So the Germans developed the Sturmgewehr 44, better known as the StG 44, in the early 1940s and began mass production in 1944. The Red (Soviet) Army would often use captured Mausers.Īfter several years of rejecting the idea of a new automatic or semi-automatic weapon, Hitler asked his top commanders on the Eastern Front what they needed – and their answer was that they needed this type of firearm. The Mauser was used by all branches of the armed forces throughout World War II. Each rifle was equipped with a cleaning rod fitted through the bayonet stud. Its magazine takes five 7.92×57mm cartridges. It is a controlled-feed, bolt action short carbine, relied upon for its accuracy and range. The German Mauser K98k was adopted by the German Army in 1934. It was so simple to build that many countries and partisan forces started producing their own, including Polish Resistance which made at least 2,000. Though the finished project was often rough and was plagued by frequent reports of misfiring, it was the punch Britain needed. Its simple design was mass-produced and sub-contracted to factories all over England. To that end, the Sten Gun fulfilled its purpose. After losing huge amounts of equipment during the evacuation of Dunkirk and now with the looming threat of German invasion, the United Kingdom needed some strong infantry fire power, quickly and cheaply. The British Sten Gun was a sub-machine gun, created out of sheer necessity. Sales did not go well even though the gun was an impressive weapon to use in these times.Ī better, more improved version was created to try and boost sales and create more demand – this was the M1928, and was considered one of the best guns made to date. The weapon was super impressive for its time and could easily fire 800 rounds per minute using. The Thompson submachine gun or M1921, was the very first model produced and this was done in 1921 by Colt. It was commonly called the ‘Schmeisser’ by the Allies this was an incorrect name as Hugo Schmeisser had zero involvement in this gun, neither in its design nor in its production. It was designed with more modern features that were far more advanced than anything that had come before this made it hugely popular with both German soldiers and countries around the world (following the end of the War). The MP40 was used throughout the German army, by paratroopers, platoon leaders, infantrymen and squad leaders on both the Western and Eastern fronts. These guns were designed by Heinrich Vollmer in 1938, he got the inspiration for them from the MP38 (its predecessor). This submachine gun was developed in Germany by the Nazis and the Axis powers used these guns extensively throughout World War 2. The MP40 submachine gun was made to use with the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was a reliable and powerful sidearm for U.S.
The .45 caliber rounds of the Colt offered just that. The Colt 1911 was developed by Browning during the Philippine-American War because troops needed more stopping power from their weapons.
Armed Forces from 1911 until 1986, the Colt 1911 has even been modified and for use in various service branches to this day. One of the most popular handguns ever made, the Colt 1911 set the standard for the 20th-century pistol.