WW2 Guns: Firearms of World War II

WW2 Guns: The Weapons Soldiers Carried

Every soldier in World War II depended on their personal weapon. These are the guns that infantrymen carried into history's largest conflict.

Explore WW2 Weapons and Technology →

American Firearms

M1 Garand

The rifle that won the war

Type: Semi-automatic rifle
Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
Capacity: 8-round en-bloc clip
Weight: 9.5 lbs

General Patton called the M1 Garand "the greatest battle implement ever devised." It was the only standard-issue semi-automatic rifle of the war—every other major power used bolt-actions.

Advantage: Rate of fire. American riflemen could fire 40-50 aimed shots per minute versus 10-15 for bolt-action users.

The famous ping: When the clip ejected, it made a distinctive "ping" sound. Despite the myth, enemies rarely heard this in combat.

Thompson Submachine Gun

The gangster gun goes to war

Type: Submachine gun
Caliber: .45 ACP
Rate of fire: 600-725 rpm
Weight: 10.8 lbs

Originally designed for WWI, the "Tommy Gun" became synonymous with both gangsters and GIs. Heavy and expensive, but devastating in close combat.

M1 Carbine

The universal weapon

Type: Semi-automatic carbine
Caliber: .30 Carbine
Capacity: 15 or 30 rounds
Weight: 5.2 lbs

Light and handy, issued to officers, vehicle crews, and support troops. Over 6 million produced—the most-produced American weapon of the war.

M3 "Grease Gun"

Cheap, ugly, effective. Replaced the expensive Thompson. Soldiers called it the "Grease Gun" for its resemblance to mechanics' tools.

Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)

Squad automatic weapon. Heavy at 20 lbs but provided crucial suppressive fire.

M1911A1 Pistol

The legendary .45 caliber sidearm. Simple, reliable, powerful. Still in limited military use 80+ years later.

German Firearms

Karabiner 98k

The German standard

Type: Bolt-action rifle
Caliber: 7.92×57mm Mauser
Capacity: 5-round stripper clip
Weight: 8.2 lbs

Germany's main infantry rifle. Excellent quality, accurate, but slower than the Garand.

MP 40

The submachine gun icon

Type: Submachine gun
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Rate of fire: 500-550 rpm
Weight: 8.8 lbs

The MP 40 gave German infantry devastating close-range firepower. Folding stock made it compact. Often incorrectly called "Schmeisser" (Hugo Schmeisser didn't design it).

StG 44

The first assault rifle

Type: Assault rifle
Caliber: 7.92×33mm Kurz
Capacity: 30 rounds
Rate of fire: 500-600 rpm

The StG 44 pioneered the assault rifle concept—combining rifle power with submachine gun volume. Came too late to change the war but influenced every military rifle since, including the AK-47.

MG 42

Hitler's Buzzsaw

Type: General-purpose machine gun
Rate of fire: 1,200 rpm

Terrifying rate of fire—so fast individual shots blurred into a continuous buzz. American soldiers called it "Hitler's Buzzsaw."

British Firearms

Lee-Enfield No. 4

- Type: Bolt-action rifle - Capacity: 10 rounds - Smooth bolt action allowed trained soldiers to fire rapidly

Sten Gun

Cheap, simple submachine gun. Could be manufactured for $10. Unreliable but produced in millions.

Bren Gun

Squad light machine gun. Accurate, reliable, distinctive curved magazine.

Soviet Firearms

Mosin-Nagant

- Type: Bolt-action rifle - Caliber: 7.62×54mmR - Ancient design (1891) but effective

PPSh-41

The Soviet bullet hose

Capacity: 71-round drum
Rate of fire: 900 rpm

Simple, reliable, devastating firepower. Soviets sometimes equipped entire units with nothing but PPSh-41s.

Japanese Firearms

Arisaka Type 99

Standard Japanese rifle. Good design hampered by late-war production quality.

Type 100

Japan's only submachine gun of the war. Produced in limited numbers.

Most Common WW2 Guns in Media

These guns appear constantly in films, games, and TV:
1. M1 Garand (the iconic "ping")
2. Thompson (distinctive drum magazine)
3. MP 40 (every WW2 game)
4. MG 42 (the terrifying sound)