Re: British Infantry fighting Weapons

Biggs wrote:

The British had the superb Enfield 303, but struggled to develop apart
from the Sten rapid fire equipment, was that because we could rely on
the Americans for the Thompson.

The Germans had the Karabiner Rifle, the MP38, MP40 and the beyond its
time Mp44 the pre-curser and the idea for the well known AK47, so they
continually to develop and update their equipment during the war
obviously they had no one else to rely.

So why did the British struggle to inovate?

Radar (both surface and airborne), the PIAT, the entire Ultra project, the Sten gun, the blockbuster and grand slam bombs, the X-craft submarines, the "Upkeep" bouncing bombs, the Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon, aerial rockets, "huff duff" (high frequency direction finding), I don't detect any British "struggle to innovate".

The so-called Karabiner Rifle (the 98K) was no great innovation in any event. It was merely a shortened version of the G98, the rifle with which Germany fought the First World War, and was not noticably superior to the British SMLE .303 rifle.

What was the best weapon of the war?

The Bates Eight Barreled Bottle Thrower.

Cheers,

.