Q&A · 35:25-35:43

When Royal Marines received automatic weapons

A weapons question places Royal Marine light machine guns in the First World War and submachine guns in the late 1930s and Second World War.

Light Machine Guns Royal Marines Submachine Guns World War II

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Question

When did the Royal Marines receive light machine guns and submachine guns?

Short answer

Light machine guns date to the First World War, while early submachine-gun use appears in the late 1930s and is definite by the Second World War.

Notes

Royal Marine use of light machine guns dates to the First World War. Early examples of weapons that would become submachine guns appear by the late 1930s. By the Second World War, their use is definite rather than tentative.