Essay About Weapons Of World War And Standard Rifle

Weapons of World War 2
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As the world went into World War One, it faced new technological advances that
turned the view of battle forever. With the invention of many new killing machines,
soldiers were now in the deadliest battlefields ever. From artillery blasts to machine gun
fire, from air power to biological and weapons of mass destruction, the outcome of World
War One would be deadly. It would be the first war to be the greatest motivator for
technology at the beginning of the century.
Rifles and Pistols
One of the most important and common weapons was of course the Rifle and
Pistol. Rifles and pistols were large and significant part of the war. They were more
accurate and powerful and allowed the men to hit a target from further away with a better
chance of hitting where they aimed. Almost all infantry and officers in World War One
carried a rifle, pistol or both. Nearly all infantrymen in the First World War used bolt
action rifles.
The American rifle used in World War One was the Springfield. The bolt-action
magazine rifle was used by the United States Army during the First World War. The
M1903 rifle remained the US standard rifle until 1936. Because of production problems
with the M1A1, it was also used during the Second World War. Snipers also preferred
using the Springfield rifle all the way through the Korean War. A faithful pistol for the
Americans was the Colt .45, Model 1911. Throughout American history, Colt pistols
have been the standard-issue handgun used in combat from 1911 to 1985. Colt pistols
were in the hands of brave, WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam American soldiers. The
Model 1911 has a 5″ barrel with 7-round magazine.
The Karabiner 98k was a German rifle introduced into service in 1898. It was the
primary German infantry rifle in both world wars, and was known for its excellent
accuracy and range of 800 meters. For this reason it continued to be used with a scope as
a sniper rifle. The 98k had disadvantages like being bulky and heavy and slow rate of
fire, due to the bolt-action mechanism. It was also designed to be used with a bayonet.
The 98K rifle holds five rounds of 7.9mm in a clip. The Luger was the standard German
pistol. Developed by George Luger, it became the worlds most widely used military
handgun. The Luger fired a 7-round clip of 9mm ammunition. It is estimated that 1.5
million Lugers were produced in Germany during the First World War.
The Lee-Enfield was first rifle introduced in 1907 and by the beginning
of the First
World War as the British Armys main infantry weapon. The Lee-Enfield could be aimed
accurately over about 600 meters but could still kill someone over 1,400 metros away.
Later on, it would be designed to be used with a bayonet. The British pistol, actually
more of a revolver was the Webley MkIV. All officers in the British Army carried the
weapon. They were also issued to the military police, aircrew and people in tanks and
armored cars. Originally designed in 1887, but improved during the war, the Webley
was a strong, heavy weapon.
The Bayonet was provided to most infantrymen for their bolt-action rifles. Most
were a standard knife, but the French preferred a needle bayonet and some German
soldiers loved the saw-bladed version. The bayonet was the infantrymans primary close
combat weapon in trench warfare. The importance of the bayonet as an offensive weapon
was drifting away during the war because of the use of a machine gun from an advancing
army.
Artillery
A main support weapon for most of the armies was a long-barreled field gun. This
was known as artillery, or a howitzer which was developed to be used under cover or
against hidden targets. These fired heavy shells through a short barrel and were the best
type of artillery gun to employ against enemy buildings.
Grenades were hollow iron balls filled with gunpowder and ignited by a slow
burning match. Soldiers had to be able to throw them over 100 feet and the tall, strong
soldiers became known as grenadiers. The German stick grenade had a wooden handle
about ten inches long that carried a metal canister at its head. The head unscrewed to
allow