Tanks need infantry support just as the infantry needs armor. These are some of the fine weapons carried by American servicemen in World War II. Three of these firearms come from the genius of John Browning starting with the Colt Model M 1903 automatic pistol in .32 cal. which was called the "general officer's" pistol and issued as such. The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) Model 1918 in .30-06 cal. was used as the squad light machine gun. It could have been issued to frontline troops in World War I but for the fact that the U.S. Army didn't want any to fall into German hands! Instead the Army had the doughboys use the basically useless French Chauchat auto rifle. Finally a few BARs were issued in the Fall of 1918. They were in more plentiful supply for World War II and continued on through the Korean War. The M1 "Garand" Rifle in .30-06 was adopted in 1936, but mass production did not ramp up until 1941. The United States was the only power which had a semi-automtic rifle as its standard rifle in World War II. It was well liked by the soldiers with the only objections being the "clang" of the ejecting 8 shot clip which let the enemy know one had to reload and the unfortunate occurance of "M1 thumb" if the bolt closed on the rifleman's hand while loading the clip. General George S. Patton said the M1 was "the greatest battle implement ever devised." The Thompson Submachine Gun would have debuted in World War I if the war had dragged into 1919. Instead the "Tommy gun" made its debut in the 1920s with the Irish Republican Army during "The Troubles" and the street warfare of American gangsters during Prohibition. The U.S. Marine Corps borrowed Thompsons in the 20s from the Post Office Department during the fighting in Nicaragua. The gun made an impression and was adopted for military use. The M1 Thompson pictured was a much simplified version redesigned by Savage Arms. Both the older year dated versions and the new M1 Thompsons were used in World War II. The Thompson was a bit heavy at over 10 pounds, but it had a great reputation for reliability and knockdown power using the .45 cal. ACP round. One of the world's classic handguns is the Colt Model 1911 in .45 cal. ACP designed by John Browning. It is still used by the U.S. special operations units today. Learning how to use this pistol might not be easy. Some soldiers hated it, but nobody denied the power of the .45 cal ACP. The 1911A1 pistol shown includes post WWI modiifcations.