List of secondary and special-issue World War II infantry weapons
Encyclopedia
This is a list of weapons which, while not being mainstream, were used in significant enough numbers to warrant mention.
Germany
Japan
Poland
United Kingdom
United States
s, it also includes those that made it to trial. The production and usage of these weapons was very low.
China
- Colt M1911
- Browning Hi-PowerBrowning Hi-PowerThe Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
(Burma CampaignBurma CampaignThe Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
X-Forces and Y-Forces) - Tommy Gun M1928A1 (U.S Lend Lease, later local produced Chinese copies)
- M3 submachine gunM3 submachine gunThe M3 was an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted for U.S. Army service on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was designed as a more cost-effective alternative to the Thompson, optimized for mass production...
(U.S Lend Lease) - M1903 Springfield rifle (U.S Lend Lease)
- M1917 Enfield rifleM1917 Enfield rifleThe M1917 Enfield, the "American Enfield" , formally named "United States Rifle, cal .30, Model of 1917" was an American modification and production of the British .303 caliber P14 rifle developed and manufactured during the period 1917-1918.-History:Before World War I developed, the British had as...
(U.S Lend Lease) - M1918 BAR (U.S Lend Lease)
- MG 34MG 34The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German air-cooled machine gun that was first produced and accepted into service in 1934, and first issued to units in 1935. It accepts the 8x57mm IS cartridge....
(Chinese copy)
GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- MG81 medium machine gun
- FG42 light machine gun
- MP 3008MP 3008The 9 mm MP 3008 was a German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II in early 1945....
A late war German copy of the British Sten - Volkssturmgewehr 1-5Volkssturmgewehr 1-5The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 is a set of 5 rifle designs developed by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II...
- EMP 44EMP 44The EMP 44 is a firearm produced by Erma Werke in 1943. It passed all of the German ordnance tests, but was not adopted by the Wehrmacht.-Design:...
- StG45StG45The StG 45 sometimes referred to as the MP 45, was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using an innovative roller-delayed blowback operating system...
- Mondragón rifle
- Walther PPKWalther PPKThe Walther PP series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.They feature an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring...
7.65 semi auto pistol that was issued primarily to officers. - Pistole 657(n)Kongsberg ColtThe Kongsberg Colt is a nickname used for Colt M1911 pistols produced under license by the Norwegian factory Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk.- History :...
:Licenced copy of the Colt 1911, originally made in Norway by Kongsberg for the Norwegian armed forces. - Pistole 660(a)
- Sturmgewehr 44Sturmgewehr 44The StG 44 was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment, considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle...
- Gewehr 43Gewehr 43The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 is an 8x57mm IS caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
- Volksmaschinengewehr VMG-27Volksmaschinengewehr VMG-27The Volksmaschinengewehr VMG-27 is an incorrect interpretation of the term 'VMG 27'. At the end of WW 2 several weapons were developed which would be easy to produce in large quantities...
- Wimmersperg Spz-krWimmersperg Spz-krThe Spz-kr was an assault rifle that was invented during the latter days of the Third Reich. It was one of the "last ditch" weapons alongside the VG 1-5, StG 45, and MP 3008.-Overview:...
- Browning wz.1928Browning wz.1928The Browning wz.1928 is a Polish version of the M1918 BAR. It was a light machine gun used by the Poles in World War II.-History:After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the Polish Army was equipped in all sorts of machine guns inherited after the armed forces of the partitioners, as well as...
- M30 Luftwaffe drillingM30 Luftwaffe drillingThe M30 Luftwaffe drilling was a survival weapon issued to Luftwaffe pilots during World War II. It was intended to be used in the event that a pilot was shot down, for defense and for hunting game to stay alive until rescue....
- VolkspistoleVolkspistoleThe Volkspistole was an emergency German pistol design that was assembled from simple steel pressings with a minimum of machined parts. Only prototypes were produced before the end of World War II. These prototypes had an unusual locking system that directed the propellant gases forward to retard...
- ZB vz. 26
JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- NambuNambu pistolwas a semi-automatic pistol used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy during the First and Second World Wars. The pistol had two variants, the Type A , and the Type 14 .-History:...
Type 94 semi-auto pistol - Type 26 revolverType 26 revolverwas the first modern pistol adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was developed at the Koishikawa Arsenal and is named for its year of adoption in the Japanese dating system...
- Type 100 submachine gunType 100 submachine gunThe was a Japanese submachine gun used during World War II, and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity. It was made in two basic variants referred to by American and British observers as the Type 100/40 and the Type 100/44, the latter also known as the Type 100...
- TERA riflesTERA RifleThe TERA Rifles were special Japanese rifles developed for paratroopers of the Imperial Japanese Army. They could be broken down into two parts and easily assembled/disassembled...
(Type 100, Type 1, Type 2)
PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- Błyskawica submachine gun
- Bechowiec-1Bechowiec-1Bechowiec-1 was a Polish World War II machine pistol developed and produced by the underground Armia Krajowa resistance organisation. It was designed in 1943 by Henryk Strąpoć and was being produced in several underground facilities, mostly in the area of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski and Opatów Kielecki...
submachine gun - Polski Sten submachine gun
United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- DeLisle carbine
- Lanchester SMGLanchester SMGThe Lanchester is a submachine gun manufactured by the Sterling Armaments Company between 1941 and 1945. It is a copy of the German MP28/II and was manufactured in two versions, Mk.1 and Mk.1*; the latter was a simplified version of the original Mk.1, with no fire selector and simplified sights...
- WelrodWelrodThe Welrod was a British bolt action, magazine fed, suppressed pistol devised during World War II at the Inter-Services Research Bureau , based near Welwyn Garden City, UK, for use by irregular forces and resistance groups...
silenced pistol - Martini-EnfieldMartini-EnfieldMartini-Enfield rifles were, by and large, conversions of the Zulu War era .450/577 Martini-Henry, rechambering the rifle for use with the newly introduced .303 British cartridge...
United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- High Standard HDM pistol
- M1941 Johnson rifle
- M1941 Johnson machine gun
- M42 United Defense submachine gun
- M50 Reising submachine gun
- M97 ShotgunWinchester Model 1897The Winchester Model 1897, also known as the Model 97, M97, or Trench Gun, was a pump-action shotgunwith an external hammer and tube magazine manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The Model 1897 was an evolution of the Winchester Model 1893 designed by John Browning. From 1897...
(Used in the Pacific WarPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
) - M12 ShotgunWinchester Model 1912The Winchester Model 1912 is a hammerless slide-action, i.e., pump-action, shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly-named the Perfect Repeater at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump action shotguns over its 51 year high-rate production life...
(Used in the Pacific WarPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
) - Ithaca 37Ithaca 37The Ithaca 37 is a pump-action shotgun made in large numbers for the civilian, military, and police markets. It utilizes a novel combination ejection/loading port on the bottom of the gun which leaves the sides closed to the elements. In addition, the outline of the gun is clean...
(Used in the Pacific WarPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
) - Browning Auto-5Browning Auto-5The Browning Automatic 5, most often Auto-5 or simply A-5, is a recoil-operated semi-automatic shotgun designed by John Browning. It was the first successful semi-automatic shotgun designed and remained in production until 1998...
(Used in the Pacific WarPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
)
Prototype weapons
Weapons that never saw real service in World War II. Usually prototypePrototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s, it also includes those that made it to trial. The production and usage of these weapons was very low.