Introduction
Characteristic of World War II reveal intensive use of lethal types of both offensive and defensive weaponry. A global activity employed all efforts from the warring sides to ensure victory. The recent inventions and discoveries in science and technology contributed immensely to the manufacture and transportation of the lethal weapons of mass destruction that were used during the war.
A wide variety of weapons was deployed by the opposing sides. Such weapons include Handguns, grenades and explosives, nuclear weapons and machine guns. All these weapons were deployed in to use by different parties in the war due to the increased aggression from the other nations. At the top of the race were the United States of America and the Germany.
Nuclear weapons
The advent of nuclear weapons during the Second World War had remained underground until the time when the United States rocked the Japan towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a run during the eve of 1945. These were the most lethal weapon used in the war period due to the use of technology. The United States of America and Germany were competing for an upper hand in the war and this resulted in the invention of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons were used towards the end of the war and the intensity of the weapons was felt by Hiroshima and Nagasaki following the launch of the atomic bomb on August 1945, 6th and 9th respectively.The use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are believed to have destroyed over two thirds of the buildings in the area. The bombs were too powerful to spare any life. Nuclear weapons are scientific products, which are capable of causing mutually assured destruction. During the Second World War, the United States of America collaborated with scientists from Canada and Britain to manufacture the first nuclear weapons. Germany was also pursuing the nuclear weapons. The use of nuclear weapons was a straight guarantee to get an upper hand in the war.
The use of nuclear weapons was however a step towards the end of the war because every bloc had fears of the potential destruction which could arise from the use of such. During the entire war period, nuclear weapons were only used in Japan an action that devastated her to the extent of withdrawing from the war. The nuclear weapons release radiations, which kill human beings and contaminated land making it inhabitable. The effects of the nuclear weapons used during the second war were of a great harm to the affected areas especially Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The radiations have been blamed for serial cases of genetic disorders among the inhabitants of the region due to the mutations that were occasioned by the bombs.Science and technology had contributed to the development of the nuclear bombs, which had the potential of dismantling the world in seconds. Due to the intensity of the nuclear bombs in Japan, there was an international call to control the use of nuclear weapons in the war and even after.
Machine guns
Machine guns played a critical role in the successes and failures of the Second World War. They were an improvement on the machine guns used in the First World War. The machine guns were very deadly war apparatus, which had totally transformed the war front. By 1939, there had already been developed two types of machine guns, Light and heavy machine guns. The heavy machine guns however proved to be more superior to the light ones because they had a long shooting rage and were belt fed unlike the light machine guns, which relied on magazine feeding. An example of machine gun is the 12.7mm gun, which was the most efficient, and effective machine gun that combined features of both light and heavy machine guns.
The destructive nature of the gun lies in its gas driven and air coolant characteristics. It was over sixty inches in length and was mounted on two wheels. It was first used by the Russians. The Germans embraced the 7.92mm MG34 that was another killer weapon during the war. This weapon was sparingly lighter and could be operated on a stand as dictated by the circumstances. Its firing capability was unquestionable because it could fire between 800 and 900 rounds per minute. The US also had a heavy machine gun, which could fire at a rate of 450 rounds per minute. Another equally lethal machine gun was the Japanese 7.7mm with a French design and could shoot up to a rage of 550 rounds per minute.
The British heavy machine gun, which weighed 40lb, could shoot between ranges of 450-500 rounds per minute. The Alfa A4 was a Spanish model, which weighed around 13 kg and had a muzzle velocity of 860 meters per second. Other types of machine guns used at the war included the British Bren LMG, Browning M1917 from the US and many more. The use of machine guns was at peak in the middle of the war before nuclear weapons were discovered.The machine guns were highly preferred at warfront because of their ability to hit a target without a miss.
They also had a reasonably long shooting rage and were easy to carry around while at war. They could also be used in different positions and terrains: for instance, one could shoot while lying on the ground or place the gun on a tripod or a bipod depending on the prevailing circumstances.The impacts of bullets sprayed from the machine guns left many dead bodies on the ground whenever there was a fire exchange between any two opposing sides.
Handguns
These were the small caliber guns, which any warring individual could carry easily, even without being noticed by others. The commonest handguns were the pistols, which were extensively used during the war. The combatants found reliability of the pistol as the last line of defense due to its small size and ease of use. The Baluster Molina was a semi-automated Argentine pistol, which was widely used in the war. The Welrod was a silenced and magazine fed pistol with a British origin. British, American and other resistance forces, sparingly used it. It had a shooting rage of 23 meters and was adapted to operate even in dim light conditions by a silver paint.
The Webley revolver was a top break revolver with a British origin and has a mechanism to extract spent cartridges. It had a shooting rage of 455 rounds per minute. The colt new service revolver was another example of a handgun used during the Second World War. It was a 45-caliber weapon commonly used by the US navy. The handguns were extensively used by the security agents to protect their masters during the war.They were equally lethal.
Grenades and Other Explosives
These were small bombs, which were hurled either by the hand or by using a rifle to throw them high reaching a far target. These were highly used in the Second World War due to their efficiency in accomplishing the intended purpose. The grenades had an equal lethargy just like any other explosives used during the war. A good example of a bloc, which made a good deal in fighting with the grenades, is the Soviet Union. Grenades could be hurled from aircrafts on the grounds of opposing powers and this had a victory effect. Grenades were very lethal because they killed many people and destroyed property. Upon contact, the grenades could explode and everything around could be on fire. The Italian army for instance adopted the use of hand grenades to clear out annoying enemy placements. Grenades are actually mini bombs and have an equivocal ability to destroy any impeding enemy once launched.The United Kingdom and Germany also embraced the use of grenades to seek a victory in the war. Most of the grenades that were used in the Second World War were specifically designed to possess exclusive durability and were not very complex to manufacture.
They were manufactured by simple chemical delay logic to prevent injury on the assailant upon launch of the attack. Grenades were widely used in ambush missions and attacks on unsuspecting crowds. Time delay grenades were also used by the blocs. Impact grenades were the most popular at that time and the widely used due to their speed of explosion upon contact with anybody. The impact grenades do not offer any opportunity for the enemy to launch a retaliatory attack during the launch. All the varied types of weapons used during the Second World War were almost equal in terms of the potential to destroy any element of life. The invention of the nuclear weapons and in particular the nuclear bomb was the final blow to the race for weapon superiority in the war. The weapons were now rising to destroy the world.
Conclusion
As posited in the introduction, weaponry characteristic of World War II reveal intensive lethal types of both offensive and defensive machinery. The weaponry of WWII by allied and enemy forces made this armed conflict one of the most destructive in human history with the use of the atomic bombs on key Japanese industrial sites.
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