Weapons
Modeling the U.S. Army in WWII


These pages feature color photos of weapons commonly used by American soldiers during World War II. Also, I have a video posted on YouTube of a weapons demo at Fort Snelling in 2010. Click on the video image at right to see it.

Click on the photos below to open a larger version in a new window.



Browning machine gun, cal. 30, M1919A4 on the M2 tripod. It had a rate of fire of 400-500 rounds/minute. The M1919A6 had a shoulder stock, carrying handle, and bipod.


M2 50 cal. machine gun mounted on an M3 White Scout Car. While the gun could theoretically fire 450 - 575 rounds per minute, due to overheating of the barrel the gun was typically fired in short bursts. 100 - 150 rounds could be fired from a cool gun; 40 rounds per minute would allow for 500 rounds fired without overheating.


81mm M1 and 60mm M2 mortars. The combined weight of the barrel, bipod and base plate of the 81mm was 136 pounds. The 60mm weighed 42 pounds.


81mm mortar M2 with HE M43 shells. The mortar also fired the elongated HE M36 shell; both shell types are included in Tamiya's "Machine Gun and Mortar Team." The mortar had a range between 100 and 3,290 yards.



60mm mortar M2 with grey illuminating M83 shell and drab HE M49A2 shell. The mortar had a range between 100 and 1,985 yards.

 

Modeling the U.S. Army in WWII © Timothy S. Streeter