Top Infantry Weapons Of WWII

World War II devastated half of the world. World powers worked to develop firearms that change the tide of warfare, from sub machine guns to nuclear weapons. World War II saw the introduction of many weapon designs that would serve beyond the days of the colossal conflict. The following are some of the most popular guns that emerged during World War II.

Thompson Submachine Gun

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 10.5 Inches
OA Length: 32 inches
Weight: 10.6 pounds (empty)
Sights: Front blade, adjustable or fixed rear
Action: Select fire or full-auto
Capacity: 20+1, 30+1
Rate of Fire: 600-800 rpm

Model 1921 Thompson .45 ACP was first used by U.S. Marines in Nicaragua during The Banana Wars. The M1 assault rifle was modeled after this submachine gun. Approximately 1.5 Million Thompson Submachine guns were manufactured during the war.

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M3 & M3A1 Grease Gun

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 8 Inches
OA Length: 23-30 inches
Weight: 8 pounds (empty)
Sights: Fixed
Action: Full-auto
Capacity: 30+1
Rate of Fire: 450 rpm

The submachine gun was issued to the U.S. and certain Allied Troops. The M3 got its design from the British Sten gun. The M3 was cheaper and simpler than the Thompson Submachine gun. Over 600,000 M3s were produced during the WWII.

Reising m50 & M55

Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 11 Inches
OA Length: 31-38 inches
Weight: 6.2-6.8 pounds (empty)
Sights: fixed
Action: Select fire
Capacity: 12+1, 20+1
Rate of Fire: 500-550 rpm

The Reising M50 was adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps because there was a shortage of standard-issue Thompson submachine guns. At first, the Reising appeared to be worthwhile because it was lighter and more compact than the Thompsons, and very accurate when fired on semi-auto. But maintenance problems relating to corrosion surfaced when the Reising M50 was exposed in sand and water.

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Hi, I’m John Eilermann. My fascination with World War II started with stories my father, who was a U.S. Army veteran, told me when I was growing up. For similar reads, subscribe to my blog.

How To Honor a Veteran

American veterans gave their lives to serve and protect our country. They have done all that were asked of them in their missions. We may never understand what they’ve gone through unless we were there, the least we can do is to honor them and let them know how much their service means to us.

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Here are just some of the things you can do to honor our veterans.

  1. Give them opportunities to tell their stories and be genuinely interested.
  2. Thank them when you have a chance.
  3. Visit a veteran at the hospital.
  4. Attend a Veteran’s day event.
  5. Be sensitive to what the veteran and his family, and be ready to listen to what they may share about the situation they’re dealing with.
  6. Almost, if not all veterans are kind-hearted, be honest and sincere around them.
  7. If you have a veteran co-worker, take the time to thank him.

My father was a WW2 veteran; he was my hero. I’m sure all veterans out there deserve our deepest and most sincere gratitude. After all, it feels good to express gratitude for someone.

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John Eilermann here. I am a huge sports fan. I’m very interested in everything WW2. Follow my blog to get more updates.

The Greatest Cardinals In History

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Remembering The Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer

When football experts and historians talk about the greatest footballers of all-time, very few names are mentioned. You have the magical figure of Brazil’s Pele, the unparalleled talents of Argentina’s Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, the mercurial skills of France’s Zinedine Zidane, the stonewall defense of Italy’s Paolo Maldini, and of course, the cutting-edge leadership of West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.

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Beckenbauer is often credited with changing the game forever through his innovative play as a central defender. He was ahead of his time so much so that a new position, that of the sweeper was created because of his play.

Beckenbauer’s football genius earned him the European Football Player of the Year two times. He played in three World Cups and won one as a player. He would go on to win another one as a manager, being one of two people in history to do so. Beckenbauer was also the first captain to win the World Cup and European Championship (international competition), and European Cup (club level).

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More recently in 1998, Beckenbauer was included in the World Team of the 20th Century. In 2002, he was part of the FIFA World Cup Dream Team, and two years later, he was included in the FIFA 100 list of world’s greatest living players.

John Eilermann is a huge fan of the German national football team. For more on Eilermann’s passions, follow this Facebook page.

How Anne Frank’s Diary Became a Valuable Part Of History

For most of us, Anne Frank’s diary was a required reading in school as we learned about literature or journal writing. But for those whose families were greatly affected by the Holocaust, this young girl’s diary serves as an enlightenment to the sufferings of the Jews.

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Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany on 12 June 1929. Her family moved to Amsterdam in the 30’s because of the rising anti-Semitism move (eventually called the Holocaust) in her home country. Adolf Hitler initiated the move, as he intended to kill anyone considered Jewish. She spent her formative years in Amsterdam, but the move against Jews rose there as well. For her 13th birthday, Anne received a diary. In her journal, she wrote about her family’s daily activities as they struggled to get away from deportation to Nazi concentration camps.

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When her older sister Margot was sent to a Nazi work camp, Anne’s family members and some friends hid in an annex located above her father’s business for two years. To keep herself occupied, she spent time writing her daily musings on her diary.

The Holocaust, which overlapped with World War II, saw the deaths of millions of Jews including Anne and some members of her family. Anne was only 15 when she of typhus in 1945 at a concentration camp. Her father found her diary after the war, and had it published in 1947.

Hi, John Eilermann here. Visit this blog for more interesting reads.

The most famous planes used in World War II

World War II was a very dark time that found the Allied powers and the Axis powers going muscle against muscle at the expense of the rest of the world. As this period is looked at from our vantage point today, there is but bittersweet sentiment. Beyond the obvious horrors, World War II also became the canvas for the most awesome battles in the sky. Here are some of the most famous planes in World War II.

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The North American P-51 Mustang is tabbed as the greatest fighter of the war, in a time when the Allied armies were able to penetrate Europe. With its piston engine, which was the height of the technology at the time, the plane could go faster and higher than any other challenger. The P-51 Mustang allowed for most number of “Aces,” a term used for having five kills, for its pilots.

The Vought F4U Corsair earned a reputation as quite the shock trooper of the war. While other forces in the air and on the ground wrested control of the Pacific, it was this fighter plane that reigned supreme in the Pacific Islands. It was a very able ground attack plane that shadowed friendly troops that did their work on the plains and fields. The Corsair paved the way for the final battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

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The Messerschmitt 262 had a huge impact during and after the war. Some variants of this aircraft were designed as rocket-loaded prototypes that reached the speed of sound. This was quite unthinkable back in the day. They say that if only Germany produced more of the prototypes in the war, the story of World War II might have had a different ending.

John Eillerman is knowledgeable on facts about World War II. His interest for the war stems from his admiration for his father, who joined the U.S. Army when he migrated from Hannover in the early stages of World War II. For more interesting WWII facts, follow him on Facebook.

The greatest footballers in German national football history

When it comes to world football, only a handful of teams can compare to the juggernaut that is Germany. Only Brazil has more World Cups (5), and Italy as many (4). In Europe, however, Germany has more European titles, making the country the most successful European country in major footballing tournaments. They are always formidable. They are always focused. And they are, more often, but not always, impenetrable. Here are two of the greatest footballers this magnificent footballing nation has ever produced.

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Franz Beckenbauer

The greatest German player ever, he was part of the team that won the Cup in 1974, and managed the one that won in 1990. He was only the second person in history to win the Cup as both a player and a manager. But that wasn’t his legacy. He revolutionized and perfected the sweeper position, before the position became popular. He was a general on the pitch, and is arguably the greatest defender in the history of football.

Gerd Muller

Before he had his record eclipsed by Miroslav Klose in Brazil 2014, Gerd Muller had almost all but claimed the title of Greatest German Goal Scorer in history. He is Bayern Munich’s greatest scorer. He has the highest goals-to-games ratio. And in 1970, he scored ten times in the World Cup, with two hat-tricks. He along with Beckenbauer helped the Germans win Euro 72 and the World Cup in 1974.

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John Eilermann is a big fan of German football, having roots in Germany. For more on Eilermann and Die Mannschaft, subscribe to this Twitter page.