German armor we had a 3-1 advantage most of the time.

Ships: From Dec 1941 to 1945 we completed 22 Fleet Carriers and and 141 Jeep Carriers. We won the Battle for the Atlantic when we were building Liberty ships faster than the Germans could sink them, 2751 of them.

At the end of WWII Germany, England and Russia all had Jets that had see combat and we had the P59 ready to enter combat.

SO yea I'd say the biggest things that made us win in WWII was guts and manufacturing!

Rick

 

[M Diesel]

Somewhat ill prepared for sure.

People owning guns is not considered a serious threat during war. A nuisance yes. Other than it's use as propaganda they are not terribly effective. People who own guns want to believe otherwise but sadly the enemy doesn't meander through the woods unarmed like a deer.

I'm taking this second hand, but per the war college, analysis of conflicts up through Vietnam provide stats that say it takes 175,000 rounds to wound a soldier, 225,000 to kill him.

Sorry Rick, but one shot one kill is crap the army people want to believe in.

Winners have always out produced the enemy, except those that have won by simply resisting long term.

 

[muleboss]

[quote=" The Greatest Generation

did in fact win that war with substandard equipment with guts and a nation that could produce 83,000 tanks from1942-1945 and 12,000 aircraft, 30 supply ships and subs a month backing them up.

Why are they called the greatest generation?

 

[Stuart]

Do your history homework and look into all the money, gold and art the Swiss let Hitler keep there in return for no invasion. They were not as innocent as the text books say they were. It had nothing to do with every male having gun and ammo. Hitler had more than enough resources to overtake Switzerland.

 

[sixtyninegmc]

Did you know that the Swiss air force flew Me109s during the war, and added several to the stock they had, after shooting down luftwaffe fighters that strayed into Swiss airspace? Switzerland was agressively nuetral throughout the war, and they let anyone and everyone take advantage of the secure swiss banks. Just because they did not kick Hitler out does not make them any less nuetral. Germany did NOT have the resources to invade Switzerland, they were overextended on the eastern front, dealing with partisans in the occupied nations, and trying to save Mussolini`s army in North Africa, and trying to raise enough of a force to invade England, which was doomed to fail after the luftwaffe could not gain air superiority over england or the channel.

Maybe you should have figured out that this whole thread was about doing your research?

 

[Anonymous-0]

Rick, in your earlier post you indicated we fought WW2 with substandard equipment. I diasgreed, except for the M4 Sherman tank. I was wrong on that point, all our armour was substandard. It is just that the M4 was the best we had. Yes, we started out slow but that was mostly over by the Battle of Midway 6-7 months after 7 Dec 1941. You just have some stuff wrong. Russia never had a jet in combat in WW2. Our troups did not fight in 1941, or most of 1942 with Springfield 03A3s. O3A3s were not developed untill 1942. Early in the war the Marines mostly had 03 Springfields and the Army, mostly in the Phillipines, had 1917 Enfields. In the Phillipines 30-40 Krags were also present, as were trapdoor Springfields. As far as substandard equipment, there was a debate, loudly sounded by the Marines, that the 03 was a better weapon than the M1 rifle. The F4F was great because it had a 6 to 1 kill ratio and it could fly off the Jeep Carriers, the F6 was to heavy. That ability provided fighter and bomber cover to places it could not otherwise be. It sure made the north Atlantic unfriendly to U boats. When the P40 was fitted with the Merlin engine it gave up nothing to the P51. You said we fought WW2 with substandard equipment, I said except for armour everything we had was better. Please tell who has a better A bomb. Do you really think our Colt 45 pistols were substandard when compared to a Jap Nambue(?) or a German P38 ?