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| In response to the need for an infantry antitank weapon, Leslie A. Skinner
and Edward G. Uhl of the Ordnance Department developed the bazooka-a metal tube that used an electrical firing mechanism-by
early 1942. Until then American infantry had lacked an antitank rocket capable of stopping a tank.
Another member of the Ordnance Department, Henry H. Mohaupt, had been working on a shaped-charge grenade
for use by infantry against tanks. Mohaupt's M10 grenade weighed over 3.5 pounds, making it nearly impossible to throw effectively.
However, when Skinner and Uhl started attaching Mohaupt's grenades to their bazooka rocket, scoring hits on three successive
shots during testing, the Ordnance Department immediately recognized the value of this new weapon.
Many bazookas were shipped to America's allies; in fact, when the Germans captured one, they copied
the design to produce the Panzerschreck ("Tank Terror"). The bazooka was named for a musical contraption devised by comedian
Bob Burns.
Special Traits
- Accurate but has a slow reload time.
- When fired the round will explode on contact.
- This weapon has no secondary use.
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| As they did with almost every other weapons type, the Germans developed a
number of different hand grenades. There were, however, two primary types of German high-explosive hand grenades: the Stielhandgranate
24 ("stick hand grenade, model 24") and the smaller egg-shaped Eihandgranate 39 ("egg hand grenade, model 39").
The stick grenade was the more familiar of the two, having seen widespread use in World War I and undergoing
various improvements in the interwar years. It consisted of a thin sheet-metal can containing a TNT charge and was mounted
on a hollow wooden handle. The handle provided leverage that made this grenade easier to throw than other egg-shaped German
and Allied grenades.
The stick grenade was armed by unscrewing the metal cap on the bottom of the handle to expose a porcelain
bead attached to a cord in the handle. Pulling the bead actuated a friction igniter, and the TNT charge exploded after a 4-
to 5-second delay. Late in the war variant stick grenade models substituted a concrete or wooden charge container for the
original metal head.
Special Traits
- The grenade is thrown not shot. This means that the strength of the throw (distance) can be controlled,
by how long the Fire button is held down before releasing.
- Grenades will detonate on impact with an enemy
- Grenades will bounce and roll when thrown.
- Grenades can be picked up and thrown back at the player
- This grenade can be fetched by dogs
- Secondary weapon use will throw this in an under-hand toss for going under things Grenades explosions
will send out a small amount of shrapnel, which will cause minor damage but trigger hit reactions in affected AI.
| 
| Officially designated "U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903," it was better
known as the Springfield, the Springfield '03, or simply the '03. This bolt-action rifle was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1903
and remained the standard issue rifle of America's armed forces until 1936.
In 1906, the .30-caliber cartridge was modified and designated the "M1906 Cartridge"; it became widely
known as the .30-06. This cartridge was the standard U.S. rifle and machine gun cartridge for the next 50 years.
In 1936, the Springfield '03 was replaced by the M1 Garand, but many Springfields saw service in World
War II. In the Normandy Campaign, the Springfield was used primarily as a sniper weapon; the vast majority of infantrymen
preferred semiautomatic and automatic weapons to the bolt-action rifle. Any advantage the Springfield may have had in accuracy
was more than offset by the rate of fire the Garand, M1 Carbine, and Browning automatic rifle offered.
Special
Traits
- This weapon will have a Sniper Mode, activated by the secondary weapon use key, allowing the player
to zoom the camera to make precise shots. The edges of the screen will feather out as the scope is brought up to the camera.
Then the crosshair overlay will be seen, which will be different from its German counterpart rifle.
- When not in Sniper Mode this weapon will function like a bolt action rifle.
- This weapon will 'kick' a bit, meaning that it will require a little time to re-center to where the
player was aiming.
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| The U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1 rifle, or Garand was the standard-issue rifle
for American infantry. Named after its inventor, John C. Garand, it was the first semiautomatic rifle widely used in combat.
Although it was adopted by the army in 1936, the Garand was in short supply until 1943, but by the end of the war more than
4 million had been produced.
The Garand was easy to disassemble and clean, and its combination of caliber, muzzle velocity, and
semiautomatic operation provided superior firepower over bolt-action rifles. Its only weakness was that partially fired clips
were so difficult to reload that GIs tended to simply fire off the remaining rounds and insert a new clip.
Special
Traits
- The M1 used special clips designed to be ejected from the gun when spent. There is a very distinct
'Ping' sound that occurs that must be captured.
- Semi-automatic action, can fire almost as fast as the player can push the fire button.
- This weapon will 'kick' a bit, meaning that it will require a little time to re-center to where the
player was aiming. If the player fires in quick, rapid succession, the weapon won't have the proper time to re-center its
self, therefore simulating the effects of rapid fire that the player can learn to adjust for, and make it seem more life-like.
| 
This submachine gun evolved out of the MP38 which was prone to misfirings
that had sometimes lethal results. A simple technical innovation to the hammer eliminated the problem, and the MP40 was born.
Effective in close combat and simple in construction, the MP40 was very cheap to make, as its parts were machine-stamped.
Mass-produced throughout the War, the MP40 numbered over 900,000 when the Third Reich fell.
Special Traits
- Fully automatic firing ability
- This weapon will ‘kick’ a bit, meaning that it will require a little time to re-center
to where the player was aiming. If the player fires in quick, rapid succession, the weapon won’t have the proper time
to re-center its self, therefore simulating the effects of rapid fire that the player can learn to adjust for, and make it
seem more life-like.
| 
The initial M1918A1 version of the Browning automatic rifle (BAR) was first
used in combat by American soldiers during World War I, and many of these guns saw service in World War II. The BAR received
high praise for its reliability under adverse conditions. In 1940, model M1918A2 was adopted.
Unlike earlier models,
it could only be fired in two automatic modes: slow (300 to 450 rounds per minute) or fast (500 to 650 rounds per minute)
but not in semiautomatic mode. Both versions were widely used; the BAR was a popular weapon in all theaters because it was
reliable and offered an excellent combination of rapid fire and penetrating power. The BAR's only serious drawback was its
lack of a quick-change barrel to reduce the chances of overheating.
Special Traits
- Fully automatic firing ability
- This weapon will ‘kick’ a bit, meaning that it will require a little time to re-center
to where the player was aiming. If the player fires in quick, rapid succession, the weapon won’t have the proper time
to re-center its self, therefore simulating the effects of rapid fire that the player can learn to adjust for, and make it
seem more life-like.
| 
The Colt .45 was the sidearm of choice for the American military from 1911
until its retirement in 1984. Originally suspicious of its innovative autoloading mechanism, the American military asked its
inventor, John M. Browning, to rework the mechanism before accepting the gun into service.
A subsequent version, the
M1911A1, utilized recoil forces to push the slide back, eject the shell, cock the hammer and reload the chamber-in a fraction
of a second. The finished version of this semi-automatic pistol packed more stopping power than its predecessor, the .38-cal
M1900, and, with its improved autoloader, could fire at a more rapid rate. While more than half of all enlisted men in World
War I carried the Colt .45, regulations forbid infantrymen from using them in World War II. However, these regulations were
rarely enforced, as many sought them as a weapon of last resort.
On VJ Day in 1945, the last order for Colt 45s was
canceled by the US military, and for the next 39 years, all pistols in service were rehabilitated secondhands. Reliable and
accurate, the Colt .45 is the finest American military sidearm ever made. | 
John T. Thompson, who helped develop the Springfield '03 rifle and Colt 45
pistol, began work on a "trench broom" for close-quarters combat shortly after his retirement from the army in 1918. He recognized
that the .45-caliber slug of the M1911 pistol would be devastating when used in a full automatic weapon. By the spring of
1920, Thompson's company (Auto-Ordnance) produced a prototype capable of firing 800 rounds per minute. Despite its excellent
test performance, the Thompson was not adopted for use by either the U.S. Army or Marine Corps.
Still, Thompson contracted
with Colt for the manufacture of 15,000 guns, designated "Thompson Submachine Gun, Model of 1921." The 15,000 guns manufactured
by Colt lasted until the eve of World War II. In 1940, the U.S. Army ordered 20,000 Thompson submachine guns; in 1941 the
army ordered an additional 319,000. One of the main assets of the Thompson submachine gun was reliability; it performed better
than most submachine guns when exposed to dirt, mud, and rain. The main complaints against the Thompson were its weight (over
10 pounds), its inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and its lack of penetrating power (a common complaint with all World War
II submachine guns).
Special Traits
- Fully automatic firing ability
- This weapon will 'kick' a bit, meaning that it will require a little time to re-center to where the
player was aiming. If the player fires in quick, rapid succession, the weapon won't have the proper time to re-center its
self, therefore simulating the effects of rapid fire that the player can learn to adjust for, and make it seem more life-like.
| 
American soldiers used many types of hand grenades during World War II, but
the primary hand grenade issued to GIs was the Mark II fragmentation grenade. The Mark II was egg-shaped and constructed of
cast iron. The outside of the Mark II was serrated to produce more fragments when it exploded. The specifications for the
Mark II called for a TNT filler, but because TNT was in short supply when the war started many early Mark IIs were filled
with a nitrostarch compound.
The time delay on the Mark II's fuse was 4 to 4.8 seconds. The Mark II's killing radius
was 5 to 10 yards, but fragments could kill at up to 50 yards. Because the accepted throwing range was 35 to 40 yards, soldiers
were ordered to keep their heads down until after the grenade exploded. Of the other types of hand grenades issued to GIs
in Europe, the two most common were smoke and phosphorus grenades. Both these grenades were used to mask movements or mark
artillery and ground-support aircraft targets.
Special Traits
- The grenade is thrown not shot. This means that the strength of the throw (distance) can be controlled,
by how long the Fire button is held down before releasing.
- Grenades will detonate on impact with an enemy
- Grenades will bounce and roll when thrown.
- Grenades can be picked up and thrown back at the player
- Secondary weapon use will throw this in an under-hand toss for going under things
Grenades explosions will send out a small amount of shrapnel, which will cause minor damage (1-5 HP) but trigger
hit reactions in affected AI. |
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