Wars and battles for resources and power have caused millions of people to take up arms against each other. Buy the illustrated encyclopedia of weapons of world war ii by chris bishop online from the works. Ww2 affected virtually almost any corner of the globe. The war saw numerous innovations made by every country in their weaponry that. Click here for a great selection of books about ww1 weapons. Weapons are linked to bodies, to attacks on bodily integrity, to suffering. There are sections on the rifles used in the war, submachine guns, planes, boats, tanks, and a whole lot more. A historian of the ottoman empire and modern turkey, he is a publisher of popular history, a podcaster, and online course creator. The torpedo section is 44 pages, 26 pages are devoted to mines, and asw weapons have a mere 16 pages. In 1939, both the british and american navies were, at best, prepared to fight with world war 1 technology. With varied interests, i have always suffered from an insatiable appetite for facts stemming from an unrestrainable intellectual curiosity. This situation is entirely rectified by this extensive volume, which is completely encyclopaedic in scope and largely based on original research. The gun section is by far the longest at 306 pages.
Beyond rifles and submachine guns were pistols revolver and semiautomatic types, hand grenades, mortars. This is because it has its origins in the classic 1985 book naval weapons of world war two by john campbell. World war ii was fought from 1939 to 1945 and saw variety of weapons used in the field. Some of the stories i had heard before but many i hadnt. Raf night attack on german forces at kleve and goch. Use the dropdown menu above to list weapons by country. The war, and its global reach, challenged manyanation to rise up and fight the axis spread, which was led by german leader adolph hitler in europe, and the empirical reach of. To understand the great war, one has to understand weapons. The encyclopedia of weapons of world war ii, by numerous authors but edited by chris bishop, is a nonfiction book covering a massive array of weapons from world war ii. The number of world war ii books available is vast. More than 600 fullcolor artworks accompany entries that feature a detailed history of each. It joins the big book of the civil war and the big book of u. Weird weapons of world war i history and headlines.
Many of the traditional ways of fighting were being replaced by advancements in technology such as the cavalry being useless against the advancement of the armored tank. Such was the success of the earlier work that a sequel was announced in the mid90s. Airplanes planes were first used to deliver bombs and spy on enemy troops from the air. Online edition of american bimonthly international affairs magazine the national interest, reported on 5 such deadliest american weapons from wwii. Through the course of the war, weapons of all types evolved greatly and increased incomplexity. Initially antiquated battlefield tactics failed to comprehend the reality of industrialised warfare, and by 1915 the machine gun and artillery fire dictated the way that war was dictated it is also the single greatest contributor to the staggering casualty figures. From actionpacked eyewitness accounts such as guadalcanal diary to devastating holocaust memoirs like the diary of anne frank and night to the thrilling espionage tale of operation mincemeat, world war ii is the subject of some of the most fascinating and influential nonfiction books ever written each year, seemingly dozens of new titles emerge to offer fresh perspectives and uncover. Imagine if they fielded a jet fighter in large numbers well before dday. Those books no longer in print should be easy to buy from a good book search service such.
The book is divided into four sections devoted to type of weapons. It was the costliest and utmost widespread conflict the world has forever obtained. Planes changed war from two dimensional to three dimentional. The book is mostly a series of short stories describing a secret operation, codebreaking or weapon that occurred in ww2. It is often said that necessity is the mother of all invention, and at no other point in a countrys history is necessity greater than in wartime. Nearly 40,000 soviet civilians lost their lives during the battle of stalingrad. In about 300 pages devoted to weapons, with most pages having 2 weapons, probably somewhere in excess of 500 of the most important weapons of ww2 are covered in a handy, well printed, and astonishingly inexpensive book. Imagine if the nazis had bombed new york city the same way they bombed london. Divided by country including minor powers not directly. Excellent reference book of all naval weapons of world war ii, from the massive 18. Military weapons have a long history, since the dawn of man. Ww2 weapons are a result of rapid technological innovation in response to the needs of the various combatants.
I have assembled these from over fifty sources, mostly from my own library. Glamour, decadence, and survival in peace and war, 19301944. Weapons international encyclopedia of the first world. World war ii greatly advanced technology and the weapons developed helped shape the postwar world. Many have really short noses, in order to balance with the weight of a rotary engine.
A lavishly illustrated compendium of military hardware covers everything that fought in the air, on the ground, and on the seas during world war ii. The russian tsar tank with its front wheels 27 feet tall and hull 40 feet wide, the german kwagen of 120 tons and 27 man crew, and the british flying elephant 100 ton monster are examples. Australia austria belgium china czechoslovakia denmark finland france germany greece hungary italy japan norway philippines poland russia sweden switzerland united kingdom united states. This is in contrast to campbell who divides his book into nations. During wwii, the mg42 had the fastest rate of fire of any weapon, at 1200 rounds per minute up to 1800 in some versions. Although the great war might be regarded as the heyday of the biggun at sea, it also saw the maturing of underwater weapons the mine and torpedo as well as the first signs of the future potency of air power. There is no shortage of reference on the warships that fought the second world war, but the weapons they carried have been largely ignored, except in the most basic particulars. Bursting with facts, this book is a treasure trove for anyone interested in history or military history wishing to learn more about how developments in weapons technology influenced the course of world war ii. The united states would go to war in 1941, with only four all purpose carriers to face 10 japanese aircraft carriers. Imagine if they had a fleet of aircraft carriers rivaling, at least, japans fleet. Many different weapons systems we see today evolved from world war 2 warfare. Earlier wars may have planted the seeds for lethality, but this new war that engulfed the planet was a quantum leap into the future of weaponry. As well as using them in the trenches, some of these weapons were used by tanks, u boats, zeppelins left and planes.
Tactics, weapons, and technology of ww1 by lakin walden on. Free ebooks, world war ii, military history, nook books. In the trenches, the weapon carried by all british soldiers was the bolt action rifle see picture top right. Visit now to browse our huge range of products at great prices. Presidents as the most accessible and complete not to mention fun onesubject reference book available, making it perfect for history reports and. Many historians believe that the battle at stalingrad 19421943 is not only arguably the bloodiest battle in history 800,0001,600,000 casualties, but also the turning point of wwii in europe. As a result, the widespread and often desperate fighting led to many new inventions, from computers, to jet engines, to atomic bombs. Born in bulgaria, i have lived in places like germany, belgium and iraq, before settling down with my family in luxembourg. About 80% of the book is concerned with naval artillery, the rest being descriptions of torpedoes, mines, bombs and rockets. After having bought countless osprey books about the different types of weapons used during wwii i got this monstrous compendium, and. Below, ive compiled a list of fiction, ya, memoir, biography, and history for you to check out. Here are 10 facts that give some idea of the weaponry used during world war one. Introduction 1 this document, which i hope will prove useful to ww2 wargamers, gives penetration performance details of ww2 antitank weapons. Touched upon in our 10 wacky military ideas list on july 30, 2014, these monstrosities were the ultimate expression of the new weapon, the tank.
Scroll down to see more articles about the history of ww2 weapons. The big book of world war ii is a comprehensive guide, bringing young readers through the archives of history to learn about this epic war and how the world was changed as a result. List of common world war ii infantry weapons wikipedia. Patton called the greatest battle implement ever devised, it gave u. The only country to have used nuclear weapons in the world in a war is united states and world saw atomic bombings of japanese cities hiroshima and nagasaki in wwii. Ww2 weapons and equipment, tanks, aircraft, rifle, machine gun. A series of 40 illustrated books that describe the campaigns in which u. There isnt a lot of detail in the stories but the stories are interesting. Helmets, uniforms, and other miscellaneous equipment used in ww2. Handling weapons their feel, their weight opens up a range of sensory experiences, as well as affective ones. The four sections are guns, torpedoes, mines, and asw weapons. At one point the united states used the native american language of the navajo peoples as a secret code that the germans were unable to crack technology was used to formulate precise rations food given to soldiers to make sure they got the right amount of nutrition and energy new medicines were developed during the. Each book describes the strategic setting, traces the operations of the major american units involved, and analyzes the impact of. Lakin walden and zac hyde world war i wwi, which was predominantly called the world war or the great war from its occurrence until 1939, and the first world war or world war i thereafter, was a major war centred in europe that began on 28.
Subscribe to the history unplugged podcast history. Interesting stories and random facts from the second world war trivia war books book 1 bill oneill. Between 1914 and 1918 weapons development was both rapid and complex, so this book has two functions. World war 2 was the largest armed conflict in history, spanning the entire world and involving more countries than any other war, as well as introducing powerful new weapons, culminating in the first use of nuclear weapons. E company, 506th regiment, 101st airborne, from normandy to hitlers eagle. However, many of these inventions were downright bizarre, and this list aims to explore the inventions. This is a list of infantry weapons which were in mainstream use during world war ii 19391945. World war 2 marked a turning point in the development of weapons used for warfare. A look at the top 10 wwii infantry rifles of wwii, both allied and axis. Ww1 planes are fascinating to many and can make into stable and well flying rc airplanes. World war 2 required a massive outpouring of manufacturing capabilities, giving rise to one of the worlds largest industrial producers in the united states of america.
Later as planes developed they were equiped with machine guns, bombs, torpedos, and cannons. The war at sea essential histories book 1 book 3 of 2. The encyclopedia of weapons of world war ii is an easytoread illustrated compendium of the military hardware from air, sea or land which was used in engagements around the globe from 1939 to 1945. There are more than 500 separate items of equipment used between 1939 and 1945, from combat handguns to massive aircraft carriers. Hand weapons form an extension of the body while at the same time determining its range of movement. It was possible for the soldier to fire 15 rounds per minute and could kill someone up to 1,400 metres away. It includes more than 1500 pieces of equipment from handguns to aircraft carriers. The united states navy still had a passion for battleships, but in a concession to modernization, with cost. The backstory of weapons employed in world war 2 on land, sea and air was the intense focus of the scientific tech communities to create the means for the greatest devastation.
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