WW2 Weapons

The World Wars 1914-18 and 1939-45.

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Recent reports:

destroyed and abandoned position of the German field artillery
Diary for Sunday, August 29, 1915: Western Front Argonne: Fierce artillery duel. Eastern Front Baltic Provinces: Nieme­narmee storms Friedrichstadt bridgehead Read more
Headquarters of RAF Fighter Command
Diary for Thursday, August 29, 1940: Air War Battle of Britain (Day 51): 720 Messerschmitt Bf 109Es carry out sweeps Read more
Nuremberg Trial
Diary for Wednesday, August 29, 1945: Occupied countries Germany: Göring, Ribbentrop and 22 other Nazi leaders indicted as war criminals. Read more
rifleman of a German Jaeger Battalion
Diary for Saturday, August 28, 1915: Eastern Front Ludendorff orders Tenth Army advance on Vilna. Air War France: German air Read more
Me 109 Es of IIIrd Group of Jagdgeschwader 26
Diary for Wednesday, August 28, 1940: Air War Battle of Britain (Day 50): German bombers raid Eastchurch and Rochford airfields Read more
completely devastated Tokyo
Diary for Tuesday, August 28, 1945: Occupied countries Japan: Advance guard of 150 US soldiers lands at Atsugi airfield. Read more
Hindenburg mit Soldaten 300x198 1
Diary for Friday, August 27, 1915: Eastern Front Falkenhayn orders divisions from Mackensen to Danube despite Hindenburg and Ludendorff's opposition; Read more
German landing exercise
Diary for Tuesday, August 27, 1940: Sea War Hitler modifies Operation Sea Lion invasion plan: landings to be made on Read more
Allied fleet off Tokyo
Diary for Monday, August 27, 1945: Sea War Pacific: Allied 3rd Fleet - including US, British, Commonwealth and Dutch warships Read more
erbeutete ruussiche Kanonen 300x194 1
Diary for Thursday, August 26, 1915: Eastern Front Poland: Gallwitz occupies Bialystok (110 miles (ca. 177 km) northeast of Warsaw), Read more
Downed Do 17 bomber
Diary for Monday, August 26, 1940: Air War Battle of Britain (Day 48): Attempted raids on airfields round London, including Read more
Japanese fighter base
Diary for Sunday, August 26, 1945: Occupied countries Japan: Russians begin occupying Kurile Islands. Read more
Russian 7.62-cm field guns were converted to anti-aircraft guns
Diary for Wednesday, August 25, 1915: Air War Germany: 62 French bombers (2 lost by anti-aircraft fire) attack Dillingen steelworks Read more
Picture taken from one of the bombers of the first RAF night rain on Berlin
Diary for Sunday, August 25, 1940: Air War FIRST RAF NIGHT RAID ON BERLIN: 81 bombers despatched, but many fail Read more
Japanese Tanketten M 2592
Diary for Saturday, August 25, 1945: Occupied countries Germany: British forces in Western Europe redesignated 'British Army of the Rhine' Read more
French atrocity propaganda
Diary for Tuesday, August 24, 1915: Southern Front Italian Front: Austrian counter-offensive. Sea War East Africa: Royal Navy C-in-C reports Read more
One of the first bombs on London
Diary for Saturday, August 24, 1940: Air War Heavy raids on airfields in southeastern England: Manston evacuated; North Weald and Read more
Russian tanks are welcomed in Pyongyang
Diary for Friday, August 24, 1945: Home Fronts Britain: Attlee complains that abrupt ending of US Lease-Lend program has left Read more
105mm Kuestenkanone 300x187 1
Diary for Monday, August 23, 1915: Sea War Channel: Dover Patrol monitors shell Zeebrugge and Knocke. Adriatic: German U-boats U34 Read more
He 115 loading torpedo
Diary for Friday, August 23, 1940: Sea War Heinkel He 115 seaplanes torpedo two cargo ships and damage third in 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