WW2 Weapons

The World Wars 1914-18 and 1939-45.

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Recent reports:

British soldiers in Berlin
Diary for Tuesday, July 3, 1945: Occupied countries Germany: First US occupa­tion troops arrive in Berlin; British contingent arrives next Read more
Women in the munitions factory. Inadvertently this will become an important step on the road to women's emancipation.
Diary for Friday, July 2, 1915: Home Fronts Britain: Munitions of War Act passed and £250 million War Loan Act; Read more
amphibious verhicle LWS
Diary for Tuesday, July 2, 1940: Sea War British liner Arandora Star (15,501 t), carrying 1,500 Italian and German internees Read more
refugees in Berlin
Diary for Monday, July 2, 1945: Sea War Pacific: Rockets fired at Kaihyo island (North Japan) by US submarine Barb. Read more
A French Guardsman with the new Adrian Steel Helmet.
Diary for Thursday, July 1, 1915: Western Front French Army peak mobilized strength with 4,978,000 men plus 152,000 released to Read more
Street scene in Guernsey after occupation
Diary for Monday, July 1, 1940: Occupied countries Channel Islands: German occupation completed. Air War Hull and Wick (northeast Scotland) Read more
Australian infantrymen advancing through swamps
Diary for Sunday, July 1, 1945: Sea War Pacific: Australians land at Balikpapan (Operation Oboe II). Read more
ital inf Isonzo 300x227 1
Diary for Wednesday, June 30, 1915: Southern Fronts Isonzo: Main Italian infantry assault begins along 21-mile front but only gains, Read more
Maginot Line bunker surrenders
Diary for Sunday, June 30, 1940: France Franco-German-Italian Armistice Commission in session at Wiesbaden. Surrender of 220,000 French troops cut Read more
US soldiers rest
Diary for Saturday, June 30, 1945: Okinawa Americans complete 'mopping up' operations: 8,975 Japanese killed and 2,902 captured, June 23-30. Read more
German cavalry 1
Diary for Tuesday, June 29, 1915: Eastern Front Poland: Mackensen advances between river Vistula and Bug, reaches Tomaszow next day. Read more
Krakow force labor
Diary for Saturday, June 29, 1940: Politics German Government White Book published containing details of Allied plans to 'invade' Low Read more
B24 over Balkpapan
Diary for Friday, June 29, 1945: Air War Pacific: Allied bombers raid Balikpapan oil installations for 9th consecutive day. Read more
Russian paratroopers
Diary for Friday, June 28, 1940: Neutrals Romania: Rumanian Government submits to Russian ultimatum of June 26. Russian paratroops and Read more
Killen Strait Tractor 1
Diary for Monday, June 28, 1915: Secret War Britain: Churchill and Lloyd George watch Killen­-Strait barbed-wire cutter tractor, Wormwood Scrubs, Read more
P-51 Mustang long-range fighters start from Iwo Jima
Diary for Thursday, June 28, 1945: Air War Pacific: B-29 Superfortress drop nearly 3,000 t IB's on Sasebo naval base. Read more
ital schwere ari 300x168 1
Diary for Sunday, June 27, 1915: Southern Fronts Isonzo: Italian Third Army has pushed Austrians up slopes south of Mt Read more
Short S.25 Sunderland flying boats
Diary for Thursday, June 27, 1940: Sea War Britain announces general blockade of European Coastline from Bay of Biscay to Read more
Emil Hacha
Diary for Wednesday, June 27, 1945: Home Fronts Czechoslovakia: Former puppet-President of 'Bohemia-Moravia Protectorate', Dr Emil Hacha, dies in Prague Read more
cathedral of Amiens
Diary for Wednesday, June 26, 1940: Politics French Ambassador in London (M. Corbin) resigns. Russian ultimatum to Romania demanding immediate 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