World War II weapons By: Jake

Aircraft In 1937 the Boeing Aircraft Company built America's first all-metal, four-engine heavy bomber, the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress. Bristling with 13 0.5 machine guns, and with an average bomb load of 6,000 pounds, the "Forts" took on the worst the Luftwaffe had to offer. Flying in formations of up to 1,000 bomber daylight raids, the B-17s attacked some of the most heavily defended targets in occupied Europe. Suffering unprecedented losses, the young American airmen in their B-17s helped turn the tide of the war in Europe by destroying the Nazi war machine.

Aircraft Used in all British theaters of conflict throughout the Second World War the Spitfire remains the unrivaled symbol of victory and Britain's finest hour. But the Spitfire is also famous for giving Field Marshall Erwin Rommel the scare of his life. On July 17, 1944, in the north of France, a Canadian pilot named Charlie Fox shot at the car carrying the German military mastermind and knocked it off the road, putting Germany's "Desert Fox" out of commission.

Tank First produced in 1942. Top speed: 23 mph. Range: 121 miles. Its Maybach engine gives a weight-to-power ratio of 12.3 horsepower per ton. Armor thickness: 100 millimeters. Primary armament: 88-mm gun. The Tiger scores top marks for firepower; its 88-mm gun was a real monster for the time. For armor it scores close to the maximum. This was a heavy tank, but speed is still reasonable, so it achieves an acceptable score in this category. But it is the production rating that really lets the Tiger down - here it scores close to zero points. Its fear factor, however, is off the scale - even its name was an act of psychological warfare.

Tank First produced in 1942. Top speed: 24 mph. Range: 100 miles. The tank's radial nine-cylinder engine gives a power-to-weight ratio of 15.8 horsepower per ton. Armor thickness: 62 millimeters. Primary armament: 75-mm high-velocity gun. The Sherman scored low on firepower and armor. Its Ford eight-cylinder engine was efficient and reliable, so the tank scored slightly better for mobility. But it is ease of manufacture that won the M-4 its place among the top 10 tanks: a staggering 48,000 of them were produced over just three years. Thus, the Sherman received a top production rating.

Tank When Nazi Germany began developing its new theory of blitzkrieg in the 1930s, it became obvious that its infantry and artillery would need a new type of cross-country vehicle if they were to keep up with the tanks of the Panzer divisions. The result was one of the most important fighting vehicles of its time — the halftrack. First issued in 1938, the Sd.Kfz. 251 halftracks proved their worth during the fighting in Poland and showed that they were the ideal partners for the fast-moving German armor. Used initially as either armored personnel carriers or towing vehicles for artillery, the halftracks soon took on many other roles - such as anti-tank, anti-aircraft vehicle, ambulance, command vehicle and even a rocket launcher variant known as the "infantry Stuka" or "howling cow." The halftracks' outstanding cross-country ability was due to the unique sophisticated track system, though the lack of power to the front wheels made them harder to maneuver than their American equivalent. Employed in every major battle fought by the German army in World War II, the Sd.Kfz. 251 was constantly in demand. It was kept in service for another 10 years after the war by the Czech army.

Japanese Land Bomb A diagram of a Type 98 No.25 "Land Bomb" showing the typical construction of Japanese Navy land bombs, a thin walled steel cylinder with a nose and tail screwed and welded on.

The End