Standard rifle of the US armed forces for two decades. Called “the greatest battle implement ever devised” by General George S. Patton.
Posted on 11/03/2017 6:44:39 AM PDT by w1n1
Infantry weapons of World War 2 began mostly as the standard issue weapons that had been used in World War 1, but by the end of the war, numerous modern assault rifles, automatic pistols, and machine guns were being made. These weapons were made in the millions, and some were the standard issue in front line forces around the world well into the 1970s.
Rifles like the M1 Garand, Lee-Enfield, and German Karabiner 98, along with the famous Tommy Gun, Sten Gun and MP44 are familiar from countless war movies and documentaries. These weapons changed the nature of combat, allowing soldiers to lay down constant fire, and produced in gigantic quantities. Indeed, many irregular forces in conflict-ridden hot spots still use weapons made in the 40s, bought from one of the superpowers on surplus or captured through other means.
Ok, here are the most iconic weapons of World War 2.
M1 Garand Rifle
Standard rifle of the US armed forces for two decades. Called “the greatest battle implement ever devised” by General George S. Patton.
MG 42
Super raid-fire German machine gun that outclassed all others.
MP40
Iconic German submachine gun, seen in countless war movies
StG44
German fully-automatic assault rifle – the first of its kind.
Colt M1911 Pistol
Standard US sidearm from 1911 until 1985.
M2 Browning
50 caliber machine gun used by US forces from 1933 until now.
Browning Automatic Rifle
Main light machine gun used by US infantry.
Panzerschreck
German Anti-Tank weapon based off of the American made Bazooka. See the rest of the ultimate iconic World War 2 weapons here. What other weapons would need to be added here?
1911 = WWII?
Love the Garand! I have several buddies who have them, and we all took them to the range on Memorial Day for some Garand action and plugged away in unison! (Turned a lot of heads)
I can’t imagine what it was like in WWII when they had those training ranges set up with hundreds of men firing Garands downrange at the same time (with no hearing protection!)
I wouldn’t include the Browning BAR. While it was a great LMG by WW1 standards, it was outclassed by later LMGs such as the British Bren gun.
Standard issue until 1985. Should still be, IMHO.
I'd put the Geerman P38 on this list instead. First full-powered double action pistol.
Interesting that the lead photo for the article shows a British ‘Tommy’ using a BREN Gun that is not mentioned anywhere in the article.
No mention of the PPsh-41 sub-machine gun or the Mosin-Nagant rifle?
No Mosin-Nagant??? Killed more Germans that the listed Allied weapons combined.
I agree. The WW2 Vets I have talked to hated the thing.
It was simply an 06 with a twenty round mag...a GD heavy 06.
Not a weapon, but a system... The aircraft carrier. Yes it existed and was in combat before WWII, but it was really leveraged and came of age in WWII, especially the Pacific.
In both the anti-tank and anti-aircraft modes ...
Allied tankers lived in fear of this weapon.
Well, I will say that watching the BAR being used on the old TV show COMBAT made me volunteer to carry the M60 machinegun for my three years in the infantry ...
I know, not exactly the same, but still I figured that, if I was going to be in the infantry, I wanted something that would reach out and touch someone ...
At ROTC summer camp in 1964 I fired a M-1 with no officially supplied hearing protection. However, we all had to have spit shined boots and we shined them using cotton . . .
Colt M1911. 1911= year of adoption. Not year of service.
CC
Trivia: Bonnie and Clyde were killed by a BAR
The title is Iconic, not the best.
Yes, Mosin Nagant. Much more affordable than the above listed as well. I have an Ishevsk model from 1943 that is virtually guaranteed to have been used in the war. Cost with cleaning kit, sling and bayonet? $150.00
CC
Geez...can you imagine if you had a concussion in combat, which I have to believe must not have been uncommon, having to fire a weapon or experience nearby explosions?
Apart from the fear and danger of getting killed or maimed, it must have been like have a ball peen hammer whacking your skull from the inside out with every report...
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