Thread for WW2 history folks

[SmileDocHill]

I'll start it off. What are some of your favorite links, sites, resources, toys, collections, places to go etc.?
Basically, picture you have a friend you haven't seen for a long time say he is just recently getting into WW2 history and is a gun owner. You say: "Cool, well then you gotta see this_________"

One Pearl I have found is Kiwitedferny on youtube. I've seen everything this guy has produced. He embodies everything that got me into guns to begin with.

YouTube - kiwitedferny's Channel
start with "gun collection - nz collection of WW2 small arms

Another gem is this company that has converted the old WW2 era, reel to reel training movies to DVD. I have this one and it is a must for Garand owners in my opinion.
M1 Garand Training Videos and Manuals - eBay (item 160309538531 end time Aug-09-09 19:34:24 PDT)

Oh, and yeah there is this site INGunOwners - Indiana Gun Owners Community but I am guessing you have heard of that one.

 

[jblomenberg16]

This link is useful for some basic firearm info, not just for WWII, but pretty much all military and even civialian firearms.

Modern Firearms & Ammunition: assault, sniper and tactical rifle, handgun, pistol, revolver, shotgun, submachine gun, machine gun, ammunition, bullet, grenade launcher


This isn't a weblink per se, but there is a good WWII museum in Seymour at Freeman Field. It focuses mainly on the use of the airfield as a twin engine bomber training base during WWII, but has some general WWII exhibts and items.

 

[turnandshoot4]

I'll start it off. What are some of your favorite links, sites, resources, toys, collections, places to go etc.?
Basically, picture you have a friend you haven't seen for a long time say he is just recently getting into WW2 history and is a gun owner. You say: "Cool, well then you gotta see this_________"

Go to one of these!

Lots of fun and fairly cheap to get into. They have one in Lowell in the first weekend in May every year. Those guys love to talk WWII.

Also, doing any search for WWII in color on youtube will yeild some awesome results.

 

[MTC]

WW2

An absolute must-see is the early 70's documentary The World At War narrated by Laurence Olivier. It's the most objective and all-encompassing I've seen, with outstanding film footage and interviews with military, political, and civilian participants from all sides.
In book form, I recommend 2194 Days Of War (an illustrated chronology of the Second World War) copyright 1977 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, S.p.A., Milano, with 620 illustrations and 84 maps.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Imperial War Museum: Welcome to the Imperial War Museum

Ministry of Defence, Pattern Room: http://www.smallarmsreview.com/pdf/jan04.pdf

Why not see what our government has to say (the lecture is given by a Hoosier and the WWII training films are very interesting): Guns Of War 2DVD DVD Movie

There's gobs of stuff on the web: List of World War II firearms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'd also recommend any of Ezell's books or Jane's.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Go to one of these.

Lots of fun and fairly cheap to get into. They have one in Lowell in the first weekend in May every year. Those guys love to talk WWII.

Also, doing any search for WWII in color on youtube will yeild some awesome results.

I would be very interested in getting some information on these type of groups, or clubs. I know reenactments occur but have no knowledge of how they come to be. Do they come from clubs, and groups or is it just a function or event that people just sign up for or show up to (surely it takes more organization than that.)

 

[Pale Rider]

If you aren't just interetsed in the firearms you could take a trip to Europe or Asia and see some of the battle sites etc first hand. I took a trip to Normandy and saw more than I could describe here, there are tons of museums over there that have munitions and arms from all sides in the war. List of books to read and movies...

Citizen Soldier
Band of Brothers both by Ambrose
The Boys Of Pointe Du Hoc by Douglas Brinkley

Watch the Longest Day with John Wayne after doing some research. It's a cheesy old movie but gives some basic background knowledge. You may also want to upgrade your cable and get the Military and Military History channel its a majority of WWII stuff with a ton of programming on weapons. Best advice I have though is go find a Vet and talk with him about his experiences, and if you can video tape or record the stories etc. We are losing Veterans of that war daily and they have a lot of wisdom that should be preserved. I've met some amazing guys with amazing stories. Just my

 

[quicksdraw]

Although I am a big buff on WW 2 history in general, the area I have most interest in is the Pacific theater. I guess that comes from being a Navy vet.
My favorite site is The Battle Off Samar - Main Menu about Taffy 3 and the Battle Off Samar during the Philippines invasion. These CVE and Tincan sailors and their accomplishment against the odds make me so damn proud of the USN I can't describe it.

 

[thej27]

Dont ignore the eastern front. The russians, germans, romanians and hungarians had some very large, brutal battles beyond Stalingrad and Kursk. The Winter and Continuation wars of 1940-1944 between Finland and Russia while WWII was going on is also good. Also the Combat Mission computer games from Battlefront.com is a great way to learn about tactics. The graphics are simple but the gameplay and unit count is great. They even simulate real tank gunnery. I cant get the second one to work on Vista so I am stuck playing it on my XP machine.

 

[turnandshoot4]

I would be very interested in getting some information on these type of groups, or clubs. I know reenactments occur but have no knowledge of how they come to be. Do they come from clubs, and groups or is it just a function or event that people just sign up for or show up to (surely it takes more organization than that.)

These are clubs. You join the Home - WWII HRS and then find a unit you want to join up with. You can be Russian, German, British, Polish, a whole slew of types of American (Infantry, Paratroopers, Rangers, etc. etc.) and I am sure there are more.

You by your own gear. Travel the midwest. Camp in a pup tent. Interact with the public and teach them about the history of your unit, the war/battle. It's a blast!

 

[SmileDocHill]

another I frequent is Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2006) - Surplusrifle.com