List of World War II weapons of the United States

The following is a list of World War II weapons of the United States, which includes firearm, artillery, vehicles, vessels, and other support equipment known to have been used by the United States Armed Forces—namely the United States Army, United States Army Air Forces, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard—as well as the Office of Strategic Services and other U.S. government agencies involved in the war, during American involvement between 1941 and 1945. This list includes experimental technology that, while created during the war, was never issued as intended.

Various firearms used by the United States military during World War II, displayed at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax County, Virginia

Blades

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Small arms

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Pistols (manual and semi-automatic)

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Image Name Type Role/s Action Origin Base model/s Manufacturer/s Cartridge/s Effective firing range (m) From (year) Estimated wartime quantity Unloaded wt (kg) Notes
  Colt M1911 Pistol Sidearm Recoil-operated (Short recoil)   United States Colt Springfield .45 ACP 1911 1.1
  Colt M1903 Pistol Sidearm Blowback, single action   United States Colt .32 ACP (M1903)
.380 ACP (M1908)
1903 0.68
  Colt New Service revolver Revolver Sidearm Double action   United States Colt .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44-40 Winchester, .38-40, .44 Russian, .44 Special, .44-40, .38 Special, .357 Magnum 1909 356000
  Colt M1917 revolver Revolver Sidearm Double action, rotating cylinder   United States Colt .45 ACP, .45 Auto Rim 1917 1.1
  Smith & Wesson M1917 revolver Revolver Sidearm Double/single action, swing-out cylinder   United States Smith & Wesson .45 ACP, .45 Auto Rim 1917 1.0
  Colt Official Police Revolver Sidearm Double action   United States Colt .22 Long Rifle, .32-20, .38 Special, .38/200, .41 Long Colt 1907
  Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver Revolver Sidearm Double action   United States Smith & Wesson .38 Long Colt, .38 Special, .38 S&W 1899 0.907

Automatic pistols and submachine guns

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Image Name Type Role/s Action Origin Base model/s Manufacturer/s Cartridge/s Effective firing range (m) Cyclic rate of fire (rpm) From (year) Estimated wartime quantity Unloaded wt (kg) Notes
  M1 Thompson submachine gun Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback, blish lock   United States pplicker (firearms) Blowback, blish lock Auto-Ordnance Company .45 ACP 150 700 1921 4.5-4.9 30-round magazine.
  M2 Hyde Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback, open bolt   United States Marlin firearms company .45 ACP 570 1942 400 4.19 Never issued or saw service. The M2 Hyde was the gap between the M1 Thompson and the M3 grease gun. It was designed to be lighter and cheaper to produce than the Thompson (since the Thompson was an extremely expensive weapon). It succeeded at both goals, but it was almost immediately replaced by the cheaper grease gun. Used 20-round or 30-round Thompson magazines.
  M3 and M3A1 submachine gun Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback, open bolt   United States General Motors .45 ACP 91 450 1943 655363 3.61-3.70 30-round magazine.
  M50 Reising submachine gun Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback (Delayed blowback), closed bolt   United States Harrington & Richardson .45 ACP 550 1941 2.8-3.1
  United Defense M42 Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback   United States United Defense Supply Corp. .45 ACP 700 1942 15000 4.54 25-round box magazine (also issued with two 25-round magazines welded face-to-face)
  M55 Reising submachine gun Submachine gun Close-quarters, personal security Blowback (Delayed blowback), closed bolt   United States Harrington & Richardson .45 ACP 550 1941 Identical to the M50 SMG except it sported a wire stock and had no compensator. It also had a slightly shorter barrel. The M50 and M55 served as the go-to SMGs before the Thompson.

Rifles

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Image Name Type Role/s Action Origin Base model/s Manufacturer/s Cartridge/s Effective firing range
(m)
From (year) Estimated wartime quantity Unloaded weight
(kg)
Notes
  M1903 Springfield Standard rifle Front-line Bolt-action   United States Gewehr 98 Springfield Armory .30-03; .30-06 Springfield 610 1903 3000000~ 3.9
  M1903A4 sniper rifle Sniper rifle Long-Range Precision Bolt-action   United States Gewehr 98 Springfield Armory .30-03; .30-06 Springfield 1000 1903
  M1 Garand Battle rifle Front-line / Assault Gas-operated, rotating bolt   United States Springfield Armory, Winchester, Harrington & Richardson, International Harvester .30-06 Springfield 457 1934 4.31 - 5.3
  M1917 Enfield rifle Standard rifle Front-line Bolt-action   United States Winchester, Remington Arms, Eddystone Arsenal .30-06 Springfield 549 1917 4.167
  M1941 Johnson rifle Battle rifle Front-line / Assault Recoil-operated (Short-recoil), rotating bolt   United States Johnson Automatics, Inc. .30-06 Springfield 1941 70000~ 4.31
  Krag–Jørgensen Standard rifle Second-line Bolt-Action   United States Springfield Armory .30-40 Krag 1892 3.82
  Winchester Model 1895 Standard rifle Front-line Lever action   United States Winchester, Browning Arms .30-06 Springfield 1895 4.2
  Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle Sniper rifle Long-Range Precision Bolt-action   United States Winchester, U.S. Repeating Arms .30-06 Springfield 1936 2.7 - 3.6
  Remington Model 8 Battle rifle Front-line / Assault Recoil-operated   United States Remington Arms 1905 3.6

Carbines

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Image Name Type Role/s Action Origin Base model/s Manufacturer/s Cartridge/s Effective firing range (m) Cyclic rate of fire (rpm) From (year) Estimated wartime quantity Unloaded wt (kg) Notes
  M1 carbine Carbine Front-line / Assault / Close-quarters / Personal Security Gas-operated (short-stroke piston), rotating bolt   United States General Motors, Winchester, Irwin-Pedersen, Underwood Elliot Fisher, National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware Manufacturing Corp., International Business Machines, Standard Products, Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation, Commercial Controls Corporation .30 Carbine 275 270 1942 6121309 2.4 15-round box magazines, or 30-round curved magazines.

A common practice was to strap two 15-round magazine ammo pouches to the gun stock.

  Marlin Model 1894 Carbine Close-quarters / Personal Security Lever action   United States Marlin Firearms 30-30 137-183 91 1894 2.72 - 2.95
  Winchester Model 1894 Carbine Close-quarters / Personal Security Lever action   United States Winchester 30-30 137-183 91 1894 3.1

Shotguns

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Grenades and grenade launchers

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Mines

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Recoilless rifles

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Flamethrowers

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Machine guns

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Infantry and dual

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Vehicle and aircraft machine guns and autocannons

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Tanks

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Light tanks

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Medium tanks

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Heavy tanks

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Tank destroyers

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Flamethrower tanks

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Other vehicles

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Passenger vehicles

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Motorcycles

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Amphibious vehicles

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Trucks

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Artillery

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Infantry Guns

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Infantry mortars

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Heavy mortars and multiple rocket launchers

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Self-propelled guns

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Field artillery

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Fortress and siege guns

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Anti-tank guns

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Anti-tank infantry weapons

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See also

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Citations

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  1. ^ Hogg, pp. 77–79

Bibliography

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  • Hogg, Ian V. (1998). Allied Artillery of World War Two. Marlborough, UK: Crowood Press. ISBN 1-86126-165-9.