Hacksaw Ridge is a typical lao-wing, bloody war movie. The Douban score is as high as 8.7, and the imdb score is as high as 8.1. The realistic, professional weapons, training, battles and other scenes in "Hacksaw Ridge" have been compared by "mysterious people", adding luster to this blockbuster. In fact, not only "Blood Battle Hacksaw Ridge", many foreign war films have these "mysterious people" draw their swords to help, so that the film is professional, realistic, fist to flesh.
These "mysteries" are the film's military advisors. This is an industry that is not often talked about, they provide professional technical advice and assistance for specific genre films (mostly action, war and science fiction), mainly responsible for the pre-training and on-site guidance of actors, the military details of the script, the design of the film involving military scenes, and the selection and use of military props and equipment. They can not only help the director to improve the details of the film, but also help the actors to better interpret the real image of the military and police, and escort the film as a whole.
The following weapons introduction pictures and texts are selected from Mr. He Yingbin's book "World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment" and its individual equipment series.
M1911A1 semi-automatic pistol
The standard pistol carried by the officers and men of the U.S. Army in the film. Bronzed finish, wooden grip guard, long-range trigger. In World War II, the M1911 pistol became a popular military pistol, and repeatedly added orders, until the end of the war, there were 2.7 million M1911 pistols in the U.S. Army, during World War II, the only change in M1911A1 was the change of walnut grip pieces to brown plastic grip pieces. The M1911 pistol uses a short recoil automatic barrel and a 7-round magazine for ammunition. As a semi-automatic pistol, the gun has a simple structure, is durable, and reliable, making it one of the most famous military pistols in the world.
Movie Stills: This still is from a shot in the film where the protagonist Doss and his party take a short break in a building shortly after their first landing on Okinawa. The second from left is Smutti Rick, played by Luke Bracey, who carries an m1916 holster in his right waist, which contains an m1911 pistol.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, pp. 131, 132. The M1911 semi-automatic pistol was designed by the famous American designer John Moses Browning (1855-1926). In 1907, the U.S. military began bidding for a .45 caliber revolver or semi-automatic pistol as its new standard pistol. Browning's improved pistol passed all the tests and won a big victory, and with its outstanding performance, won the military standard pistol contract. On March 29, 1911, the .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol designed by Browning and produced by Colt was selected as the standard weapon of the US army and officially named the "Colt .45 caliber m1911 semi-automatic pistol". It began equipping troops in April 1912 and became the first semi-automatic pistol to be equipped by the U.S. Army.
M1 carbine
During World War II, the m1 carbine and its morphing rifle were a fairly effective infantry melee weapon, and General Douglas MacArthur called this burst of artillery-like carbines "the greatest factor in winning the Pacific War."
Movie stills: U.S. Army soldiers already on Hacksaw Ridge armed with M1 carbines prepare to cross the sandbag bunker and attack the Japanese troops in front.
Movie Stills: In the distance, the protagonist of the film, Doss, prays for his comrades in the bloody battle of the Japanese army who are about to climb "Hacksaw Ridge". Captain Glover, played by Sam Worthington, on the left, has an M1 carbine on his back and waits for Doss to pray with a walkie-talkie in one hand before calling for naval fire at sea to cover the Japanese strongholds and positions on Hacksaw Ridge.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, pp. 133, 134. Shown here is the M1 carbine manufactured in 1944, the M1 carbine was modified in 1943, the early m1 carbine has an L-shaped flip-up, the large bore range is set at 150 yards (137 meters), and the small bore is 300 yards (275 m). Later m1 and m2 carbines changed the door to sliding, the distance from 100 meters to 300 meters can be adjusted, and the wind deviation can also be adjusted, and the handguard is thinned.
M1A1 Thomson submachine gun
The Thomson submachine gun is the first submachine gun developed in the United States, the prototype gun appeared in 1918, produced by the American Automatic Weapons Company, its earliest production model was the M1921 type, and later there were m1923, m1927, m1928a1 and m1 five series. The Thomson submachine gun is considered one of the elders of the submachine gun, and in the 1920s became a gangster weapon for bandits to kill people and overstep their fortunes, thus gaining a bad reputation. The outbreak of World War II turned the gun around, and although the U.S. Army was poorly equipped, France, Britain, and Sweden all purchased a batch for their own use, and by August 1941, allied governments had ordered a total of 318,900 submachine guns. After the establishment of the Armored Force in the United States, the crew urgently needed an automatic weapon with small firepower, and the Thomson submachine gun became a sought-after commodity for a while, and was welcomed by soldiers because of its fierce firepower and durability.
Film Stills: Taken from a continuous close-up of a U.S. Army soldier shooting with an M1A1 in the film, the camera uses overhead and heel shooting, as the soldier has been slowly and steadily advancing, the details of the reload and shell throwing are artistically processed, condensing the team's overall sense of attack onto a single soldier, and the effect is very shocking. This place is carefully designed for cinematography and director, and friends who have not yet watched the film need to pay attention to this place during the viewing process.
Movie Stills: A team of U.S. Army soldiers shoot at the Japanese in front of the bunker. Notice that the highest army soldier in the middle is holding an M1A1 submachine gun. The corresponding film here is the U.S. military suppressing fire on a Japanese bunker.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, p. 139. The picture above shows the M1928A1 Thomson submachine gun, with a caliber of 11.43 mm, using a semi-free bolt type, with an "h" shaped delay block at the moment of launch to delay the bolt opening through different angles of frictional resistance, the structure is more complex. The muzzle is equipped with a Kötz throat retract compensator and fires Colt 11.43 mm pistol cartridges, fed with 20, 30 round magazines or 50 rounds of drums.
M3 submachine gun
Soon after the US military officially installed the Thomson submachine gun, it proposed to develop a new submachine gun to replace the high-quality and high-cost Thomson submachine gun. In December 1942, the M3 submachine gun was officially adopted after testing. After finalizing the form, the Bureau of Ordnance chose the General Dynamics Guide Light Branch in Anderson, Indiana, to manufacture the submachine gun, which had accumulated a lot of experience and technology in sheet metal stamping, and it was most suitable to make the M3 submachine gun.
Movie Stills: This gun is a special accessory in the film, and is assigned by Sergeant Howell, played by Vince Vaughan. This role is very interesting in the film, the typical veteran image, and the development of the relationship with the protagonist of the film, Doss, is also a major attraction. Howell had a solo show of the M3A1 submachine gun shooting.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, p. 140. The m3 submachine gun has a caliber of 11.43 mm, adopts a free bolt type, implements continuous firing, has no fast and slow machine, the receiver is cylindrical, stamped with steel plates, and has a dust cover at the shell mouth, and adopts a telescopic steel wire stock. By replacing the barrel, bolt and magazine adapter, the .45 caliber can be quickly changed to fire 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridges. According to the shape of the M3, people gave it a nickname called "Butter Gun". After World War II, the M3 continued to be used in the U.S. military until 1990, when the submachine gun remained on the U.S. weapons and equipment list. The M3 submachine gun was also resumed by the Ithaca Firearms Company during the Korean War, and from 1955 to 1956 after the end of the Korean War, the plant continued to produce the M3A1 submachine gun, manufacturing a total of 33,227 pieces, and the product components of the plant and the guide light branch were interchangeable.
M1 semi-automatic rifle
The M1 rifle was designed by John C. Garand of the Springfield Arsenal, so it is also called the Garland M1 rifle, which is the world's first semi-automatic rifle that was mass-produced and successfully used, and its outstanding performance was loved by American officers and soldiers, and General Patton praised the M1 rifle as "a great weapon" and "the deadliest rifle in the world".
Movie Stills: Here's a shot from the film's protagonist, Doss, who refuses to participate in shooting training when he first arrives at the boot camp. During the recruits' shooting training, Doss's comrades were equipped with M1 semi-automatic rifles.
Movie Stills: This is a team of U.S. Army soldiers about to board Hacksaw Ridge, most of them carrying M1 semi-automatic rifles.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, pp. 137, 138. On January 9, 1936, after 16 years of repeated development and testing, the U.S. Army adopted a new semi-automatic rifle and officially finalized as the "American M1.30 caliber rifle" to equip combat troops. This is a kind of air-conducted automatic principle, the bolt rotation lock, the use of a more unique 8-round clip feed, when the last bullet is fired, the clip is thrown by the retractor.
M1918A2 Browning automatic rifle
When the United States entered World War II, demand for browning automatic rifles increased dramatically, so the government turned to ibm and new england small arms corp as contractors for the production of m1918a2, which produced a total of 168,000 m1918a2 during World War II.
Movie Stills: Smitty Rick, played by Luke Bracey, holds an m1918a2 and prepares to shoot, a character who is very brave and warlike in the film.
M1919 machine gun
The Browning machine gun was designed in 1916. In May 1917, the U.S. Army signed an order contract for 45,000 machine guns and began to formally equip the U.S. Army, becoming one of the main suppressive weapons for infantry in World War I and World War II. The Browning M1917 machine gun was manufactured by three companies, Remington, Colt and Westinghouse new England, and by the end of 1918 a total of 56,608 had been produced. The gun adopts the principle of short recoil of the barrel, the wedge bolt traverse movement drives the locking card iron to take off and fall lock, and 250 rounds of ammunition are supplied with ammunition to implement automatic shooting. In the 1920s and 1930s, the bulky water-cooled machine gun was completely unable to meet the needs of combat, so it was changed to air-cooled, and models such as M1919 and M1919a1 were introduced.
Movie stills: American soldiers holding the muzzle of the m1918a2 spit out tongues of fire to the surging Japanese soldiers.
Movie Stills: The machine gunner of the m1919 machine gun below the picture is hiding from Japanese bullets in the bunker, while Sergeant Howell is still showing cover to observe the enemy.
M2HB Browning 12.7 mm heavy machine gun
This machine gun was widely used in the U.S. military and continued to serve in the army after World War II. Shown is an anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the mount of the M63 anti-aircraft machine gun, fed with a 200-round drum. This heavy machine gun can also be mounted on the M1 gun mount for use as a ground machine gun, or mounted on the vehicle gun rack as a vehicle machine gun.
Historical image: In the film, when the protagonist's company first landed on Okinawa, an M4 "Sherman" medium tank of the Army's 77th Infantry Division passed through the middle of the team, and its turret was equipped with an m2hb. Since it was not possible to collect stills from this scene, a historical photograph was used instead. Pictured here is an M4A3 tank from the 6th Marine Corps Tank Battalion, providing fire support to marine infantry. The m2hb in the upper part of the turret is visible. It is worth mentioning that this is also located in the battlefield of Okinawa. Interestingly, the Marine Corps jokingly referred to the 77th Infantry Division of the Army, where the protagonist Doss belonged, as the "77th Marine Division", and gave a high evaluation of the 77th Division's amphibious and island combat level.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, p. 143. The development of the .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun began in 1918, according to the requirements of the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force, after the successful development of the first water-cooled 12.7 mm machine gun, the air-cooled machine gun was first test-fired on November 12, 1918, and was officially adopted in 1923, the model M1921, renamed M2 in 1933. In order to maintain good sustained firepower, the barrel was increased, and then named m2hb (hb is the rivery barrel, heavy barrel), m2hb in addition to the barrel weight, but also eliminated the oil pressure buffer, simplifying the machine gun structure.
M1 Bazooka Bazooka
For a long time after World War II and World War II, the Bazooka series of rocket launchers was one of the best infantry anti-tank weapons owned by the U.S. Army. The Bazooka Bazooka is a simple and practical anti-tank weapon, so named because of its tubular shape similar to a trumpet-shaped instrument called the Bazooka.
Movie stills: A U.S. Army soldier carrying an M1 Bazooka bazooka on his shoulder attacks the flank of a Japanese position.
World War II U.S. Army Individual Equipment, p. 148. The M1a1 model shown above, born in July 1943, has improved the structure of the barrel and battery, and the most obvious cosmetic change is the removal of the junction box above the front grip and barrel body. In order to better protect the shooter from the rear spray tail flame, the m1a1 also installed a large flared flame retaining ring at the mouth of the barrel, and in order to ensure safety and prolong the life of the battery, a manual insurance was added to the grip. The M6 rocket fired by the M1 was very unreliable, so the military immediately replaced the original rocket with an improved M6A1 of the M6, which was 549 mm long and weighed 1.54 kg, consisting of a warhead, fuze, a launcher and a tail fin. The M1A1 rocket launcher and M6A1 rocket are shown, painted olive brown and marked in yellow.
This article is excerpted from "World War II Army Individual Equipment: The United States"