Personal Guns

For American soldiers and marines, the M1 Garand semiautomatic rifle was the standard issue weapon for most of the war. It was developed in 1930 and came into common use among army infantrymen six years later. The marines began issuing the M1 in 1942.

The M1 was, at 9.6 pounds loaded, a relatively light .30-caliber gas-operated rifle that used an eight-round clip. It had an effective range of 550 yards and a maximum range of 3,000 yards. American servicemen liked the M1 because it was reliable and accurate under even the worst conditions. Similar types of semiautomatic rifles were used by German, Japanese, and Italian forces.

Servicemen also sometimes carried sidearms for close-range fighting, though the rifle was the preferred weapon. The principal sidearm among U.S. servicemen was the M1911 .45-caliber pistol.

Figure 10-1 PT marksman off the coast of New Guinea.

Photo courtesy of the National Archives (80-G-53871)

Though powerful, the gun was not particularly accurate, and it packed quite a kick.

Among German infantry and naval personnel, the 9-mm Luger was standard issue from 1904 until 1938, though it was still commonly used throughout World War II.

Particularly effective in close- and medium-range fighting were the many types of machine guns and submachine guns, which were used to great effect by both sides. American tank crewmen and others who could not carry a carbine or M1 rifle were keen on the M3 grease gun, a .45-caliber submachine gun similar in design to the British Sten submachine gun. The M3 was a fully automatic weapon, though experienced marksmen could fire off a single round when necessary. It weighed 10¼ pounds and was fed from a thirty-round magazine that served as the forward handle. The M3 had a maximum range of about 100 yards and could fire more than 350 rounds per minute.

The British Sten submachine gun, introduced in 1941, was unique because of the simplicity of its design; it was made with a minimum of machined parts and thus was less prone to jamming and other mechanical problems. It was a favorite among British paratroopers and guerrilla fighters throughout Europe.

Before the introduction of the Sten gun, the Thompson was the military’s most widely used submachine gun. It was popularized by gangsters and FBI agents in the 1920s and 1930s, and the effectiveness of the Thompson was first proved by U.S. Marines in Nicaragua in 1926. The Thompson weighed a little over twelve pounds, fired .45-caliber bullets, and could be used with a twenty-, thirty-, or fifty-round magazine. It had a range of about 600 yards and could fire up to 100 rounds a minute. The Thompson was particularly popular among airborne troops and commandos.

Artillery

Artillery—large weapons such as cannons and rocket launchers—came in many forms during World War II and were widely used as offensive weapons of tremendous destructive power by both the Allies and the Axis on land and sea. Artillery weapons included:

• Big guns, or cannons, that fire projectiles from a long barrel in a low, flat trajectory. A charge in the projectile detonates on impact. During World War II, big guns were widely used on warships, armored combat vehicles, and tanks to soften up an invasion site or eliminate • enemy resistance. A prime example was the use of big guns against German fortifications along the Normandy coast before the Allied landing on D-Day.

• Mortars are cannons that fire exploding shells in a high, arcing trajectory that lets them travel over obstacles such as hills or enemy defenses. Most mortars are drop-fire weapons, meaning that the shells were dropped into the barrel of the weapon and propelled via a charge. The standard U.S. Army and Marine Corps mortars were the 60-mm M2 and 81-mm M1, which could be disassembled and carried by backpack. Mortars could also be carried by and fired from half-track vehicles. The 60-mm mortar could fire a maximum of nearly 2,000 yards. The 80-mm mortar could send its projectiles more than 3,200 yards.

• Howitzers fired a mid-velocity projectile along a curved trajectory. By firing at a low angle, they could achieve good range, like guns. When fired at a high angle, they could launch shells over obstacles as mortars do.

• Rocket launchers, which fire unguided missiles as both weapons and signals.

During World War II, mortars were particularly useful in rough, mountainous terrain because they were easy to use and transport, extremely accurate, and very effective at inflicting damage. Mortars were commonly used by both sides.

Rockets

Rockets were used by both sides because they were simple to make, easy to launch, and very effective. Ground and naval forces commonly used rockets to bombard enemy-held territory because, though they were unable to penetrate fortifications, they would easily saturate a specific area and inflict heavy casualties on unprotected troops. Rockets also provided excellent protection for troops during amphibious landings.

The United States relied on two main rocket launchers during World War II. One was the so-called calliope system, a sixty-tube launcher fitted on a Sherman tank. It fired 114-mm rockets individually or in a salvo. Sets of multiple 114-mm rocket tubes could also be attached to trucks for easy transportation.

Fire support ships used by American and British forces were usually converted landing ships. The finest of the line was the U.S. Navy’s LSMR series, which had twenty automatic-loading, rapid-fire 127-mm rocket launchers in addition to a 127-mm gun.

Rockets were also launched from planes, primarily to attack ground troops and surface-riding submarines. American fighter planes typically used 5-inch (127-mm) rockets, as did Allied antisubmarine aircraft patrolling the Atlantic. The American 5-inch rocket had a 50-pound explosive charge, which created a huge crater when used against ground forces. In 1944, the navy introduced an 11-inch aircraft rocket known as Tiny Tim, which carried a 150-pound warhead.

Germany also made extensive use of rockets as ground artillery, air-to-ground, and air-to-air weapons. The most commonly used German rocket system was the six-tube smoke thrower. Originally created to launch blinding smoke shells, the system eventually became an antipersonnel weapon that was also effective against tanks and other armored vehicles. Americans came to refer to the rockets as “Screaming Meemies” because of the sound they made in flight.

Antiaircraft Weapons

Because much of World War II was fought in the air, antiaircraft weapons were widely used by both Allied and Axis forces in Europe and the Pacific.

Antiaircraft guns ran the gamut in size. Some were as small as machine guns while others, such as the German 128-mm Flak, were huge cannons. The 128-mm Flak was the largest antiaircraft weapon of the war and was usually mounted on a large tower. The guns were used to protect German-occupied territory from Allied bombing raids and inflicted quite a bit of damage on Allied planes.

U.S. ground troops in Europe and the Pacific relied on six antiaircraft weapons to bring down enemy planes. They included:

• Quad .50-caliber machine gun. Capable of firing 2,300 rounds per minute, it was quite effective against low-flying planes.

• 37-mm gun. A large weapon, it was usually towed by truck and could fire 120 rounds per minute with an effective ceiling of 10,500 feet.

• Bofors 40-mm gun. This was the most widely used antiaircraft gun in the war. Also towed by truck, it could fire 120 rounds a minute with an effective ceiling of 11,000 feet.

• 3-inch gun, also known as the 76-mm. Towed by truck, it could fire 25 rounds per minute and had an effective ceiling of 27,900 feet.

• 90-mm gun. A towed weapon, it could fire up to 25 rounds per minute in short cycles, with an effective ceiling of 33,800 feet.

• 120-mm gun. Used primarily for city defense, it had an effective ceiling of 56,000 feet.

Most of these guns were not used exclusively as antiaircraft weapons. With the exception of the 120-mm gun, they were also used against enemy troops during close-range fighting.

U.S. forces generally referred to antiaircraft guns as AA, while the British called them ack-ack. German forces called them flak, as did Allied bomber pilots who wore protective flak jackets against their bursting shells, which were also called flak. (This is where the phrase “to take flak” comes from.)

The U.S. Navy had seven primary antiaircraft guns on large ships, as well as .30-caliber and .50-caliber machine guns on smaller ships and submarines. Antiaircraft cannon (meaning they fired explosive shells) ranged from 1.1-inch guns capable of firing up to 600 rounds per minute to 5-inch guns capable of firing up to 22 rounds per minute, with an effective ceiling of 37,200 feet.

One of the most important advances in antiaircraft weaponry during the war was the proximity fuse, also known as the Variable-Time (VT) fuse. Introduced in 1943, the VT fuse detonated a shell when it was close to the enemy plane, dramatically increasing the effectiveness of antiaircraft fire. Ammunition equipped with the VT fuse could be fired from guns that were three inches and larger.

Radar also aided antiaircraft gunners by providing accurate information about the range, speed, and altitude of incoming enemy planes.

Tanks

Germany proved the effectiveness of tanks in combat during the invasion of France and held superiority in this area throughout much of the war. For a variety of reasons, the United States was slow to produce a heavy tank that equaled the German Panther or Tiger, though heavy Allied tanks did appear late in the war.

When German tanks crossed the border into France in 1940, the United States had just 464 tanks, most of them light tanks armed with .50-caliber machine guns. By comparison, the German Pzkw IV tank was armed with a 75-mm gun.

Figure 10-2 A tank moves forward on the island of Bougainville with infantry following in its cover.

Photo courtesy of the National Archives (111-SC-189099)

In July 1940, the U.S. War Department—inspired by the tremendous success of German armored units—created an armored force consisting of the First and Second Armored Divisions and the nondivisional Seventieth Tank Battalion.

Realizing the need for a heavier, better-armed tank, the army’s Ordnance Department adapted the TS medium tank to carry a 75-mm gun on the right side, though the main turret still had a 37-mm gun. The new tank, called the M2 Grant, was widely used to great effectiveness by the British in North Africa.

Following was the M4 Sherman tank, the first to be armed with a primary 75-mm gun. It went into production in July 1942 and was widely used by U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces in the Atlantic, Pacific, and North African theaters. The Sherman was also used by the British and Free French forces.

As strong as the Sherman tank was, it was still no match for the German Panther and Tiger tanks, both of which carried larger guns. The Ordnance Department was eager to place a 76-mm long-barreled gun on the Sherman, but the plan was continually hampered by army officials who instead stressed the need for faster light tanks that could keep up with fast-moving infantry. Finally, in February 1944, the Ordnance Department was instructed to begin adding a 76-mm gun to the Sherman chassis. These hybrids were produced in small numbers but proved effective against opposing forces. A still stronger tank—the M26 Pershing, which featured an impressive 90-mm gun—followed; it was the heaviest tank mass-produced by the U.S. military.

Because of the widespread use of tanks in Europe, special tank destroyers— tank-type vehicles with open turret tops and thin side armor—were quickly put into action. By late 1942, the U.S. Army had thirty-six tank destroyer battalions, each with thirty-six guns, in addition to reconnaissance and antiaircraft weapons. Approximately half the tank destroyer battalions towed antitank guns. The other half had self-propelled tank-destroying vehicles such as the M10 Wolverine and the M18 Hellcat, both of which featured a 76-mm gun, and the M36, which boasted a 90-mm gun.

Land Mines

One of the most destructive weapons used in the war was the land mine, millions of which were placed throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific islands. Every participant in the war used mines, and they came in dozens of shapes, sizes, and designs. The Germans used more than forty types of antivehicle mines over the course of the war, most of them buried just below the ground and detonated by the weight of a man or a vehicle.

Direct contact with a land mine usually resulted in instant death or, at a minimum, the loss of both legs. One particularly deadly German mine, known as the Bouncing Betty, propelled upward three to six feet before blasting shrapnel in all directions. This type of mine could eliminate many soldiers with a single explosion.

Mine detection ranged from the very primitive (men searching the ground on their hands and knees or prodding suspected mines with a long stick) to the relatively sophisticated (tanks fitted with special mine-exploding equipment). A device known as the bangalore torpedo was often used to carve a path through a known mine field. It consisted of a metal tube packed with explosives that detonated all mines in its vicinity. The bangalore torpedo was also used to cut through thick barbed wire and blow up railway tracks.

Other Land Weapons

A wide variety of miscellaneous land weapons were used over the course of World War II, many of them first tested more than two decades earlier during World War I.

Grenades—both thrown and fired from rifles—were also widely used by both sides throughout the war. In most armies, infantrymen carried them in addition to their sidearms. The M2A1 and M3A fragmentation grenades were standard issue in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Both types of grenade had a ring-shaped safety pin and handle; the grenade would not explode until the pin was pulled out and the handle was released. The fuse time for both devices was about five seconds. Because of their design, grenades were commonly used in the creation of booby traps.

Napalm—a long-burning jellied gasoline—was first used during the air attacks that supported the U.S. invasion of Tinian in June 1944. The word is derived from the aluminum salts of naphthalenic and palmitic acids.

German and Japanese soldiers commonly used grenades known as “sticks” or “potato mashers” by Allied soldiers because they had a long handle at the top, which made them easier to carry and throw. The Germans and Japanese also used egg-shaped grenades that were similar in design to the M3As.

One of the most unique weapons introduced during the war was the bazooka, a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher commonly used against enemy tanks. The bazooka was so effective during tank warfare that General Dwight Eisenhower called it one of the four weapons that benefited the Allies the most in winning the war, the other three being the C-47 Skytrain/ Dakota transport, the Jeep, and the atomic bomb.

Almost every World War II movie has a scene in which a soldier removes the safety pin of a grenade with his teeth. In truth, this was extremely difficult to do and posed a tremendous safety hazard. Real World War II soldiers never removed a grenade’s firing pin with their teeth.

The bazooka was introduced in 1942 and proved only minimally effective against the German Panther and Tiger tanks when fired at their armored fronts. However, it was extremely effective at blowing out a tank’s tracks and rendering it immobile. (Some weak areas on the tanks’ armor were also vulnerable to bazooka fire.)

The typical bazooka was 54 inches long, fired a rocket projectile weighing about 3.5 pounds, and had an effective range of about 300 feet. Two men were usually involved in using a bazooka, with one loading it and the other firing. The bazooka tube folded in half for convenient storage. Nearly a half million bazookas were produced during World War II, and they were also widely used in the Korean War.

One weapon invented during World War I and used by almost all forces in World War II was the flamethrower, which proved especially effective in eliminating entrenched troops in bunkers and other fortifications. The U.S. Marines in the Pacific often used flamethrowers to drive Japanese soldiers from caves, trenches, pillboxes, and other defensive positions.

Flamethrowers were coveted by ground troops because they were portable and easy to use. The M1 flamethrower consisted of a four-gallon fuel tank carried on the user’s back and a handheld hose that directed the length and intensity of the flame. Fully loaded, the device weighed about seventy pounds and could shoot a flame up to ninety feet. Many Sherman tanks were also equipped with flamethrowers capable of sending a stream of fire up to 300 feet. These were sometimes called Ronsons, after the popular cigarette lighter.