All German machine guns from the 1940s. Small arms of Wehrmacht soldiers

Special attention deserve a rifle. Operating rifles does not require as much training as, for example, driving a tank or piloting an airplane, and even women or completely inexperienced fighters can easily handle them. The relatively small size and ease of operation have made rifles one of the most widespread and popular weapons for warfare.

M1 Garand (Em-One Garand)

The Em-One Garand was the standard US Army infantry rifle from 1936 to 1959. The semi-automatic rifle, which General George S. Patton called "the greatest military weapon ever created," gave American army a huge advantage in World War II.

While the German, Italian and Japanese armies still issued bolt-action rifles to their infantry, the M1 was semi-automatic and highly accurate. This caused the popular Japanese strategy of "desperate attack" to become much less effective, as they were now faced with an enemy that fired quickly and without missing. The M1 was also available with add-ons such as a bayonet or grenade launcher.

Lee Enfield

The British Lee-Enfield No. 4 MK became the main infantry rifle of the British and Allied armies. By 1941, when mass production and use of the Lee-Enfield began, the rifle had undergone a number of changes and modifications to the bolt action mechanism, the original version of which was created back in 1895. Some units (such as the Bangladesh Police) still use the Lee-Enfield, making it the only bolt action rifle in service for such a long time. In total, there are 17 million Lee-Enfield products of various series and modifications.

The Lee-Enfield has a similar rate of fire to the Em-One Garand. The sighting slit of the sight was designed in such a way that the projectile could hit the target from a distance of 180-1200 meters, which significantly increased the firing range and accuracy. Lee-Enfield fired 303 British cartridges with a caliber of 7.9 mm and fired up to 10 shots at a time in two bursts of 5 rounds.

Colt 1911 (Colt 1911)

The Colt is undoubtedly one of the most popular pistols of all time. It was Colt who set the quality bar for all pistols of the twentieth century.

The standard weapon of the US Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986, the Colt 1911 has been modified for use today.

The Colt 1911 was developed by John Moses Browning during the Philippine-American War because troops needed a weapon with high stopping power. The Colt 45 caliber coped with this task perfectly. It was reliable and powerful weapon US infantry during World War II.

The first Colt - Colt Paterson - was created and patented by Samuel Colt in 1835. It was a six-shot revolver with a cap action. By the time John Browning designed his famous Colt 1911, Colt's Manufacturing Company was producing at least 17 Colt models. At first these were single-action revolvers, then double-action revolvers, and starting in 1900 the company began producing pistols. All predecessor pistols of the Colt 1911 were different small in size, relatively low power and were intended for concealed carry, for which they were nicknamed “vest”. Our hero won the hearts of many generations - he was reliable, accurate, heavy, looked impressive and turned out to be the longest-lived weapon in the United States, serving faithfully in the military and police until the 1980s.

The Shpagin submachine gun (PPSh-41) is a Soviet-made assault rifle used both during and after World War II. Made primarily from stamped sheet metal and wood, the Shpagin submachine gun was produced in quantities of up to 3,000 daily.

The Shpagin submachine gun replaced the earlier version of the Degtyarev submachine gun (PPD-40), being cheaper and more modern modification. "Shpagin" fired up to 1000 rounds per minute and was equipped with an automatic loader with 71 rounds. Firepower With the advent of the Shpagin submachine gun, the USSR increased significantly.

Submachine gun STEN (STEN)

The British STEN submachine gun was developed and created in conditions of a massive shortage of weapons and an urgent need for combat units. Having lost huge quantities of weapons during the Dunkerque operation and facing the constant threat of a German invasion, the United Kingdom needed strong infantry firepower - at short notice and at little cost.

STEN was perfect for this role. The design was simple, and assembly could be carried out in almost all factories in England. Due to the lack of funding and the difficult conditions in which it was created, the model turned out to be crude, and the military often complained about misfires. However, it was the boost to arms production that Britain so desperately needed. STEN was so simple in design that many countries and guerrilla forces quickly mastered its production and began producing their own models. Among them were members of the Polish resistance - the number of units of STENs they produced reached 2000.

During World War II, the United States produced more than 1.5 million Thompson submachine guns. The Thompson, which would later become known as the weapon of choice for American gangsters, was highly prized during the war for its effectiveness in close combat, especially among paratroopers.

The mass production model for the US Army beginning in 1942 was the M1A1 carbine, which was a simpler, cheaper version of the Thompson.

Equipped with a 30-round magazine, the Thompson fired .45 caliber cartridges, very popular in the United States at the time, and exhibited excellent stopping characteristics.

Bren light machine gun

The Bren light machine gun was a powerful, easy-to-use weapon that could always be relied upon, and was the main weapon for British infantry platoons. A licensed British modification of the Czechoslovak ZB-26, the Bren was introduced into the British Army as the main light machine gun, three per platoon, one for each rifle station.

Any problem that arose with Bren could be solved by the soldier himself by simply adjusting the gas spring. Designed for the 303 British cartridge used at Lee-Enfield, the Bren was fitted with a 30-round magazine and fired 500-520 rounds per minute. Both Bren and his Czechoslovakian predecessor are very popular today.

The Browning M1918 Automatic Rifle was a light machine gun in service with the US Army in 1938 and was used until the Vietnam War. Even though the US never set out to develop a practical and powerful light machine gun like the British Bren or the German MG34, the Browning was still a worthy model.

Weighing between 6 and 11 kg and chambered in .30-06 caliber, the Browning was originally intended as a support weapon. But when American troops faced heavily armed Germans, tactics had to be changed: for each rifle squad, at least two Brownings were now given, which were the main elements of the tactical decision.

The single MG34 machine gun was one of the weapons that made up military power Germany. One of the most reliable and high-quality machine guns of World War II, the MG34 had an unsurpassed rate of fire - up to 900 rounds per minute. It was also equipped with a double trigger, which made both semi-automatic and automatic firing possible.

The StG 44 was developed in Nazi Germany in the early 1940s and mass production began in 1944.

The StG 44 was one of the main weapons in the Wehrmacht's attempts to turn the war in its favor - factories of the Third Reich produced 425 thousand units of this weapon. The StG 44 became the first mass-produced assault rifle, and significantly influenced both the course of the war and the further production of weapons of this type. However, it still did not help the Nazis.

It provides firing with both self-cocking and manual pre-cocking. The German company Geko manufactured insert barrels for this pistol for firing 4 mm caliber cartridges, while the bolt had to be opened manually, since the power of the cartridge was not enough to ensure the operation of the automation. As an experiment during the war, a batch of pistols with a frame and a bolt casing made of aluminum alloy was also produced. Pistols R 38 (N) were different good quality manufacturing, high reliability and shooting accuracy.

During the Second World War, the leading Belgian enterprise for the production of small arms, Fabrique Nationale, produced more than 319 thousand pistols for the Wehrmacht, which in the Wehrmacht received the designation P 640 (c) “Browning” mod. 1935 The famous designer John Moses Browning began developing this pistol immediately after the end of the First World War. In 1934 new gun was offered by Fabric National on the global arms market. The automatic operation of this powerful military pistol works by using the recoil energy of the barrel during its short stroke. For long-range shooting, it was envisaged to use a detachable wooden butt, for fastening which there was a corresponding groove on the back wall of the handle. In addition to Fabrique Nacional, the Browning system pistol mod.

1935 During the Second World War, it was also produced by the Canadian company John Inglis according to design documentation delivered by Factory National employees who emigrated from Belgium after its occupation by Germany. About 152 thousand of these pistols were manufactured in Canada and entered service with the armies of Great Britain, Canada, China and Greece. Thus, Browning pistols were widely used on both sides of the front. At the beginning of the Second World War, experiments were carried out aimed at adapting a conventional smooth-bore signal pistol (flare gun) of the Walther system to fire specially designed grenades. These grenades were intended to destroy enemy personnel and equipment and were combat units hand grenades for various purposes, connected to special shanks that were inserted into the barrel of the signal pistol. However, a significant increase in accuracy, efficiency and firing range was achieved only after the creation in 1942. based on the signal pistol of a special assault pistol, designated "Z".

Like the original model, this weapon is a single-shot pistol with a breakaway barrel and a hammer-type percussion mechanism. Its main difference is This is due to the presence of rifling in the barrel, due to which an improvement in combat characteristics was achieved. For this pistol, a high-explosive fragmentation fan “Z” was developed to combat enemy personnel and anti-tank grenade 42 LP to combat armored targets. The cumulative charge of this grenade weighing 0.8 kg penetrated armor 80 mm thick. In addition, signal, lighting and smoke grenades were created for the pistol. To ensure the required range of 75 m when firing the heavy anti-tank fan 42 LP, an attached shoulder rest was used.

The “Z” pistol was produced in a relatively small series of 25 thousand pieces, since in the fight against manpower it did not have significant advantages over rifle grenade launchers, and by that time faust cartridges had already been developed to destroy tanks. Plug-in rifled barrels for conventional signal pistols, manufactured during the war years in the amount of 400 thousand pieces, became much more widespread. Mauser system repeating rifle mod. 1898 is a further development of the 7.92 mm rifle mod. 1888, created on the basis of carried out German army campaigns of 1864, 1866 and 1870-1871.

From the original model rifle arr. 1898 features a simplified design of the shutter and feed mechanism, as well as modified M method of filling a store box. By its design, the rifle is a magazine rifle with a sliding bolt that rotates when locked. For rifle shooting, the German industry produced thirteen types of 7.92 mm cartridges. The design of the Mauser rifle was used by designers in many countries when creating their rifles. The most successful of these rifles is considered to be the Czechoslovakian 7.92 mm rifle mod.

1924 Rifles mod. 1898 were produced by German industry until 1935.

When they were replaced in the production of 98k carbines. Due to its considerable length, the rifle mod. 1898 did not fully satisfy the requirements of the Wehrmacht, which was actively preparing to conduct combat operations with the widespread use of motorized infantry.

For this reason, as the main small arms for all branches of the military in 1935. The 98k carbine, developed on the basis of the rifle mod. 1898 The letter “k” used in the designation of the carbine was an abbreviation of the German word “kurz”, i.e. “short”, which reflects the main difference between the carbine and the rifle - the barrel length reduced from 740 to 600 mm. Thus, the length of the carbine was reduced to 1110 mm. Other changes include a bolt handle that is curved toward the stock and an improved magazine loading method.

Thanks to new form grooves on the receiver, the shooter was able to easily and quickly install a clip of cartridges, and the removal of an empty clip after loading the carbine was done automatically when the bolt moved forward. U ka Rabinov 98k, in addition, the design of the feeder has been changed, as a result of which, after expending the last cartridge from the magazine, the bolt cannot be closed, which is a kind of signal to the shooter about the need to fill the magazine. Like the rifle mod. 1898, 98k carbines were equipped with blade-type bayonets attached to the tip of the stock.

To be worn on a waist belt, the bayonet was placed in a special sheath. The carbine was fired without a bayonet, using Mauser cartridges with bullets for various purposes, but mainly with light and heavy bullets. When using a 30 mm rifle grenade launcher, the carbine could also fire rifle grenades for various purposes. Before the start of World War II, 2,769,533 units of the 98k carbine were produced; during the war years (until April 1, 1945), the Wehrmacht received another 7,540,058 units of this weapon. As of the beginning of March 1945, the troops had 3,404,337 98k carbines, of which 27,212 were equipped with optical sights.

By this time, only 2,356 carbines were stored in warehouses. In this regard, it should be noted that, despite the shortage of small arms, 258,399 98k carbines were supplied to countries friendly to Germany, including Portugal and Japan, during the war. The Wehrmacht infantry units received self-loading rifles of the Walter G41 (W) and Mauser C 41 (M) systems for military testing. Their appearance was a kind of reaction to the fact that the Red Army had more than one and a half million automatic self-loading rifles ABC-36, SVT-38 and SVT-40, which emerged after Germany’s attack on the USSR. According to the test results, the Walter rifle, adopted by the Wehrmacht under the designation G41, was recognized as the best. The rifle has a hammer-type impact mechanism; its trigger mechanism allows firing only single shots.

To prevent accidental shots, the rifle has a safety lever mounted behind receiver. The fuse is turned on by turning the flag to the right, which locks trigger.To fire the G41(W) self-loading rifle, the same ammunition is used as for the repeating rifle mod. 1898 Cartridges are fed from an integral magazine with a capacity of 10 rounds, filled using clips. After all the cartridges in the magazine are used up, the bolt remains in the rear position, which signals the need to fill the magazine. Despite the adoption of the G 41(W) rifles for service, they were produced only in a small series, as complaints were received from front-line units about them heavy weight, low reliability and sensitivity to contamination.

The elimination of these shortcomings led to the creation in 1943. the modernized G 43 (W) rifle, which was produced in quantities of several hundred thousand copies. Before the start of its deliveries, Wehrmacht units widely used captured Soviet SVT-40 rifles, which received the German designation 453 (R). The 7.92mm FG 42 automatic rifle was in service with the paratroopers and combined the combat qualities of an automatic rifle and light machine gun. The development of the rifle was started by the designer of the Rheinmetall company, Louis Stange, already during the Second World War, when, after large-scale weapons carried out by the Wehrmacht airborne operations It turned out that the MP 38 submachine guns and 98k and 33/40 carbines that were in service did not fully meet the requirements of the paratroopers. The rifle was tested in 1942.

One of the most famous German pistols. Developed by designers Walther in 1937 under the name HP-HeeresPistole - military pistol. A number of commercial HP pistols were produced.

In 1940, it was adopted as the main army pistol under the name Pistole 38.
Serial production of the R.38 for the Reich armed forces began in April 1940. In the first half of the year, about 13,000 pistols of the so-called zero series were produced. Officers received new weapons ground forces, part of the non-commissioned officers, the first numbers of heavy weapons crews, officers of the SS field troops, as well as the SD security service, the Main Directorate of Reich Security and the Reich Ministry of the Interior.

On all zero series pistols the numbers start from zero. On the left side of the slide is the Walther logo and the model name - P.38. The WaA acceptance number for zero series pistols is E/359. The handles are black bakelite with diamond-shaped notches.

Walter P38 480 series

In June 1940, the German leadership, fearing Allied bombing of weapons factories, decided to indicate the letter code of the factory instead of the name of the manufacturer on the weapon. For two months Walther produced P.38 pistols with manufacturer code 480.

Two months later, in August, the plant received a new designation from the letters A.C.. The last two digits of the year of manufacture began to be indicated next to the manufacturer code.

At the Walther plant, serial numbers of pistols were used from 1 to 10,000. Each after the 10,000th pistol, the countdown began again, but now a letter was added to the number. After every ten thousand, the next letter was used. The first ten thousand pistols produced at the beginning of the year did not have a suffix letter before the number. The next 10,000 received the suffix "a" before the serial number. Thus, the 25,000th pistol of a certain year had the serial number “5000b” and the 35,000th “5000c”. The combination of year of manufacture + serial number + suffix or lack thereof was unique for each pistol.
The war in Russia required a huge amount of personal weapons; the production capacity of the Walter plant was no longer enough to cover this need. As a result, the Walter company had to transfer drawings and documentation to its competitors for the production of P.38 pistols. Mauser-Werke A. G. launched production by the fall of 1942, Spree-Werke GmbH - in May 1943.

Mauser-Werke A. G. received the manufacturer code "byf". All pistols he produced were stamped with the manufacturer's code and the last two digits of the year of manufacture. In 1945 this code changed to SVW. In April, the Allies captured the Mauser plant and transferred control to the French, who produced P38 pistols for their own needs until mid-1946.

The Spree-Werke GmbH plant received the code "cyq", which in 1945 changed to "cvq".

LUGER P.08

German mountain rifleman with P.08 pistol

German soldier takes aim with a Parabellum pistol

Pistol Luger LP.08 caliber 9 mm. Model with an extended barrel and sector sight

WALTHER PPK - criminal police pistol. Developed in 1931, it is a lighter and shorter version of the Walther PP pistol

WALTHER PP (PP is short for Polizeipistole - police pistol). Developed in 1929 in Germany chambered for 7.65×17 mm, magazine capacity 8 rounds. It is noteworthy that it was with this pistol that Adolf Hitler shot himself. It was also produced chambered for 9×17 mm.

Mauser HSc (pistol with a self-cocking hammer, modification “C” - Hahn-Selbstspanner-Pistole, Ausführung C). Caliber 7.65 mm, 8-round magazine. Adopted German army in 1940.

Pistol Sauer 38H (H from German Hahn - “trigger”). The letter "H" in the model name means that the pistol used an internal (hidden) trigger (short for the German word - Hahn - trigger. It was adopted for service in 1939. Caliber 7.65 Brauning, magazine for 8 rounds.

Mauser M1910. Developed in 1910, it was produced in versions chambered for different cartridges - 6.35x15 mm Browning and 7.65 Browning, the magazine holds 8 or 9 cartridges, respectively.

Browning H.P. Belgian pistol developed in 1935. The letters HP in the model name are short for “Hi-Power” or “High-Power”). The pistol uses a 9 mm parabellum cartridge and a magazine capacity of 13 rounds. The FN Herstal company, which developed this pistol, produced it until 2017.

RADOM Vis.35. Polish pistol adopted by the Polish army in 1935. The pistol uses a 9mm Parabellum cartridge and a magazine capacity of 8 rounds. During the occupation of Poland, this pistol was produced for the German army.

The Germans themselves called them Wunderwaffe, which translated sounds like “Weapons that surprise.” This term was first introduced by their Ministry of Propaganda at the beginning of World War II and it referred to super weapon- one that was technologically advanced and revolutionary in terms of war. The vast majority of these weapons never made it out of the drawings, and what was created never reached the battlefield. After all, either it was produced in small numbers and no longer influenced the course of the war, or it was sold years later.

15. Self-propelled mine "Goliath"

It looked like a small tracked vehicle with explosives attached to it. In total, the Goliath could hold about 165 pounds of explosives, had a speed of about 6 miles per hour, and was remote controlled. Its key drawback was that control was carried out using a lever that was connected to the Goliath by a wire. Once it was cut, the car became harmless.

The most powerful German weapons Second World War, also known as the "Weapon of Vengeance", consisted of several chambers and had an impressive length. In total, two such guns were created, but only one was put into action. The one aimed at London was never fired, and the one that posed a threat to Luxembourg fired 183 shells from January 11 to February 22, 1945. Only 142 of them reached the target, but in total no more than 10 people were killed and about 35 were wounded.

13. Henschel Hs 293

This anti-ship missile was definitely the most effective guided weapon of the war. It was 13 feet long and weighed an average of 2 thousand pounds, more than 1000 of these went into service air force Germany. Possessed a radio-controlled glider and rocket engine, while carrying 650 pounds of explosive in the nose of the warhead. They were used against both armored and unarmored ships.

12. Silbervogel, “Silver Bird”

The development of the “Silver Bird” began back in 1930. It was an aerospace bomber aircraft that could cover distances between continents, carrying with it an 8 thousand pound bomb. In theory, it had a special system that prevented it from being detected. Sounds like the perfect weapon to destroy any enemy on Earth. And that is why it was never realized, because the creator’s idea was far ahead of the capabilities of those times.

Many believe that the StG 44 is the first machine gun in the world. Its initial design was so successful that it was subsequently used to make the M-16 and AK-47. Hitler himself was very impressed with the weapon, calling it the "Storm Rifle". The StG 44 also had a host of innovative features, from infrared vision to a “curved barrel” that allowed it to shoot around corners.

10. "Big Gustav"

The largest weapon used in history. Manufactured by the German company Krupp, it was only as heavy as another weapon called the Dora. It weighed over 1360 tons and its dimensions allowed it to fire 7-ton shells in a range of up to 29 miles. “Big Gustav” was extremely destructive, but not very practical, because it required a serious railway for transportation, as well as time both for assembling and disassembling the structure, and for loading parts.

9. Radio controlled bomb Ruhustahl SD 1400 "Fritz X"

The radio-controlled bomb was similar to the aforementioned Hs 293, but its primary target was armored ships. It had excellent aerodynamics, thanks to four small wings and a tail. It could hold up to 700 pounds of explosives and was the most accurate bomb. But among the disadvantages was the inability to turn quickly, which forced the bombers to fly too close to the ships, putting themselves at risk.

8. Panzer VIII Maus, “Mouse”

The Mouse was fully armored, the heaviest vehicle ever built. The Nazi super-heavy tank weighed an astonishing 190 tons! Its size was the key reason why it was not put into production. At that time, there was no engine with sufficient power for the tank to be useful and not a burden. The prototype reached speeds of 8 miles per hour, which is too low for military operations. Moreover, not every bridge could withstand it. The “Mouse” could only easily penetrate enemy lines, but was too expensive to enter full-scale production.

7. Landkreuzer P. 1000 “Ratte”

If you thought that the “Mouse” was huge, then in comparison with the “Rat” it is just a child’s toy. The design had a weight of 1 thousand tons and weapons that had previously been used only on naval ships. It was 115 feet long, 46 feet wide, and 36 feet high. At least 20 personnel were required to operate such a machine. But again the development was not implemented due to impracticality. The “Rat” would not have crossed any bridge, and would have destroyed all roads with its tonnage.

6. Horten Ho 229

At a certain point in the war, Germany needed an aircraft that could carry a 1000 kg bomb at a distance of 1000 km, while developing a speed of 1000 km/h. Two aviation geniuses, Walter and Reimer Horten, came up with their own solution to this problem, and it looked like the first stealth aircraft. The Horten Ho 229 was produced too late and was never used by the Germans.

5. Infrasonic weapons

In the early 1940s, engineers developed a sonic weapon that was supposed to literally turn a person inside out due to powerful vibrations. It consisted of a gas combustion chamber and two parabolic reflectors connected to it by pipes. A person who fell under the influence of a weapon experienced incredible headache, and once within a radius of 50 meters, he died within a minute. The reflectors had a diameter of 3 meters, so the invention was not used, because it was an easy target.

4. "Hurricane gun"

Developed by Austrian researcher Mario Zippermair, who devoted many years of his life to creating anti-aircraft installations. He came to the conclusion that hermetic vortices could be used to destroy enemy aircraft. The tests were successful, so two full-scale designs were released. By the end of the war, both were destroyed.

3. "Solar Cannon"

We heard about the “Sonic Cannon”, about the “Hurricane” and now it’s the turn of the “Sunny”. The German physicist Hermann Oberth took up its creation back in 1929. It was assumed that the cannon, powered by the incredible size of the lens, would be able to incinerate entire cities and would even be capable of boiling the ocean. But at the end of the war, it was clear that there was no way to implement the project, because it was significantly ahead of its time.

The V-2 was not as fantastic as other weapons, but it became the first ballistic missile. It was actively used against Britain, but Hitler himself called it just too large a projectile, which has a wider radius of destruction, but at the same time costs too much.

A weapon whose existence has never been proven. There are only references to what it looked like and what effect it had. In the shape of a huge bell, Die Glocke, created from an unknown metal, contained a special liquid. Some activating process made the bell lethal within a radius of 200 meters, causing blood to thicken and many other deadly reactions. During the test, almost all the scientists died, and their original goal was to launch the bell in a reactive manner into the northern part of the planet, which would promise the death of millions of people.

• Rifles of Germany, America, Japan, Britain, USSR (PHOTO)
• Pistols
• Submachine guns
• Anti-tank weapons
• Flamethrowers

Briefly, it can be noted that even before the start of World War II, general directions in the development and production of small arms took shape in various countries of the world. When developing new types and modernizing old ones, more attention was paid to increasing the density of fire. At the same time, accuracy and firing range faded into the background. This led to further development and increase in the number of automatic types small arms. The most popular were submachine guns, machine guns, assault rifles etc.
The need to fire, as they say, on the move, led in turn to the development of lighter weapons. In particular, machine guns have become much lighter and more mobile.
In addition, such types of weapons as grenades for rifles, anti-tank rifles and grenade launchers.

Rifles of Germany, America, Japan, Britain, USSR

They were one of the most popular types of weapons during the Second World War. At the same time, most of them with a longitudinally sliding bolt had “common roots”, going back to the Mauser Hewehr 98, which entered service with the German troops even before the First World War.

• The French also developed their own analogue of a self-loading rifle. However, due to its large length (almost one and a half meters), the RSC M1917 never became widespread.
• Often, when developing rifles of this kind, designers “sacrificed” the effective firing range for the sake of increasing the rate of fire.

Pistols

Pistols from manufacturers known in the previous conflict continued to be personal small arms in World War II. Moreover, during the break between wars, many of them were modernized, increasing their effectiveness.
The magazine capacity of pistols of this period ranged from 6 to 8 rounds, which allowed continuous shooting.

• The only exception in this series was the American Browning High-Power, whose magazine held 13 rounds.
• Most widely known weapons This type included the German Parabellums, Lugers, and later Walters, the British Enfield No. 2 Mk I and the Soviet TT-30 and 33.

Submachine guns

The appearance of this type of weapon was the next step in strengthening the firepower of the infantry. They found widespread use in battles in the Eastern Theater of Operations.

• Here German troops used the Maschinenpistole 40 (MP 40).
• In service Soviet army were successively replaced by the “PPD 1934/38”, the prototype for which was the German “Bergman MR 28”, PPSh-41 and PPS-42.

Anti-tank weapons

The development of tanks and other armored vehicles led to the emergence of weapons that were capable of taking out even the heaviest vehicles.

• Thus, in 1943, the Ml Bazooka, and subsequently its improved version M9, appeared in service with the American troops.
• Germany, in turn, taking US weapons as a model, mastered the production of the RPzB Panzerschreck. However, the most popular was the Panzerfaust, the production of which was relatively inexpensive, and it itself was quite effective.
• The British used PIAT against tanks and armored vehicles.

It is noteworthy that the modernization of this type of weapon did not stop throughout the war. This was due, first of all, to the fact that it was also continuously strengthening and improving tank armor and to break through it, increasingly strong firepower was required.

Flamethrowers

Speaking about small arms of that period, one cannot fail to mention flamethrowers, which were one of the most terrible types of weapons and at the same time the most effective. The Nazis especially actively used flamethrowers to fight the defenders of Stalingrad, who were hiding in sewer “pockets”.