Favorite weapon?

kowloon

The myth of American infantry firepower.
In terms of small-arms firepower the Germans generally outclassed the Americans.
The Garand was an excellent rifle but its extra few shots a minute were a poor compensation for the lack of a proper sustained fire weapon, the real firepower of the infantry section.
Both the Germans and the British realised this and had the mg34/42 and Bren as opposed the the American BAR.

ojewriej

kowloon wrote: »

The myth of American infantry firepower.
In terms of small-arms firepower the Germans generally outclassed the Americans.
The Garand was an excellent rifle but its extra few shots a minute were a poor compensation for the lack of a proper sustained fire weapon, the real firepower of the infantry section.
Both the Germans and the British realised this and had the mg34/42 and Bren as opposed the the American BAR.

I think you are forgeting here about Browning 1919, or "thirty cal"



As far as I rmember, every platoon would have one or two of them, and it was a very capable weapon.

You can't really compare BAR to MG42, it's a different league altogether. .

kowloon

ojewriej wrote: »

You can't really compare BAR to MG42, it's a different league altogether. .

Correct, they are in a different league, but the fact of the matter is the BAR was usually the squad support weapon, the Germans had the Mg34/42 at the section level.

As for the 1919, it was heavier than the MG42 (even the bipod A6 model) slower firing and didn't have a quick change barrel.
Generally there was 2 M1919s and a .50 at Company level as part of the weapons platoon.
US parachute infantry had a single A6 and later a BAR (in addition) at squad level but no weapons platoon.

CerebralCortex

P51 Mustang



One can only imagine the world today if they got it right with the Me262

Dr Strange

Some of my favourites have already been mentioned.

I also like the 8,8cm Flugabwehrkanone (Flak) due to its versatile deployment as anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapon. I favour the Walther Pistole 38 (P38) as a side-arm.

peasant

Anything the brothers Horten built:

http://www.greyfalcon.us/The%20Horten%20Ho%20229.htm

Fratton Fred

I am fascinated by Hobart's Funnies, the modified tanks used for the D-Day landings, especially the DD (Duplex Drive) tanks that could "Swim" ashore from a landing craft.

Also, not a weapon, but I am intrigued by the Mulberry Harbours, I like what they signify as much as anything.

"How do we keep our advanced supplied"?
"We land cargo ships in a harbour"
"We don't have any harbours"
"**** it, we'll build some and take them with us then".

The sort of "nothing is impossble attitude" with such ingenuity like Mulberry and Hobart's funnies is admirable.

gonesharp

tiger.sheer beauty:D

Pride Fighter

The Germans attempted to build so many superweapons, gotta love them all. The one that mattered though was the a-bomb though. Im a big tiger tank fan, the greatest tank of the war IMO.

jayonaise

was on the back of a t34 in berlin ,what a monster.

ojewriej

ojewriej wrote: »

And how could i forget P08 (Luger)

+1

ojewriej

kowloon wrote: »

Correct, they are in a different league, but the fact of the matter is the BAR was usually the squad support weapon, the Germans had the Mg34/42 at the section level.

As for the 1919, it was heavier than the MG42 (even the bipod A6 model) slower firing and didn't have a quick change barrel.
Generally there was 2 M1919s and a .50 at Company level as part of the weapons platoon.
US parachute infantry had a single A6 and later a BAR (in addition) at squad level but no weapons platoon.

MG 42 was much better machine gun, no doubt about it (although people tend to forget that due to it's incredible rate of fire, it used huge amounts of ammunition, which caused problems).

But i still wouldn't say that US Army didn't match Wehhrmacht in firepower. Bolt action Kar wasn't a match for semi-automatic M1, and STGs and Gewehrs came too late and in too little nu,mmbers to make a real difference.
thirty cal and fifty cal, even though no match against MG, were still very capable weapons. They also had much better personal anti-armour weapons, i.e. bazooka and gammon grenade.

kowloon

ojewriej wrote: »

(although people tend to forget that due to it's incredible rate of fire, it used huge amounts of ammunition, which caused problems).

They also have much better personal anti-armour weapons, i.e. bazooka and gammon grenade.

German infantry sections generally carried more ammo than the larger US squads.

The Germans had the Panzershreck and the Panzerfaust not long afterwards, not half bad AT weapons either.

ojewriej

kowloon wrote: »

The Germans had the Panzershreck and the Panzerfaust not long afterwards, not half bad AT weapons either.

That's very true, paricularly Panzerchreck, which could destroy any Allied armour with one well aimed shot.

Anyway, there was also one important difference in a way German and US Armies were using their weapons. Regular Wehrmacht units tended to use MGs as a main weapon with rifles supporting it, and Americans did it other way around i.e. MG was a support weapon. This in turn was caused by the fact that most of the time Allies were on the offensive with Germans in the defensive.

Grizzly 45

The humble Sten MK 2. GI issue mod 1911 45 ACP, the Browning Hi power 9mm, The Canadian Long Branch version with shoulder stock The Mp44 andK43.
The " Hitler's lawn mower "AKA MG42was and still is a really nasty bit of kit
.Its trouble was it had a high fire rate and an unchangeable barrel.
The Panther tank was a German war winner had they concentrated in building them.It was still capable of matching up to tanks into the early 1950s.

Thrill

The Tiger tank is an awesome beast. It would easily be my favourite.

Run_to_da_hills

The Doodlebug V1 Flying bomb was perhaps the most facinating weapon of WW2. My old man used to hear these fly over when he was working in a factory in the UK, he said that when they cut out everyone used to scarper for cover :eek:

kowloon

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

The " Hitler's lawn mower "AKA MG42was and still is a really nasty bit of kit
.Its trouble was it had a high fire rate and an unchangeable barrel.

Would have to contest you on that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOdOeb5VMNc

Barrel removal is very easy and quick, not as nice as a Bren imo.

Dr Strange

Finally, found some nice pics and description of some of my fav's. I had forgotten about this site until now. It is really good for general informations on all types of old and mdoern firearms:

For the Walther P38 -
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg68-e.htm

Walther PP and PPK (Mainly German police) - http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg13-e.htm

MP 38 and MP 40 -
http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg33-e.htm

(I have to address this, a common mistake nowadays is to call the MP38 and MP40 a "Schmeisser". It is not! Only the MP18, MP28 and MP41 are Schmeisser made sub-machine guns)

Mauser Model 98 (includes K98) -
http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl02-e.htm

G43/K43 -
http://world.guns.ru/rifle/rfl12-e.htm

MP43/MP44/Stg44 -
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as51-e.htm

MG34 -
http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg32-e.htm

MG42/MG3 -
http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg33-e.htm

Much more to discover on this site worth checking out!

José Alaninho

For sheer classiness, mine would have to be the one mounted on the wall behind me right now- Kar98k. Beauty personified!

Stercus Accidit

The luger as a pistol, is and was fantastic.

Each was machined as a whole unit, with numbers etched on parts so it could be reassembled as the same pistol with all the same parts, the tolerances were so tight that this was needed as inter matched parts would not function perfectly.
This was its drawback though, tight tolerances a weapon of war do not make, due to dirt and water and all that sh1t, lugers would be less reliable than the 1911, which was and is still a very popular pistol, manufactured to this day in many varients.
The p38 was more tolerant, and cheaper, and the luger was fazed out.
But, the toggle, legendary build quality, look and accuracy, I love the luger, always have, if it was picky, and not suited to abuse.

The mg42, still used today you know, under the name mg3.
Its basic mechanism is the same, looks identical, but with modern build techniques and materials.
The roller delayed blowback gave a huge rate of fire, hitlers chainsaw wasnt it called for that reason.
Youtube mg3, you'll see its still used, and that huge rate of fire.
Might I add that yes, it did have an interchangeable barrel.

Saabdub

Panzerfaust from the War Museum in Athens.

Saabdub

peasant

Motosam wrote: »

The mg42, still used today you know, under the name mg3.
Its basic mechanism is the same, looks identical, but with modern build techniques and materials.
The roller delayed blowback gave a huge rate of fire, hitlers chainsaw wasnt it called for that reason.
Youtube mg3, you'll see its still used, and that huge rate of fire.
Might I add that yes, it did have an interchangeable barrel.

Yes, great waepon the MG3 ...having to lug it for a 20 km march slightly put it out of favour with me though

kowloon

peasant wrote: »

Yes, great waepon the MG3 ...having to lug it for a 20 km march slightly put it out of favour with me though

It wasn't the heaviest of them, but arms like a forklift help

Traumadoc

I had a K98 in 7.9 and in 308 ( Israeli conversion post war) both lovely to look at but my Swedish Mauser in 6.5 mm is a better rifle IMO.

marcsignal

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The Doodlebug V1 Flying bomb was perhaps the most facinating weapon of WW2. My old man used to hear these fly over when he was working in a factory in the UK, he said that when they cut out everyone used to scarper for cover :eek:

I'm with you there ! Gotta be the V1 for me. Looked and sounded Great

great forum

Fratton Fred

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

The Doodlebug V1 Flying bomb was perhaps the most facinating weapon of WW2. My old man used to hear these fly over when he was working in a factory in the UK, he said that when they cut out everyone used to scarper for cover :eek:

when you listen to accounts of Londoners who lived through this part of the war, it is easy to understand why the Allies spent so much time destroying V1 and V2 factories. The affect these had on moral in London was unbelievable.

humberklog

The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher (all models).
Too many problems concerning accuracy for the discerning armnament enthusiast. However it was cheap and cheerful and excellent mobility.
But never mind all that...the frightening other worldlyness of the sound of the salvos intilled a feeling within the Russians that they were delivering nothing less than an evil death towards a evil enemy. As for the Gerrys? The Katyushka shattered their moral. One of the Germans most important weapons.
An awesome weapon in its capacity to instill terror from release to contact.


The Luger must take a bow purely on aesthetics. Beautiful example of exemplary engineering.

Lockstep

I'm not a fan of the Luger. It just looks a little puny.

I love the colt.45. Just looks so meaty.

kickoutthejams

kickoutthejams wrote: »

I'm not a fan of the Luger. .

:pac: