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Weapons

The airborne units were typically quite heavily armed in terms of small arms due to the fact that they lacked armour support, meaning the range and amount of equipment is rather interesting, as well as usage of captured weapons from very early stages of combat.

As a rule, most weapons used by P.A.R.A are original, war time deactivated weapons.  This means that they are totally safe and incapable of firing any projectile, but are the wartime original weapons, which is great for the public to look at as they are getting to see and handle genuine originals.  Additionally, we do make use of high quality blank firing weapons and airsoft replicas where deactivated weapons are simply too expensive, which does not apply to any of the British weapons, only captured German ones.

Enfield No.4

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This is the default weapon, you will always be able to use this within the club.  All other weapons should be discussed and organised with the group organisers, simply to be sure that the correct proportions of equipment are on display at all events.

The enfield .303 calibre rifle is widely considered to have been the greatest bolt action rifle of WWII.  Its fairly compact, light, extremely accurate, with a 10 round ammo capacity, low maintenance and a rather high rate of fire in trained hands.  The No.4 mk1 or mk2 is acceptable, as is the American produced Savage versions (made under the lend lease agreement).  The Enfield no.3 or SMLE which preceded it is not acceptable as these were phased out by the period we represent as a group.

Bren

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This was the standard light machine gun for the whole British army throughout the war.  It was an exceptional weapon, being extremely reliable and accurate, whilst using the same rifle cartridge of the enfield rifle, making logistics simple.  The Bren was primarily intended to be used from a fixed position using the bipod or larger tripod mounting, however, troops were training to fire them on the move from the hip when neccessary.  Both the Bren Mk1 and Mk2 are useable, though the Mk1's being more common. 

Sten MkII

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When the war started, Britain was using the rather famous american Thompson submachinegun, which we had desperately tried to amass through the late 1930's.  However, the Thompson could not be produced in sufficent numbers are they were extremely expensive.  The Sten was a British designed submachine gun that could be produced by unskilled labourers for a fraction of the cost.  Using the same 9mm calibre of the German sub machinguns, the sten was produced in vast quantities.  Today it has a reputation of being a peice of junk, with all kinds of bad press.  However, if you look at accounts of the time, they were highly effective and generally reliable if you weeded out the problem ones when you recieved new stock to your unit.

Sten's were normally equipped to NCO's and officers as standard, however, the airborne were given larger quanities of them to equip as per operational requirements.

Sten MkV

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This later version of the Sten was an improved version of the MKII when the war started to turn in the allies favour and we had more regular access to raw materials.  The sten MkV proved to be an excellent weapon.  During 1944, almost all Sten's in use with the airborne were this version.  The Sten MkII is accceptable within the group simply as they are much cheaper and easier to obtain, however a greater proportion of MKV's is preferable

Enfield No.4T

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The value of sniping become clear to the British army in WWI, and was therefore extremely well established by WWII.  The enfield No.4T were hand selected (for accuracy) standard No.4 rifles, that were then equipped with a telescopic sight and cheek pad.  The No.4 rifle was already an exceptional weapon for marksman and shark shooters, making this sniper rifle a brilliant peice of kit.  Each 10 man airborne section were equipped with one of these as standard.

PIAT

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This is a hand held Anti-Tank weapon which used a spring firing mechanism and having an effective range of 100m.  A 10 man section could be equipped with one fo these.  Despite the unusual firing system and short range, the PIAT saw considerable success.

2" Mortar

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A lightweight mortar that was carried on top of the small pack on a rifleman's back.  These were common to be carried as along with the PIAT, they allowed a small unit to fulfill a range of tasks, as would be required of airborne units before artillery and armour could be brought up.

Handguns

Pistols were commonly carried as sidearms by all sides in the Second World War.  The airborne carried a higher proportion of them than would be expected of an infantry unit simply because of the nature of the combat they would expect to face and the greater amount of money and resources devoted to their equipment.  Offically the handgun of British forces in WWII was the Enfield No.2 .38 Revolver, however, limited supply meant that troops were equipped with a variety of other handguns.  Additionally, in 1942, the aim was to equip those needing handguns in the Airborne with the American automatic, the famous Colt .45, though the increase in recruitment and limited quantities again led to shortages and other weapons being used.  Below are a selection of pistols that were common, from left to right, Webley MkiV .38, Colt 1911 .45, Enfield No.2 Tanker, Enfield No.2 .38, Browning Hi-Power.  Additionally there were other pistols used on a more individual are rare basis, such as Webley MkVI 455, Colt Victory Model .45 Revolver and some other small calibre automatics.

Handguns should only be carried after approval by the group leaders, as not all troops carried them.  As standard, Officers, NCO's, Bren Gunners, snipers and drivers were equipped with them, after this they were sort individually and some troops carried their own private purchase weapons.  As a rule, you would expect to see up to 50% of a British airborne unit equipped with them.

Captured Weapons

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You will commonly read that some British troops swaped their issued weapons with German ones when they could, fortunately we have primary source evidence to back the fact up.. Major Howard, who led the Airborne assault on Pegasus Bridge, several times mentions his men having swapped their weapons for German ones after the assault and in the following days.  Howard says that many men replaced their enfield rifles with 'schmeissers', the slang term for the MP40.  He also mentions that Bren gunners swapped for MG34's.  The MP40 used the same ammunition as the Sten gun, and the MG34 and 42 used the same mauser cartridge that the BESA, the British vehicle mounted machine guns, meaning ammunition supply was simple. 

It is possible that British soldiers may have utilised German handguns when possible as well, such as the Walther P38.  Captured weapons are acceptable within the group, but only if they are an accurate representation of what was done in the period and also done within realistic proportions.

Other Foreign Weapons

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Shortly before WWII and during the first two years the UK attempted to import as many Thompson sub-machinguns as possible, rightly so.  At the time, Britain did not manufacture this class of weapon and therefore had to source them elsewhere.  The Thompson was a gun that already had a colourful and reliable track record.  British forces used the M1928 thompson extensively during the beginning of the war.  However, they were highly expensive to buy and with the US entering the war, supply was cut.  In the meantime, the Sten, with its domestic market production and cheap costs was quickly replacing them.  As a general rule, Thompsons are not allowed in the group because by 1944, of which we primarily portray, they were wholly phased out from Airborne usage.  If however we are doing pre-1944 events or private events, they may be permitted, at the organizers discretion.  In which case, the Thompsons used were always the earlier M1928 model, identifiable by the top cock (as opposed to side on later M1A1).  Standard horizontal and vertical front pistol grips were used, as were drum magazines, though discarded quickly in the war.