WW2 Weapons

The World Wars 1914-18 and 1939-45.

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Recent reports:

Lord Mountbatten
WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, August 25, 1943: Southeast Asia Burma: Mountbatten appointed Supreme Commander in Southeast Asia. Occupied Territories Read more
British 18-pounder field gun
World War One Diary for Sunday, August 25, 1918: Western Front Somme: British troops now again hold Albert-Bapaume road, Mametz Read more
prescribed air-raid shelter
WW2 War Diary for Tuesday, August 24, 1943: Air War Germany: 625 RAF bombers attacking Berlin and dropping 1,765t of Read more
British officer holds a Webley revolver
World War One Diary for Saturday, August 24, 1918: Western Front Somme: British 38th Division recaptures Thiepval Ridge and reaches Read more
Arado 96 advanced trainers
Decline of the pilot training of the German air force Luftwaffe in mid- and late-war from 1942 to 1945 (Part Read more
Deployment of a German tank unit with Panzer III
WW2 War Diary for Monday, August 23, 1943: Eastern Front Southern Sector: KHARKOV RECAPTURED BY RED ARMY. Air War Britain: Read more
British private wearing shirtsleeves, shorts, cap and puttees
World War One Diary for Friday, August 23, 1918: Western Front Somme: Main attack by BEF Third and Fourth Armies Read more
B-26C Marauders
WW2 War Diary for Sunday, August 22, 1943: Air War Mediterranean: B-26 Marauders and Wellington bombers attack Salerno railway yards. Read more
Austro-Hungarian Army stormtroopers
World War One Diary for Thursday, August 22, 1918: Southern Fronts Albania: Last Central Powers' military success in full swing, Read more
Andrei Gromyko
WW2 War Diary for Saturday, August 21, 1943: Politics USA: Gromyko becomes Soviet Ambassador in Washington. Home Fronts Australia - Read more
12-inch howitzer
World War One Diary for Wednesday, August 21, 1918: France: ALLIED OFFENSIVE RENEWED (until September 3). Haig tells Churchill chances Read more
B-25 Mitchell medium bombers approaching over the Mediterranean
WW2 War Diary for Friday, August 20, 1943: Air War Mediterranean: US medium bombers raid Benevento marshalling yards, north of Read more
Albanian volunteers
World War One Diary for Tuesday, August 20, 1918: Southern Fronts Albania - Austrian counter­-offensive (until August 26): Colonel-General Pflanzer-Baltin Read more
Generals Krueger and Blarn
WW2 War Diary for Thursday, August 19, 1943: Pacific New Guinea: Australian troops capture Mt Tambu; Japanese retreat to river Read more
hit on hospital place
World War One Diary for Monday, August 19, 1918: Western Front Aisne: French troops capture Le Hamel. Somme: French First Read more
Photo-reconaissance picture of Peenemunde after raid
WW2 War Diary for Wednesday, August 18, 1943: Sea War Mediterranean: British submarine Saracen sunk by Italian corvette Minerva off Read more
13-pounder Horse Artillery
World War One Diary for Sunday, August 18, 1918: Western Front Flanders: British Second Army (671 casualties) advance between Vieux Read more
Shot down B-17 Fortress of the first Schweinfurt raid
WW2 War Diary for Saturday, August 17, 1943: Air War Germany - FIRST SCHWEINFURT RAID: 230 8th USAAF B-17 Fortress Read more
French battery firing their 75-mm mle 1897
World War One Diary for Saturday, August 17, 1918: Western Front Mangin's Tenth Army (1,138 guns) gains c.2000 yards between Read more
End of Axis Berlin-Rome
WW2 War Diary for Monday, August 16, 1943: Home Fronts Italy: Anti-Fascist parties issue joint demand for peace and release 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