Officers weapons?

[Cezarek]

Please, gentlemen for an explanation. What kind of weapon used the in the British Army officers - platoon commanders during WWII and shortly after her? Whether apart from small arms (revolvers, pistols), they also used rifles (Lee Enfield) or submachine guns (STEN)?

Cezarek

[Mike Jackson]

Irrespective of what Tables of Establishment might have laid down, British infantry platoon commanders generally carried a rifle, Sten or TSMG (Thompson) in addition to a revolver. This was for purely functional reasons - add to the limited firepower of his platoon and also blend in with the riflemen and, thereby, marginally increase his chances of survival on the battlefield.

[Cezarek]

I understand. So I have a question how did his equipment look? Did he wear the ammunition pouches in his front? And where did he wear the cartridge pouches for the compass, revolver and binoculars?

Cezarek

[Old Smelly]

I'm sure that I've read that junior officers in the front line could wear standard equipment, ie, basic pouches as per other ranks. Not sure how they would arrange there other kit but I guess it could be fairly flexible in combat situations.
Lee

[Mike Jackson]

CO (left) and Officers, 1 Worcesters, Normandy 1944
1 Worc_Officers_Mouen1944.jpg

[Eddie Parks]

Any infantry subaltern who wore anything that distinguished him from his men was pressing his luck. Pistol, compass, binocular cases were all discarded and map cases were an absolute no-no. Not much to do with fire power - infantry doctrine was that a junior officer who fired his weapon except in extremis was not doing his job.

During WW1 junior officers were instructed to acquire rifle, bayonet and webbing from casualties at the earliest opportunity.

Eddie

[Brigade Piron]

Yep, two basic pouches at front of webbing, map folded into a convenient pocket (front pocket on battle dress trousers?), binoculars removed from case and worn round neck, compass in pocket. Voilà, looks like an OR at a distance.

[2747andy]

Originally Posted by Mike Jackson

CO (left) and Officers, 1 Worcesters, Normandy 1944
Attachment 67398

That cow is not paying attention!

Andy

[fougasse1940]

What kind of helmet/headdress is the CO wearing? RAC helmet without chinstrap?

Rgds,

Thomas.

[Voltigeur]

Lokks like it.
Jo

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by Brigade Piron

Yep, two basic pouches at front of webbing, map folded into a convenient pocket (front pocket on battle dress trousers?), binoculars removed from case and worn round neck, compass in pocket. Voilà, looks like an OR at a distance.

And in some units junior officers' badges of rank were removed from the shoulder straps and worn - temporarily - on the lower sleeve, just above the cuff. Curiously - and according to Robert Graves ("Goodbye to all that") - subalterns in WW1 who wore their rank stars on thie shoulders were accused of wearing a "wind-up" jacket (ie scared of being identified by snipers as being an officer).

[Old Smelly]

Originally Posted by 2747andy

That cow is not paying attention!

Andy

It might be asleep, but I believe that Normandy cattle usually do this with there feet in the air. I also see that the CO is equiped the the pipe, combat Mk1, usefull for laying down smoke.

There are several pics around that show officers in NWE trying to blend in with their men, but if you were with the LIR in Italy it was fashionable to go on patrol fully tooled up in an ott Hollywood style for maximum effect....shock and awe!! Plenty of No36s, US 'grease' guns and a few 'cross coctails' for good measure.
Lee