The History of World War 2 Guns

The History of World War 2's "Main guns used in the war"

Written By: Will Hale

The Mp40 sub machine gun:

Used by the Nazi's

is a submachine gun developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by paratroopers, platoon and squadleaders, and other troops during World War 2. The MP 40 was characterized by its low rate of fire and low recoil. The MP40 submachine guns are Open-Bolt, Blowback-operated Automatic arms. Fully automatic fire was the only setting, but the relatively low rate of fire allowed for single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features a telescoping return spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. Although the MP 40 was generally reliable, a major weak point was its 32-round magazine. Unlike the Thompson's double-column, dual-feed magazine, the MP 40 used a double-column, single-feed design. The single-feed resulted in increased friction against the remaining cartridges moving upwards towards the feed lips, occasionally resulting in a failure to feed; the problem was exacerbated by the presence of dirt or dust.Another problem was that the magazine was also sometimes misused as a handhold, which could cause the weapon to malfunction when hand pressure on the magazine body caused the magazine lips to move out of the line of feed, since the magazine well did not keep the magazine firmly locked. German soldiers were trained to grasp either the intended handhold on the underside of the weapon or the magazine housing with the supporting hand to avoid feed malfunctions.

The Thompson submachine gun:

Used by the Americans

is an American Submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919that became infamous during the Prohibibation era. It was a common sight of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. The Thompson was also known informally as: the "Tommy Gun," the "Trench Broom," the "Trench Sweeper," the "Chicago Piano," the "Chicago Typewriter," and the "Chopper."The Thompson was favored by soldiers, criminals and police alike for its ergonomics, compactness, large .45 ACP cartigages, and high volume of Automatic fire. In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. military serving during World War 2 and beyond. There were two military types of Thompson SMG and the M1928A1. The M1928A1 had provisions for box magazines and drums (the drums were disliked because of their tendency to rattle and jam). It had a Cutts compansater, cooling fins on the barrel and its charging handle was on the top of the receiver.

The PPSh-41 sub machine gun:

used by the Russians

The PPSh-41 a Russian submachine gun was one of the most mass produced weapons of its type of World War 2 It was designed by Georgi Spagit as an inexpensive alternative to the PPD-40. The PPSh operated with simple blowback action had a box or drum magazine, and fired the 25mm pistol rounds. It was made with metal stampings to ease production, and its chrome-lined chamber and bore helped to make the gun very low-maintenance in combat environments. The impetus for the development of the PPSh came partly from the "Winter War" against Finlandwhere it was found that submachine guns were a highly effective tool for close-quarter fighting in forests or built-up urban areas. The weapon was developed in mid-1941 and was produced in a network of factories in Moscow with high-level local Party members made directly responsible for production targets being met. A few hundred weapons were produced in November 1941 and another 155,000 were produced over the next five months. By spring 1942, the PPSh factories were producing roughly 3,000 units a day.The PPSh-41 was a classic example of a design adapted for mass production.

The Stg 44 assult rifle:

used by the Nazi's

The StG 44 was an assualt developed in Nazi Germany during World war 2 and was the first of its kind to see major deployment, considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle. The StG 44's reciever was made of heavy stamped and welded stee; as were other contemporary arms such as the MP 40 and MG-42. This made for a fairly heavy rifle, especially one firing an intermediate-power cartridge. Difficulties with fabrication, the need to use available non-priority steels, and the exigencies of war resulted in a heavy receiver. U.S. military intelligence criticized the weight of the weapon along with the inclusion of the fully automatic feature which it considered "ineffectual for all practical purposes. To its credit, it was the first weapon of its class, and the concept had a major impact on modern infantry small arms development. By all accounts, the StG44 fulfilled its role admirably, particularly on the Eastern Front offering a greatly increased volume of fire compared to standard infantry rifles. In the end, it came too late to have a significant effect on the outcome of the war.

Human Deaths during World War 2

The human cost of the war fell heaviest on the USSR, for which the official total, military and civilian, is given as more than 20 million killed. The Allied military and civilian losses were 44 million; those of the Axis, 11 million. The military deaths on both sides in Europe numbered 19 million and in the war against Japan, 6 million. The U.S., which had no significant civilian losses, sustained 292,131 battle deaths and 115,187 deaths from other causes. The highest numbers of deaths, military and civilian, were as follows: USSR more than 13,000,000 military and 7,000,000 civilian; China 3,500,000 and 10,000,000; Germany 3,500,000 and 3,800,000; Poland 120,000 and 5,300,000; Japan 1,700,000 and 380,000; Yugoslavia 300,000 and 1,300,000; Romania 200,000 and 465,000; France 250,000 and 360,000; British Empire and Commonwealth 452,000 and 60,000; Italy 330,000 and 80,000; Hungary 120,000 and 280,000; and Czechoslovakia 10,000 and 330,000.