What is Your Favorite WWII Weapon?

[Lhianon]

since you asked for the favorite, not the most impactfull, usefull or widely used, i have to go with those 3:
Horten Ho IX
[link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horten_Ho_IX[/link]
Horten Ho XVIII
[link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horten_H.XVIII[/link]
jet-powered stealth planes in 1945? sure, germany could do it. granted, the first never saw combat, the second never even reached the prototype stadium, but i am sure we are all very happy for that.
V2
[link]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V2_rocket[/link]
the first man made object that reached space, which trough operation paperclip gave the US the means to develop even more advanced rockets, leading ultimately to the first man on the moon.

 

[Therumancer]

Flamethrowers were not banned by the Geneva and were widely used by all sides. Only the US used shotguns during WW1 and they were not a war winning weapon. US troops made very little contribution on the battlefield, the greatest effect of US troops came from the fact the Germans would run out of soldiers before the allies. The the Germans in WW2 totally ignored any artificial humanitarian limits on the eastern front that did not exactly work out very well for them.

I am also unaware of the great need for trench clearing by civilians in the US, which is the role the shotguns were replaced by smgs.

Actually yes, Flamethrowers ARE banned by the Geneva Convention, with a simple internet search on the question you come up with:

http://www.chacha.com/question/is-the-flame-thrower-banned-from-war

You can find more easily enough, but you'll also find stuff about how the US Department Of Defense also voluntarily banned them.

Putting rules on war is pointless IMO, as I said before, those who follow them when the enemy does not are idiots. But that's another discussion entirely.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Actually yes, Flamethrowers ARE banned by the Geneva Convention, with a simple internet search on the question you come up with:

http://www.chacha.com/question/is-the-flame-thrower-banned-from-war

You can find more easily enough, but you'll also find stuff about how the US Department Of Defense also voluntarily banned them.

A simple internet search will also find sources which aren't just randoms giving their opinions.

For example:

http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/515

Incendiary weapons aren't banned by the Geneva Protocols, you just can't use them indiscriminately. The US DoD stopped using them because of PR issues.

 

[BristolBerserker]

So many that I can't pick just one:
Rifle - Lee Enfield
SMG - M3 Grease Gun
MG - Bren
Anti-tank(Handheld) - Panzerfaust
Anti-tank(Gun) - 17 Pounder
Artillery - 25 Pounder
Melee - Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife
Tank - Centurion(Came in right at the end)
Plane - Spitfire

 

[FFHAuthor]

US troops made very little contribution on the battlefield, the greatest effect of US troops came from the fact the Germans would run out of soldiers before the allies.

Might I suggest reading 'The Myth of the Great War' by John Mosier, it might prove an illuminating read for you.

As for best weapon, Garand. Without question, no other army fielded a more successful semiautomatic standard rifle, but then no other army in WWII fought the war the way the US did.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Fists have always been cool.
<youtube=GjukzUOM0ac>

Seriously think about fists.

Thank you. I hate guns.
Ah, then what am I doing in a gun thread, you say?
Consider me the loyal opposition.
Cheers, everybody.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Fists have always been cool.
<youtube=GjukzUOM0ac>

Seriously think about fists.

Thank you. I hate guns.
Ah, then what am I doing in a gun thread, you say?
Consider me the loyal opposition.
Cheers, everybody.

I was here first

 

[Darren716]

Rifle- M1 Grand mostly because Grandfather used one from Normandy onward and used its rifle grenades to destroy a German tank at the Bulge

SMG- MP-40

Tank-Sherman

Aircraft (fighter)- Spitfire

Heavy Aircraft- B-17

Ship- Japanese submarine aircraft carrier (that thing was bad ass)

 

[sextus the crazy]

MG42 for me. If only because it's the only thing that's lasted from that war (except for the M1911A1, M2 .50 cal, and M1919A4 to a much lesser extend). Hell, it was so good that the Germans focused their infantry doctrine around it.

 

[drthmik]

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163
General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 5.98 m (19 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.33 m (30 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 18.5 m² (200 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,905 kg (4,200 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,950 kg (8,710 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,310 kg (9,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Walter HWK 109-509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket, 17 kN (3,800 lbf)

Performance

Maximum speed: 959 km/h (596 mph)
Range: 40 km (25 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,100 m (39,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 160 m/s[44] [N 5] (31500 ft/min)
Wing loading: 213 kg/m² (43 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament

Guns: *2 × 30 mm (1.18 in) Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 cannons (60 rpg)

 

[Tanner The Monotone]

Oh god, there are so many to pick. I don't think I can do it. My favorite light machine gun is definitely the mg-42, not just because of it's awesomeness, but also because of it's influence in future guns. As for favorite all time, I don't know.

 

[Tanner The Monotone]

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163
General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 5.98 m (19 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.33 m (30 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 18.5 m² (200 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,905 kg (4,200 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,950 kg (8,710 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,310 kg (9,500 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Walter HWK 109-509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket, 17 kN (3,800 lbf)

Performance

Maximum speed: 959 km/h (596 mph)
Range: 40 km (25 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,100 m (39,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 160 m/s[44] [N 5] (31500 ft/min)
Wing loading: 213 kg/m² (43 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament

Guns: *2 × 30 mm (1.18 in) Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 cannons (60 rpg)

Down sides:

-had 6 minutes of fuel.
-its landing gear was a wheel and a front mounted sled
-only held 120 rounds

The combination of the lack of any real landing gear, low amount of air time, and high speeds made that thing hard as hell to land.

 

[Magmarock]

The nuclear bomb. The weapon so powerful, nobody will use it. It even stopped the two world super-powers from waging full-scale war on each other. I mean, the Cold War was no picnic, but a conventional war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact would've torn the world apart far worse than WWII.

I was gonna name a gun like the mp40 or something but then I read this post and was owned.

 

[Tanner The Monotone]

I'll have to go with the Lee-Enfield, Rifle No.4.
It's a piece of my nation's history and I want one so bad. Just need to join a rifle club...
10 round internal magazine loaded by two 5-round stripper clip chargers or a round at a time. That and it looks soooo good!
Any Mark will do, and if I ever get the money and enough room to store them, every Mark.

......I own one.....you jelly?

Seriously though, it is a really good rifle. I sorta hate the sights though.

 

[Treaos Serrare]

The Mosin-Nagant for a sniper Rifle
M1-Garand for an all round rifle
The Thomson Sub-Machine gun( though I would Prefer a BAR)

 

[Thaluikhain]

I suppose I should mention the Bren, my grandfather used one in the Pacific.

Oh, and it happens to be ANZAC day. Lest we forget.

 

[DeadRise17]

Have to say the Panzerschreck rocket launcher. The Panzerschreck rocket could penetrate over 200 mm of armor, which could destroy every armoured vehicle.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Oh, some of the British Home Guard weapons. Seriously weird stuff made on the cheap. The Home Guard wasn't so much intended to stop a German invasion, but slow them down, taking terrible casualties. Petrol bombs, old bayonets welded to poles, guns the army had abandoned as obsolete.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

I'll have to go with the Lee-Enfield, Rifle No.4.
It's a piece of my nation's history and I want one so bad. Just need to join a rifle club...
10 round internal magazine loaded by two 5-round stripper clip chargers or a round at a time. That and it looks soooo good!
Any Mark will do, and if I ever get the money and enough room to store them, every Mark.

......I own one.....you jelly?

Seriously though, it is a really good rifle. I sorta hate the sights though.

Yes, very much so.
I'd get one myself but it's a matter of time, money I don't have, and effort.
I'd have to apply for a Firearms certificate, find two people to counter-sign for me, shell out £50 for the FAC, then who knows how much for a safe, then the cost of the rifle, ammo, club membership fees...
It's a nightmare that I can't deal with right now while trying to apply for Uni and being unemployed.

 

[Tanner The Monotone]

I'll have to go with the Lee-Enfield, Rifle No.4.
It's a piece of my nation's history and I want one so bad. Just need to join a rifle club...
10 round internal magazine loaded by two 5-round stripper clip chargers or a round at a time. That and it looks soooo good!
Any Mark will do, and if I ever get the money and enough room to store them, every Mark.

......I own one.....you jelly?

Seriously though, it is a really good rifle. I sorta hate the sights though.

Yes, very much so.
I'd get one myself but it's a matter of time, money I don't have, and effort.
I'd have to apply for a Firearms certificate, find two people to counter-sign for me, shell out £50 for the FAC, then who knows how much for a safe, then the cost of the rifle, ammo, club membership fees...
It's a nightmare that I can't deal with right now while trying to apply for Uni and being unemployed.

Well I'm a lucky bastard then. My grandfather gave it to me, along with a few hundred rounds of ammunition and a bayonet. I live in America, so I don't have to go through all those long processes.