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Weapons in World War II

Page history last edited by White Rabbit 13 years, 10 months ago

 

Many different types of weapons were used throughout the course of World War II.  Pistols and sub-machine guns were the smallest hand-held weapons; they were compact and great for hand to hand combat.  The rifle was the main weapon used by the infantry men of World War II.  The rifle was valuable primarily because of its accuracy.  Machine guns were the next step because they were fully automatic; they were invaluable in urban combat.  Lastly, explosives played a pivotal role in battle.  A wide range of weapons were necessary in World War II, including rifles, pistols, sub-machine and machine guns, and explosives.

 

 

Rifles

Rifles were the most used type of weapon in World War II. Most soldiers carried bolt-action rifles; these are known to be powerful and very accurate. Bolt action means that each individual round must be loaded and pumped.  For example, the Karabiner 98k was one of the bolt-action rifles used by many soldiers. From the bolt-action rifles came the semi-automatic rifle.   The semi-automatic rifle was more sophisticated because the shooter can keep aiming down the sites without having to stop and reload.  It also contains a gas-operated system, using a gas piston.  An example

 of a common semi-automatic is the M1 Garand.

     The next type of rifles to be developed was the assault rifle. "Assault rifles were lighter and more reliable" (Enger  656). For example, the Soviet AK-47 was designed by the Russians. It is able to fire the 7.62mm cartridge with a gas operated system. This is a fully automatic weapon, but was not developed until near the end of the war.  Because of its power, this gun delivered a far more powerful and lethal shot. Following World War II, rifles continued to change and evolve, becoming more complicated and more powerful.

                                   

                                                                  M1 Garand                                                                                       Karabiner 98k

 

Pistols and Sub-machine guns

 

          Many pistols and small rifles or sub-machine guns were used in World War II. Pistols were carried in combat by soldiers who were not expected to use them as their main fighting weapon. A pistol were extremely inaccurate; soldiers and pilots kept them holstered on their hip in the event they may need it.  It is common knowledge that, "pistols are generally not suitable for military fighting" (Warren 614).  Sub-machine guns were considered the best weapons for Close Quarters Combat (CQC). Sub-machine guns were smaller and more handy than the standard rifle.  However, sub-machine guns were far less accurate because of their shorter barrels.  Today, sub-machine guns are used by SWAT times for clearing buildings and other such responsibilities.

 

 

 

 

 

                

                                  Colt 1911                                                                                    

 

 

Explosives

   

 

 

Explosives and bombs were also a part of battle during World War II.  Some of the explosives that were used were anti-tank weapons, hand grenades, and mortars. Anti-tank weapons usually fired a small rocket. These were short range but very effective. "This powerful but short range weapon..." (White 10). Mines could be used to destroy tanks. Hand grenades were very popular in World War II. They were able to be carried in the pockets of soldiers and were a powerful explosive.  A grenade, thrown into a trench had a "kill range" of thirty feet.  Explosives allowed a soldier to keep distance while still inflicting damage.

 

 

 

 

Machine Guns

 

Machine guns are known to hold a large amount of ammunition and are also able to be fired at a rapid rate.  The machine gun's rate of fire is as high as 500 to 520 rpm on average.  Most machine guns were light enough to be carried by a single soldier.  This weapon was designed to fire continuously, raining a hail of bullets at the enemy.  Machine guns proved perfect for holding down an entire area during battle.  These weapons were even capable of shooting planes out of the air. The main flaw of the machine gun is that they can take a very long period of time to reload.  Large machine guns, not meant to be carried by a man, were usually on the decks of large ships.  For example, during the bombing of Pearl Harbor, these large machine guns were used to shoot Japanese fighter planes out of the air.  "The machine gun, as its name suggests, mechanized killing in World War II" (Infantry 1).  

 

RETURN TO HOME!

 

Brian Hanlon

 



Works Cited 

 

Bowmer, Rick. World War II Anniversary . N.d. Ap images. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://apimages.ap.org/>.

 

“Infantry Weapons Of World War 2.” 2WorldWar2. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 May 2010. <http://2worldwar2.com/‌infantry-weapons.htm>.

 

Karabiner 98k. N.d. flickr. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.flickr.com/‌photos/‌36224933@N07/‌3679929195/>.

 

Reynolds, Matthew. Classic Weapons of World War II. Channel 4 television, n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.channel4.com/‌history/‌                

     microsites/‌W/‌ww2weapons/‌index.html>.

 

Tucker, Spencer C. The Encyclopedia of World War II. Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO, n.d. Print.

 

WWII weapons. N.d. Ap images. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://apimages.ap.org/‌S>.

 

WWII weapons 1942. 20 Oct. 1942. Ap Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://apimages.ap.org/‌Search>.

 

 

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