[CholeraJoe]

I know from personal experience that neither the M-1 Garand nor the M-14, in full auto, will cycle when firing blanks without a blank adaptor. Firing live ammo with a blank adaptor installed will, with the first shot, split the barrel and turn your Garand or M-14 into a nifty club. I strongly suspect the Browning .30 cal MG works the same. Never was trained on it. The Thompson and "Grease Gun" submachine guns worked on a spring-loaded bolt principle, rather than gas-operated. I've no knowledge whether the recoil of a blank is sufficient to cycle the action of these weapons.

Duh. These were supposedly trained soldiers, not raw recruits. They would know instinctively whether they were using live ammo. I always did and I was just an Air Force puke.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I forgot about that. With no gas pressure built up in the rifle barrel from firing a live bullet, the blank wouldn't give enough pressure to automatically reload the next round.

[aculeus]

I strongly suspect the Browning .30 cal MG works the same.

You are right. It was also gas-operated as was that other great WWII infantry weapon the BAR.

My analysis: British civilians created this rumor and repeated it to themselves to explain all the deaths from the hushed-up E-Boat attack.

If dozens were "guilty" of killing scores of our own some vets would have talked by now.

[snippy_about_it]

...and I was just an Air Force puke.

Don't sell yourself short. :-)

I don't think this will hold water. Sure maybe someone fired back at the surprising Germans and in the confusion there was some friendly fire hits(provided someone had live rounds), it's possible but I don't believe it is to the degree this story states. That many people couldn't have had live ammo and not known it quicker.

[Leisler]

Without some sort of adapter, occluding the barrel and allowing gas pressures to buildup to such an extent that they would overcome parts friction, expel the cartridge, and compress the bolt enough to allow it to then pick up the next round from the magazine...well...they, Thompson and such, wouldn't work.

The friction of the bullet in the barrel, and the time it is in the barrel, produces the force necessary to operate the mechanism. Belt fed guns, have even more moving parts, thus more mechanical friction, part inertia, ect.

Blank adapter for .30 Browning Machine Gun