There were, however, a couple of enhancements that still help keep the show going. One is that the film editors finally took the hint that they showed to much and too many of previous scenes after the commercial breaks. Therefore this allowed a few more minutes of the show itself and was able to add in some more footatge.

However, its recognition of the Bazooka anti-tank missile did not touch on the exact differences in rocket diameter. If the producers can’t find some bazookas in origninal condition and actual live ammo to fire with it, there is plenty of combat footage around to fill in.

Or, they just could have used the movie prop bazooka from “Searching for Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers”.

It also still missed any real reference to the German Panzerfaust of WW II that was the forerunner of today’s RPG,

Also showing combat footage of the WW II Katusha rocket launchers would have been an excellent connection between the ancient Koriean and today’s multiple rocket launchers.

Though basically a re-run, I still enjoyed watching “Gunny” having lots of fun studying and testing some of these weapons systems. I like his style but he needs some better historians and archival film researchers to make the episodes complete.

In WW II the 2.35″ Bazooka was quite succesfrul as was the 3.5″ Bazooka in the Korean War. But even then you had to be fairly close to get a hit. And if the bunker was logs and sandbags (not loose cinder blocks), you had to try to shoot through the slit.

By the time the Korean War started, our tanks were now armed with high velocity guns and used the “Pick and Shovel” technique with both 76 mm and 90 mm guns.

The method was to fire a round of Armor Piercing to drill a deep hole in the side of a bunker (the “Pick”). Then it was followed by an HE round (the “Shovel”). Logs and sand bags could be “dug” apart quickly by this method and from a safe distance behind some thick steel.

Gunny would have loved to be in a restored tank of that era and punched the firing plunger. Hmmm. So would I. I wonder if we got any M41A1 Walker Bulldogs around to demonstrate that. Nah. Probably can’t fit through the hatch anymore.

In showing off the greatest MG in the world (the “Mah Deuce” of course) it would have been interesting to show the Russian attempt to copy it with their 12.7 mm MG. Comparisons of effectiveness and durability would have been interesting though the Russian gun had to be hauled around on wheels.

A friend who normally is not interested in firearms watched it with me and found it very educational and Gunny very enjoyable to watch.

Our .30-40 Krag-Jorgensons still used black powder that would give away our positions but the Mausers that might only show a quick flash made it hard for us to fire back when the enemy was in denxe forest or brush.

But gunny sort of contradictted himself when he extolled the virtues of the M-1 Garand. I love that rifle also and have two of them.

But, on his former show (Mail Call), he said the M-14 was his most favorite rifle. To me, the M-14 and the M-1A are merely upgraded versions of the Garand but with a box magazine. But the M-14 is also selective fire and should also have been used in the full auto scene where everybody had a lot of fun.

Such an upgrade to the M-1 was designed and tested in WW II using a BAR magazine but wasn’t ordered in quantity or issued. Berretta of Italy sort of beat us to it whith their BM-59 while we were still testing the M-14.

So, gunny, which is your favorite? The M-14 that can use only .308 Wiinchester or the M-1 Garand that will eat anything that says .30-06 on the base?

However, using blade bayonets as knives or short swords overlooked two of the most famous knives of WW II and Korean War fame.

Namely the K-Bar (basically a small Bowie knife) and the Fairbain Commando knife (a heavy handled two-edged stilleto/dagger) of Carlson’s Raiders fame.

How could Gunny forget his fellow Marines of Carlson’s Raiders?

BUT: He was only technically correct in saying the .44 magnum did not exist in the old West when he was showing off his Ruger Super Blackhawk.

What was overlooked by the writers is tha before S&W came out wih its .44 Magnum in the 1950′s prior to that the Whitneyville Walker Colt was considered the most powerful handgun back in those days. I tas a black powder front loading 6-shot revolver, percussion cap fired and no topstrap to reinforce the frame.

It was an extremely heavy gun and when I fired a replica once I needed both hands to hold it up.

The WW II Bazooka was 2.35″ dia and good against most light & medium German and Japanese armor. Knocking out a Tiger was more of a miracle than power.

Also the Germans had their own version called the “Panzerfaust” of which today’s RPG is patterned after.

In the Korean War, the Bazooka was enlarged to a 3.5″ dia warhead to take on the T-34′s.

Also the predecessor to the modern multiple rocket launcher was the “Katusha” rocket racks carried on truck beds by the Soviets and on top of M-4 Shermans by the Americans.

I know you can only get so much in with the showtime allowed. But the editors can delete some (or most) of the previous scenes after each commercial break to fill in a little more of the history.

Otherwise, a really very good episode. Too bad gunny wasn’t allowed to fire the Javelin.