5-cm leichte Granatwerfer 36
The 5-cm Granatwerfer 36 (abbreviated as "leGrW 36") was the standard light mortar utilized by the German Army in the early years of World War 2. Engineers tried to complete a useful portable 50mm system that could benefit sq...

8-cm schwere Granatwerfer 34
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Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (Stanchion)
In 1934 the British Army issued a requirement for a light anti tank weapon. The designer of the heavy rifle was Captain Boys, a designer at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield. For security reasons it was initially given a ...

Browning M1918 BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)
The M1918 BAR ("Browning Automatic Rifle") was born out of the World War One idea of a single soldier armed with the power of a machine gun. Pushing the theory behind this concept were the French, whose own experience with th...

Fabrique Nationale FN Model 1910
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FG42 / FjG42 (Fallschirmjagergewehr 42)
The Fallschirmjagergewhr FG42 (sometimes FjG42) was a meshing of old-world ammunition with new world small arms engineering. Regarded as one of the best designs of small arms during the Second World War, the FG42 served well ...

Maschinenpistole 40 (MP40)
Whereas the MP43 submachine gun, though proving a success, was too much for war time production, the MP40 was offered up as a redesigned model featuring more in the way of welded construction and pressed components. Modificat...

Maschinenpistole 44 (MP44) / Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44)
The Maschinenpistole 44, or MP44, or still further the StG 44, is more commonly associated as being the father of the modern assault rifle design. This was, in truth, a revolutionary weapon developed by a Germany facing defea...

Mauser Karabiner Kar 98k
With origins as far back as the First World War, the Kar 98k (with "Kar" being short for "karabiner" or "carbine") was a direct descendent of the Mauser-produced Gew 98 rifle, appearing basically as a short stock version of t...

MG34 (Maschinengewehr Modell 34)
Before the MG42 became the principle machine gun of the German Army in World War Two, the MG34 was enjoying all the attention as the squad support weapon of choice. Based on an earlier Swiss-German design in the form of the S...

MG42 (Maschinengewehr Modell 42)
The MG 42 (full designation of Maschinengewehr Modell 42) was a direct result of the small arms shortages that plagued Germany through the middle and later years of the war. The system was designed from the outset to be easy ...

P 08 (Luger)
The German P 08 pistol (or "Pistole 1928" or "P'08" or "Luger") was one of the more famous German-based pistol designs of the Second World War. It's origins were actually well before that, prior to the First World War in fact...

Panzerfaust 30
The Panzerfaust series of hand-held disposable anti-tank rocket systems was a highly-feared adversary to American tank and vehicle crews. The large caliber projectile could defeat any level of armor available to Allied crews ...

Panzerfaust 60
The Panzerfaust 60 was a middle-level development of the Panzerfaust 30 and the Panzerfaust 100. The "60" in the Panzerfaust 60 designation depicted the effective range the system had been designed for, as was the practice fo...

Panzerschreck (Raketenpanzerbuchse)
The Raketenpanzerbuchse (or commonly known as the Panzerschreck meaning "tank terror" because of the destructive results it produced or may also be known as Ofenrohr meaning "oven chimney" because of it's shape) was an anti-t...

PPS-42 / PPS-43
The PPS submachine gun was designed by Leningrad engineer A. I. Sudarev in 1942. Leningrad was encircled by the might of the German Army to the south and the German-allied Finns to the north. Since Leningrad represented an in...

PPSh-41
The PPSh-41 became the staple of the Soviet Army soldier in the Second World War. The PPSh-41 was given a need to fill as a cheap to produce and mechanically simple submachine gun with a high rate of fire. Designed by Geor...

Walther P38 (Pistole 38)
The Walther P38 (Pistole 38) handgun was designed as a replacement for the well received P 08. The design of the newer P38 was to offer up a production-friendly alternative to the P 08 but still retain many of the key compone...