This M1 couldn't have reasonably have been expected to be there on D-Day but could have been there shortly thereafter. These all date to 1944.
Were all M1s made at Springfield? The (former) armory's 3 miles down the street from me. The museum there is impressive.
Of these two . . . . . . one could've been at Normandy (on the wrist of a Brazilian observer), and the other might've been acquired by a D-Day veteran after the war. (There is a British .303 military rifle in the family, but unfortunately not at hand.) Art
Personally, I'd rather dibs the M-1 Garrand. Mil. Spec Garrands in firing condition are getting more and more difficult to find. The M-1 has a delicious amount of Ka-Boom to it.
M1s were produced at Springfield Armory and Winchester during World War II. Production was ratcheted upward again during the Korean War which saw Springfield Armory again produce M1s with additional contracts let to Harrington & Richardson and International Harvester. Being an accumulator of a collector I'd enjoy having one from each manufacturer. The one in my photo is Springfield Armory production. Would love to visit the Springfield Armory. Intend to do so one day. Hi Art; Is the black dialed one the earlier one? It'd be nice if vintage items could talk. Who knows? You could be right about your watches. I love the British arms as well.
Short ( easy ) quiz Ignore the gratuitous Speedmaster ( added just to confuse ), what is the WWII relic, that it is resting on ? It was manufactured in 1941, so was floating around somewhere ?, in 1944
This watch is not an Omega or even anything special (except to family). But is was present on D-Day and participated in actions that followed until late August 1944. The watch came home, my uncle is still in the Brittany American Cemetery in in France. No crystal, the seconds pieces missing yet it still will run.
Your watch's story is both sobering and inspiring. Thanks so much for posting the photo and description.
Congratualtions !!! - It was a bit easy - The magazine release button is a dead giveaway 1941 Waffenamt marked FXO, C.G. Haenel manufactured MP40 in 9mm As a Design Lecturer, I have to admire its design simplicity, ecconomy of production, & brilliant functionality - Not unlike the Speedmaster '68 This example is an 'early deactivation' under UK Law - with full working action, & fully strippable
Curious if anyone else reading this made it over to mark the 70th anniversary of the landings in 2014? Normandy was....quite a scene.
Elgin underwater demolition team (UDT) watch and 30T2 Omega, both sporting 1944 serial numbers USN "C" mark is WWII era marking, I've read that there were only about 1200 issued, all for combat....