The Pacific is the 2010 WWII HBO miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, who previously produced the acclaimed Band of Brothers. This miniseries focuses on the experiences of US Marines fighting in the Pacific Theater of World War II and is primarily based on the memoirs of Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge.
The following weapons were used in the HBO miniseries The Pacific:
A Marine Sniper uses an M1903A1 Springfield with scope during the assault on Peleliu Airfield.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingA pair of M1903A1 Springfield sniper rifles (.30-06) with 7.8x Unertl scopes. The guns pictured here were the actual rifles used in Letters from Iwo Jima (one is primary, the other is a back-up), and the rifle was fired by Master Sergeant Tom Minder, one of the technical advisors, in the filmError creating thumbnail: File missingIn this promotional image, a Marine sniper carries takes cover behind a truck, scoped M1903A1 Springfield in his hands. This image didn't make it into the final cut, but if you look closely during the assault you can see a blurred shot of the Springfield as the sniper shoots an enemy soldier taking cover behind a wrecked car.Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe sniper watches for enemy counterattacks.
M1903A3 Springfield
The M1903A3 Springfield rifle is the general issue weapon for the Marines who land and fight on Guadalcanal in Part 1 and Part 2, as all the new M1 rifles were sent to the US Army. The Marines seen using the Springfield include Sgt. J.P. Morgan (Joshua Biton), Cpl. Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens (Josh Helman), PFC Wilbur 'Runner' Conley (Keith Nobbs and Pvt. William LaPointe (Sam Parsonson). After being replaced with the M1, it was still used by Marines on the railway journey in Episode 3, to compare accuracy with the M1. PFC Ronnie Gibson (Tom Budge) is able to shoot a cow from the moving train.
The M1 is first seen in Guadalcanal, when Sid Phillips (Ashton Holmes) finds, to his disgust, a crate of newly arrived M1 Garands for the army. Whilst stationed in Melbourne, the Marines replace the M1903 with the M1 Garand, which remains the main battle rifle throughout the series. During Part 3, riding in a train through the Victorian country, several Marines compare the M1 to the M1903. In combat, amongst those who use it are PFC Bill "Hoosier" Smith (Jacob Pitts) and PFC Bill Leyden (Brendan Fletcher). Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) normally carries the M1 Carbine, but he uses the M1 on two occasions, one when he uses Leyden's to kill an attacking Japanese soldier in Part 7, and during a Japanese Banzai charge in Part 9.
The M1 Carbine is carried by several characters in the series including Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello), Capt. Andrew Haldane (Scott Gibson), Cpl. R.V. Burgin (Martin McCann) and PFC Merriell "Snafu" Shelton (Rami Malek). John Basilone (Jon Seda) switches between an M1 Carbine and the Browning M1919 while on Iwo Jima in Part 8.
The Arisaka Type 99 was one of the main battle rifles used by the Japanese Army in the Pacific theater and is seen used throughout the series, notably in Part 1 in Guadalcanal and Parts 5-7 during the battle of Peleliu then again in the hands of several Japanese Soldiers charging on Okinawa in Part 9.
Several Marines who fight on Guadalcanal in Part 1 are seen with the M1928A1 Thompson. Lt. Hugh Corrigan (Henry Nixon) had a 50 round drum on his for most of Part 1 until the end, replacing it with a 30 round "stick" magazine. In Part 2, Sgt. Manuel 'Manny' Rodriguez (John Bernthal) uses an M1928A1 Thompson with a stick magazine when running ammunition.
Several Marines are seen carrying or firing the M1A1 Thompson. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) uses a Thompson M1A1 throughout the rest of the series, notably in Part 4, when he takes out a Japanese patrol trying to flank his unit and then in Part 5 and 6 when the Marines land on Peleliu. In Part 9 on Okinawa Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) picks up a Thompson and uses it for a good duration of the episode. Other Marines such as Gunnery Sgt. Elmo Haney (Gary Sweet) and Sgt. Stone (Toby Leonard Moore) also use the Thompson. Bill Leyden (Brendan Fletcher) is seen with an M1A1 on Okinawa in Part 9 in place of the M1 Garand he used on Peleliu.
The main sidearm of the Marines in the miniseries is the Colt M1911A1. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) and John Basilone (Jon Seda) are seen using the pistol, and in one scene Leckie threatens Lt. Hugh Corrigan (Henry Nixon) with an M1911A1 given to him by Cpl. Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens (Josh Helman) and several Marines including Lt. Col. Lewis 'Chesty' Puller (William Sadler) are seen with the handgun holstered. Merriell "Snafu" Shelton (Rami Malek) uses one to shoot point-blank a captured Japanese soldier in the head and Sgt. J.P. Morgan (Joshua Biton) can be seen firing his in Part 2 on Guadalcanal while waiting for Basilone to return.
In Part 5, Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) receives a Colt New Service .45 Colt revolver in the care package sent from his family and in Part 9, uses the revolver twice in combat - once on Peleliu in Part 7 when he draws it upon hearing Japanese infiltrators, and on a wounded Japanese soldier on the island of Okinawa in Part 9. In episode 5 Sidney Phillips (Ashton Holmes) tells Eugene that "It will stop a jap faster than a clip from your carbine" which is in fact true considering the stopping power of a .45 round compared to a .30 carbine used by the M1 carbine.
The main sidearm of the Japanese was the Nambu Type 14 Pistol. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) finds one in a Japanese officer's chest when they go through the camp in which he takes it and the chest as a war trophy. Leckie ends up handing over the pistol to Dr. Grant (Matt Craven) in Part 4. On Iwo Jima in Part 8, a Japanese officer playing dead tries to kill John Basilone (Jon Seda) with a Nambu, but is shot and killed by PFC Charles Tatum (Ben Esler) before he fires.
The Marines of the 1st Division that land on Guadalcanal use Browning M1917 water cooled machine guns. Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) is seen firing it as part of a three man gun crew in Part 1. John Basilone (Jon Seda) is also seen firing it both on a tripod and from the hip in "Part 2".
Replacing the Browning M1917 in the field for the Marines is the Browning M1919 machine gun in Episode Four, where Lew 'Chuckler' Juergens (Josh Helman) and Bud 'Runner' Conley (Wilbur Smith) use it to stop a banzai charge. M1919's also are seen mounted on LVT's in the series, notably when landing on Peleliu in Part 5. Leckie (James Badge Dale) is briefly seen manning an M1919 on his LVT during the landing. In Part 8, Sgt. John Basilone (Jon Seda) trains PFC Chuck Tatum (Ben Esler) and PFC Steve Evanson (Dwight Braswell) in the use of the M1919. In Iwo Jima, Basilone uses one for a short amount of time.
The Browning M2HB machine gun is seen mounted on the Marine LVT-4's notably during the landings of Peleliu in Part 5 and Iwo Jima in Part 8. In Part 1, a machine gun team uses on during the Battle of the Tenaru.
Sid Phillips (Ashton Holmes) uses the M1 Mortar during the Battle of the Tenaru River in Part 1. An M1 Mortar is seen with its crew as Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and the Marines prepare to leave the airfield in Part 6.
Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) and Merriell 'Snafu' Shelton (Rami Malek) are part of an M2 Mortar team under the command of Cpl. R.V. Burgin (Martin McCann). During the battle of Peleliu, their team are seen carrying the different parts of the weapon and then seen firing it when the Marines cross the airfield.
