What+types+of+guns+did+Hitler's+Germany+use?

After a crushing defeat in World War I Germany was determined to regain its position as a world power. Adolf Hitler led this group of determined fighters in World War II and what is now seen as one of the most brutal genocides ever in the Holocaust. The Nazis were very successful in a majority of their fights before their defeat, largely due to the weaponry that they were equipped with. The Nazi soldiers had very well made and diverse weapons that led them in their fights. If it were not for these many different types of guns, there is almost no way that the Nazis could have won any battles.

Near the start of World War II, the Nazis were trying to decide which weapons would be crucial for their victory. One of the guns that they deemed most important for their success was an efficient submachine gun. When they were faced with coming up with a new design for a submachine gun that they thought would lead them to victory they came into contact with Heinrich Vollmer. Vollmer was asked to create a gun for the Nazis that would fit all the requirements that they had established. Heinrich Vollmer quickly showed the Nazis a design that he had been working on and it was given the go ahead. The design that was decided on was the Maschinenpistole 1938 (MP 38). This gun had revolutionary changes in its design compared to the rest of the guns during its time which made it a clear choice for the Nazi soldiers. Unlike most guns, the MP 38 had a design that involved no wood which had never been seen in any other gun before. This well made submachine gun would provide the base for the future submachine gun in the Nazi regime that would be even more effective. This new gun was name the MP 40. It was based off of the MP 38 and would be seen as one of the most characteristic guns of World War II. One main change that was put in place in the MP 40 was the fact that the body of the gun was made plain with all ribbing removed. There were multiple variations of the MP 40, such as the MP 40/2, which was developed so that German soldiers could have a comparable ammo capacity to the Russians they were fighting at the time.



Another common weapon in the Nazi regime was the Kar 98k. This gun was a remodeled version of the Kar 98a with one major change implemented into the design. The gun was made a shorter length then the Kar 98a, with the "k" standing for kurz (German for short) due to the change in size. This weapon became Germany's standard issued rifle, meaning that it was given out in large quantities to the army. The Kar 98k, although mass produced and proven popular in the German army, was never given very many improvements throughout the course of the war. A main reason for this is that a majority of Germany's resources were going to other branches of military such as tanks or the air force. Although it was not a completely modernized gun, it was still able to get multiple jobs done, such as sniping. If it was deemed necessary, the Kar could be equipped with a scope and then used often very successfully as a sniper rifle. Due to its versatility and ability to give soldiers a weapon that could compare to other army's weapons the Kar 98k become a crucial part of the Nazi war machine.

The Nazis also needed to have some heavy guns in their arsenal to accompany these lighter ones. One prime example is their main machine gun, the MG 42. This brutal killing machine was feared by almost any that came against it, mostly due to the fact that it could fire 1,200 rounds per minute. This was a very fast rate of fire which proved to be helpful in backing up German troops. This newly designed machine gun was made based off of the plans of them MG 34, its predecessor. These plans were mixed with techniques in gun production learned from the MP 40 and the new design was able to be produced. The gun used the same exact ammo as the MG 34, so while out in battle the two guns could be very easily switched or coordinated in order to deliver crushing results. Another heavy gun used by the Nazis was the Panzerfaust. This anti tank missile that can be compared to America's bazooka was devastating to enemy armor. It used a very simple and cheap design which allowed for it to be very easy to use. The fact that it was easy to use allowed for almost any German soldier to have the ability to pick one up, aim, and take down an enemy tank. The device used a back blast of smoke in order to balance out the recoil from firing so that there would be very little effect on the person firing the device. The Panzerfaust had a very successful amount of damage it could inflict, being able to pierce up to 200 mm of armor.

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