Saving Private Ryan is the 1998 World War II film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks as a US Army Ranger captain who leads a squad of men into Normandy to locate a 101st Airborne trooper who had just lost three of his brothers in combat. The film was especially notable for its unflinching depiction of the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach.
The following weapons were used in the film Saving Private Ryan:
See the Discussion for more details on non-firearms weapons used in the film.
Rifles & Carbines
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand is used by the majority of the U.S. soldiers seen in the film. It also one of the few films that depicts the easily identifiable "ping" sound it makes ejecting its clip after the last round in the en bloc clip is fired. Based on the way everyone can hold these weapons easily, they seem to be lightweight models for easy handling in the film.
The M1 Carbine appears in the film as the main weapon of Technical Sergeant Mike Horvath (Tom Sizemore). It is fitted with a double magazine pouch strapped to the butt stock.
The squad's sharpshooter, Private Daniel Jackson (Barry Pepper), carries the sniper version of the Springfield 1903, the 1903A4 bolt-action rifle. The differences include the deletion of the front sight, and the addition of a scope. Jackson is heard quoting religious scriptures before firing his weapon. There is also a notable scene in the film where Jackson shoots a German sniper through the sniper's own scope, a feat similar to one accomplished by Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War. However, in this film, the bullet drop at 400yds would make it impossible to clear all the scope lenses, while Hathcock was far closer to his target, as well as looking down at said target (Hathcock was on a hill, while the enemy sniper was at the base). Jackson clearly has trouble cycling the gun throughout the film due to him being a lefty and the gun being built for right handed shooters.
During the bell tower sequence, Jackson's Unertl scope is very off from where the bullets hit, likely because he didn't zero it when switching it with his other scope.
As common with the German soldiers as the M1 Garand is with the Americans, the Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifle is the standard-issue weapon of the German Army. Soldiers during the battle in Ramelle line up armed almost entirely with Kar98k rifles, including Steamboat Willie, who mortally wounds Cpt. Miller with his 98k rifle. Also note how most of the rifles lack the hooded sights and cleaning rods which usually indicates Russian captures.
One German sniper is seen armed with a Karabiner 98k sniper rifle fitted with a Zeiss ZF42 scope with a rubber light blocking eye cover (which despite goof reports, is at proper eye relief with him resting his eye on it) and covered in makeshift burlap camouflage who mortally wounds PFC Adrian Caparzo (Vin Diesel) before being killed himself by Private Jackson (Barry Pepper). Jackson shoots the German sniper through his scope, a reference to a shot made by Carlos Norman Hathcock II(a legendary Marine Corps sniper) during the Vietnam War.
The M1A1 Thompson or "fast gun" is carried primarily by Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks). It is also used by Captain Fred Hamill (Ted Danson) to end a standoff between Miller's men and a group of German soldiers they had stumbled upon. The M1 Thompson was too expensive to produce by the Normandy invasion and the cheaper M1A1, which simply incorporated a fixed firing pin as part of the bolt, made it far easier for mass production as well as cheap too. 50 round drum magazines were never issued by the United States army, being too bulky and unreliable, and the M1A1 was in fact unable to even use a 50 round drum due to a cost-saving redesign of the magazine well. This fact is accurately represented through the movie, with the Thompsons always using 30-round "stick" magazines.
The MP40 is also used by German forces in the film, notably in the scene where Miller's squad stumbles upon a group of German soldiers, as well as during the defense of the bridge at Ramelle.
As the squad's support gunner, PFC Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) carries a Browning Automatic Rifle M1918A2 or "B.A.R." as his main weapon. The B.A.R. Reiben carries is not his originally issued one, which he claims he lost during the start of the D-Day landing to keep from drowning, and has the bipod removed, making it more into an assault rifle instead of a Light Machine Gun. Further supporting this theory is how he fires it on the faster of the B.A.R.'s two full-auto fire modes, instead of the more efficient slow auto-fire used for support. Reports have said like the M1 Garands in the film, this B.A.R. was lightened for easier use by the actors, making it far easier to shoulder fire the weapon as an assault rifle. (Periods have been added to the B.A.R. abbreviations to make sure no one refers to the weapon incorrectly as a "Bar".)
The Browning M1919A4 or "Browning .30 caliber" machine gun is briefly seen being lugged by a soldier during the D-Day landing. It is also among the weapons used by the defenders during the final defense at Ramelle. At Ramelle, one M1919A4 is seen being manned by an Airborne trooper in the church tower with Pvt. Jackson and another is manned by Corporal Henderson (Max Martini) and Pvt. Stanley Mellish (Adam Goldberg). Both guns eventually run out of ammunition, their users being killed by the Germans. Throughout the scene, the gun in the tower uses a disintegrating belt and Mellish's gun has a fabric belt.
The German MG42 machine gun is first seen in bunkers overlooking Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings and then in a machine gun nest at the base of a radar site the squad encounters.
There are several appearances of the M1911A1 pistol, in the hands of Horvath (Tom Sizemore), Jackson (Barry Pepper), and Miller (Tom Hanks), as well as other members of the squad. Horvath uses it to threaten PFC Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) when he threatens to abandon his squad, later throwing it at a German during the final battle when he runs out of ammo. Miller is seen firing it at an advancing Tiger tank as he lies wounded on the bridge in one of the film's more memorable moments.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingM1911A1 - .45 ACPError creating thumbnail: File missingPvt. Daniel Jackson (Barry Pepper) fires his M1911A1 into a German filled trench.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPvt. Jackson draws his M1911A1 when they first confont Steamboat Willie and checks the magazine, which is clearly empty.Error creating thumbnail: File missingHorvath (Tom Sizemore) threatening to shoot PFC Richard Reiben (Edward Burns) with his M1911A1.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA wounded Cpt. Miller fires his M1911A1 at an advancing Tiger Tank. Note how his .45 is clearly out of battery, but in perfect working order in the next shot.Error creating thumbnail: File missingCpt. Miller fires his M1911A1 at the advancing Tiger tank.Error creating thumbnail: File missingMiller in amazement after seeing the Tiger blow up after shooting it with his M1911A1 (which was actually blown up by a P-51 Mustang). In this sequence, the pistol was only loaded with six shots instead of the fully-loaded seven which is not unusual since soldiers don't always 'top off' their magazines in the middle of a war zone after firing one or more rounds previously. It is also likely that since there are too many camera angle shots of Miller firing his 1911, the camera shot for the seventh round may be unused or misplaced.
Luger P08
During the final assault in Ramelle, a German soldier can be seen using Luger P08 pistol when facing off with Sgt. Horvath and is killed but still manages to wound him with it. The Luger P08 pistol was a very common second line service pistol, with the Walther P38 as the official front line issued sidearm in World War Two. The Luger was still being manufactured during World War Two and was commonly issued to Civilian Polizei as well as Military Police and as request pieces for any military officer at their discretion. There were huge numbers made in World War One and the handgun was in constant manufacture from the time of its initial offering until 1942, when all production switched to the P38. It was common to see Luger 08 Pistols in the hands of vehicle crewmen, crew served weapons, second line units, artillery units. It also ended up in the hands of many front line NCOs as well as officers, since it was still 'regulation' to carry it in the Wehrmacht. Note: there seems to be more photographic evidence of Waffen SS officers wielding the Luger P08 than the Regular army, which may attest to some 'politics' of the ordnance supply chain.
The M1A1 Bazooka is used throughout the film. It is first seen in the hands of a U.S. Army soldier under the command of Captain Hamill. Later we see Private James F. Ryan (Matt Damon) use an M1A1 Bazooka to destroy a German half-track. This same Bazooka is later used by Horvath during the final battle to destroy a German Marder self-propelled gun and again in an attempt to destroy a Tiger tank, but the rocket is deflected off the tank's heavy armor.
During the final battle, one of the German soldiers can be seen carrying a Panzerschreck or "Tank Terror" rocket launcher, but is killed before his weapon can be brought to bear.
During the attack on the machine gun nests, the squad uses Mk 2 hand grenades to take out all but one of the Germans manning it, some of which throw the grenades back at them, though thankfully miss. Later, at the final battle in Ramelle, several Mk 2 hand grenades are tossed into a disabled German tank, killing the crew.
During the opening Omaha Beach landing scene we can briefly see a rifle mounted M7 rifle grenade fired from an M1 Garand after the German line has been broken.
During the final battle of the film, Private Stanley Mellish (Adam Goldberg) and Corporal Henderson (Max Martini) get several Model 24 Stielhandgranates thrown at them while manning one of the M1919A4 machine guns. Thankfully the two are able to grab and toss the grenades clear before they detonate.
Model 24 Stielhandgranate "Potato Masher" High-Explosive Fragmentation hand grenadeError creating thumbnail: File missingCpl. Henderson is hit in the chest with a Model 24 Stielhandgranate.
Specialty Weapons
M1 Flamethrower
During the D-Day landing scene Doyle (Glenn Wrage) uses his M1 Flamethrower to clear one of the German bunkers overlooking Omaha Beach, turning the occupants into human torches who are picked off by other soldiers as they emerge, before they are ordered to let them burn. During the opening of the scene, a flamethrower operator gets hit in the napalm tank and gets blown up along with his fellow comrades around him.
Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) aids some soldiers in employing M1A1 Bangalore Torpedos to clear the barbed wire protecting the German bunkers on Omaha Beach.
A German Flak 38 is crewed by several SS soldiers during the final battle at Ramelle and delivers devastating 20mm flak rounds on the Airborne troops who were on the Tiger tank. It is finally brought down when PFC. Reiben (Edward Burns) flanks it from above and takes out the whole crew single-handedly with his B.A.R.
During the final battle at Ramelle, Private Ryan (Matt Damon) and Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) arm 60mm M2 Mortar rounds by banging them against the steel launching base of the mortar tube and throw them like hand grenades at advancing SS soldiers, scoring several kills. While this is possible, they are banging the wrong end; to use the mortar shells in the way they did, they would have to slam the other end against it. This scene is based on the real life tactics of Medal of Honor winner Charles "Commando" Kelly, who really used 60mm mortar shells as granades during a firefight in Italy
