Encyclopedia-of-Weapons-of-World-War-II.pdf

THE

ENCYCLOPEDIA

WEAPONS

WORLD WAR II

Contents

Introduction

Axis Tanks

British and French Tanks

Soviet and American Tanks

Tank Destroyers

Special Purpose Tanks

Amphibious Vehicles

Allied and Axis Halftracks

Armoured Cars

101

111

123

136

148

159

169

179

191

203

215

225

236

249

264

275

283

293

Allied and Axis Trucks

Light Vehicles

Self-Propelled Guns

Heavy Artillery

Field Artillery

Heavy Anti-Aircraft Guns

Light Anti-Aircraft Guns

War Rockets

Anti-Tank Guns

Infantry Support Weapons

Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons

Allied and Axis Rifles

Allied and Axis Pistols

Allied and Axis Machine-Guns

Allied and Axis Sub-Machine Guns

Allied and Axis Flamethrowers

Allied Fighters

Axis Fighters

Heavy Bombers

Contents

Light and Medium Bombers

Jet Aircraft

Axis Ground Attack Aircraft

Allied Ground Attack Aircraft

Night-Fighters

Allied and Axis Flying-Boats

Allied and Axis Seaplanes

Anti-Shipping Aircraft

Carrier Aircraft

Transport and Assault Aircraft

Air-to-Ground Weapons

Light Aircraft

Axis Submarines

Allied Submarines

British Aircraft Carriers

Japanese Aircraft Carriers

305

318

330

340

350

361

372

383

393

404

414

424

434

443

452

462

American Aircraft Carriers

Allied and Axis Battleships

Allied and Axis Cruisers

Axis Destroyers

Escort Vessels

Coastal Craft

Assault Ships

Glossary of Weapons

470

478

487

497

509

519

529

540

Introduction

-w^TT^TTorld War II affected virtually every corner

jL I of the globe. In the six years between 1939

Y Y and 1945, some 50 million people lost their

lives, and very few who survived were not affected.

It was the costliest and most widespread conflict the

world has ever seen.

World War II was fought on land, sea and in the

air with weapons which had first been used in the

Great War of 1914-18. Ironically, an even greater

conflict was to emerge from the burning embers of

that "war to end all wars", and with it huge advances

in weapons technology. The countries involved in

World War II now had the means and the capability

to fight each other in a more efficient - and more

deadly - manner.

Yet only Great Britain, her Empire allies and

Germany were involved during the whole period.

For other nations the conflict was of a shorter dura-

tion. The USA and Japan, for example, were at war

from December 1941 to August 1945 (and the USA

was simultaneously at war with Germany, until

Hitler's defeat in May 1945).

The situation was so complicated, the skeins of

alliance and enmity so intertwined that it would take

a very large chart indeed to describe them. Only one

factor was more straightforward and common to all

the countries involved: the nature of the weapons

that the men (and sometimes women) used to fight

their way to victory - or defeat.

There were differences in detail, of course: the

German Panzerkampfwagen V 'Panther' tank was a

very different vehicle from the American M4

Sherman, the Russian T-34, or the British Cromwell.

But essentially they were all much the same -

armoured vehicles mounting powerful guns running

on tracks.The small arms with which the various

combatant nations equipped their armies were very

different in detail too, but essentially they were all

devices for launching projectiles at high speed.

In short, many would simply say that guns are guns,

bombs are bombs, aircraft are aircraft, and so on. But

there is certainly more to it than that, for the capacity

to win or lose a war actually rested on these weapons'

qualities, just as much as it did on the fighting skills of

those who employed them and on the strategic sense

of those who directed them in their use.

We cannot simply bundle these weapons together -

not if we really want to understand why and how

20th century history unfolded the way it did.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Weapons of World

War II makes a very important contribution to the

subject - perhaps even a vital one - for it describes

every major weapon and vehicle employed during

the full period of the conflict, on land, sea and in the

air, in enormous detail, both in textual and in graphic

form. It also provides detailed specifications about

the 'core' weapon or system and all its major variants.

Thus it allows straightforward comparisons to be

made accurately and effectively.

Its sheer comprehensiveness makes The Complete

Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II com-

pelling reading. Clearly it will have considerable

appeal to all manner of students of the period as the

first - and probably the definitive - source of clear,

concise information on the nature and history of dif-

ferent weapons, including specifications, capabilities

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