WW2 Weapons

The World Wars 1914-18 and 1939-45.

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Recent reports:

German minesweepers
Diary for Sunday, September 14, 1941: Secret War Finland: 3 German minesweepers sabotaged in Helsinki dockyard. Read more
Hindenburg Kaioser Ludendorff 300x253 1
Diary for Wednesday, September 13, 1916: Western Front Germany: HINDENBURG ACHIEVES DE FACTO COMMAND OF CENTRAL POWERS' ARMIES. OHL (German Read more
aircraft carrier Akagi
Diary for Saturday, September 13, 1941: Neutrals Japan: Japanese Combined Fleet completes rigorous 4-day exercise in North Pacific. Read more
bulgar soldaten graben 1
Diary for Tuesday, September 12, 1916: Southern Fronts Macedonia: Allied offensive begins on west flank at 0600 hours. Serb First Read more
Russian withdrawal roads
Diary for Friday, September 12, 1941: Russian Front Russians withdraw from Chernigov, key town mid-way between Kiev and Gomel. First Read more
russland frauen kriegsindustrie 1
Diary for Monday, September 11, 1916: Eastern Front Russia: General Averyanov to STAVKA: '... we are close to complete exhaustion Read more
Soldiers of the Red Army preparing mines
Diary for Thursday, September 11, 1941: Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa, Siege of Leningrad: General Zhukov replaces Voroshilov as Leningrad Defence Read more
erschoepfte soldaten 300x217 1
Diary for Sunday, September 10, 1916: Western Front Battle of the Somme: German counter­-attack fails at Ginchy, British advance east Read more
destroyed Russian supply train
Diary for Wednesday, September 10, 1941: Sea War Pacific: New Zealand naval forces renamed 'Royal New Zealand Navy'. Read more
Unsere Schutztruppen 213x300 1
Diary for Saturday, September 9, 1916: African Fronts East Africa: Main British advance of 1st Division reaches Tulo but Lettow's Read more
View through a German telescope on Leningrad
Diary for Tuesday, September 9, 1941: Eastern Front Operation Barbarossa, Siege of Leningrad: Finns halt on northern outskirts of Leningrad Read more
German 38-cm gun L/45
Diary for Friday, September 8, 1916: Western Front Germany: Hindenburg and Ludendorff in first visit to Western Front, hold meeting Read more
petrol tanks in front of Leningrad are burning
Diary for Monday, September 8, 1941: Russian Front Operation Barbarossa, SIEGE OF LENINGRAD (Day 1): Panzers of German Army Group Read more
Schutztruppe Maxim MG 300x175 1
Diary for Thursday, September 7, 1916: African Fronts Actions near Kisaki (until September 8): c.2,600 Germans with 22 MGs beat Read more
Russian battleship Marat
Diary for Sunday, September 7, 1941: Sea War Baltic: Russian battleship Marat - trapped at Leningrad - bombards German forces Read more
McCudden 204x300 1
Diary for Wednesday, September 6, 1916: Air War Western Front: Flight-Sergant McCudden (DH2 pilot in 29 Squadron) scores first of Read more
German infantry advancing near Leningrad.
Diary for Saturday, September 6, 1941: Russian Front Leningrad encircled. Germans capture Schlusselburg, 40 km east of Leningrad, at junction Read more
de gefangene frz verwundete 300x209 1
Diary for Tuesday, September 5, 1916: Western Front Battle of the Somme: British capture Falfemont Farm and link with French Read more
Russian town in flames
Diary for Friday, September 5, 1941: Air War Norway: RAF B-17 Flying Fortresses attack pocket-battleship Admiral Scheer in Oslo Fjord Read more
Franzosen schleppen Fluegelminen 224x300 1
Diary for Monday, September 4, 1916: Western Front Battle of the Somme: Vain British attack on Falfemont Farm. Haig congratulates Read more

About WW2 Weapons

WW2 affected virtually almost any corner of the globe. In the six years between 1939 and 1945, some kind of 50 million people lost their lives, and hardly any who survived were not affected. It was the costliest and utmost widespread conflict the world has forever obtained.
It was subsequently battled on ground, sea and in the air with weapons which in fact had first been used in World War One of 1914-18. Ironically, a far greater conflict was to come out from the burning embers of these ‘war to end all wars’, and with it huge innovations in technologies.
The countries engaged in WW2 finally owned the techniques, potential and weapons to fight every other in a much more powerful – and more deadly – manner.

However only Britain, her Empire allies as well as Germany were engaged during the full period (as well as, in fact, Japan and China since 1937). For all the other nations the conflict was of a shorter duration. The US and Japan, for example, were at war from December 1941 to August 1945 (and the USA was at the same time at war with Germany, until Hitler‘s defeat in May 1945).

The state of affairs was so complex, the skeins of partnerships and enmity so connected that it would require a really huge document in fact to illustrate the prospect.
Only one factor was less complicated and widespread to all the nations involved: the nature of the weapons that the soldier used to struggle their way to triumph – or defeat.

Of course, there were differences in detail of the WW2 weapons: the German Panzer V Panther was a very different tank from the US M4 Sherman, the Russian T-34, or the English Cromwell. But in fact they were all much the same – armored vehicles mounting powerful guns running on tracks.

The small arms with which the various opponent countries equipped their armies were totally different weapons in details too, but basically these were all guns for launching projectiles at high speed.
Simply speaking, lots of people would just say that guns are guns, bombs are bombs, aircraft are planes, and so on. But there is definitely even more to it than that, for the abilities to obtain victory or lose a war actually rested on these kinds of WW2 weapons’ qualities, just as a lot of as it did on the fighting abilities of those who employed them and on the strategic sense of those who directed them in their use.

Shermans vs Panthers
Shermans vs Panthers with 3d models.

General about WW2 Weapons:

All information, data, specifications and statistics used on the website WW2 Weapons have been compiled from a variety of sources and the large library of the author – who now lives on Crete for a long time – about military history and history, especially about the world wars, which has been built up over decades.

The most important source references and notes about additional literature can be found at the end for the most articles. To the best of our knowledge and belief, the most secure and reliable information and sources were used, which are also constantly updated and improved.

These data and specifications are used among other things for as accurate as possible historical military simulations, such as the war game WW2 Total. The photos are mostly ‘public domain’, but partly also property of the author.

The author therefore asks for understanding that he can’t handle additional requests for the sources or pictures beyond that due to time constraints and provides the information and its sources to the internet community as ‘as published’, i.e. either the visitor of this website considers it helpful and agrees with it over, or just leaves it.
Discussions and suggestions for improvement are nevertheless welcome and can be held below the respective reports.

Panzermuseum Munster,
Norman ‘Kretaner’ visits Panzer Museum Munster, Germany.
WW2 Weapons
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Conflict of Nations - World War III