“Tag: M3 submachine gun”

Seventy-five years ago, Allied troops invaded Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” to bring an end to Nazi tyranny, and many of them arrived by parachute or glider. They were the men of the British and American airborne, and they were well-armed indeed.

Dismissed as ugly ducklings when compared to the finely made Thompsons they replaced, the stamped and welded M3 and M3A1 “grease guns” performed very well and served several generations of American soldiers with distinction.

Whether dropped deep behind enemy lines or fighting as conventional infantry, American airborne troopers during World War II trusted their lives to their rifles, pistols, submachine guns and automatic rifles.

Most are not surprised that General Motors Corp. turned out trucks and other types of vehicles during World War II, but many are not aware that GM was also a major supplier of firearms to the “Arsenal of Democracy.”