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Weapons of WWII
Information about weapons used in WWII
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 22, 2023
WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR II: INFANTRY WEAPONS, UNARMORED VEHICLES, ARMORED VEHICLES, ARTILLERY, SPECIAL WEAPONS, AIRCRAFT, SHIPS could easily have been a 5 star book for me if it hadn't been for so many glaring errors. This author has dozens of books under his belt, but if I were him, I would have been ashamed to put my name on this. I will admit that I was tempted to just give this a DNF but changed my mind. I will finish it at my leisure, but I feel that I have read enough (50%) for a fair review.
What caught my eye about this was that it covered everything from pistols to battleships in one book. Not every weapon is there, especially for countries like Japan and Italy, but many are. I feel the author has done his research because of the articles about each entry. The colored illustrations are great! But there are so many errors that I wondered if the printing was done by children in a sweatshop and edited by someone so unqualified that they couldn't tell a hand grenade from an A-bomb, but they caught the grammar errors. Here are a few examples.
The German 3.5 inch (8.8 cm), or just '88' as us history buffs call it, anti-tank cannon has a nice write up. However, on the chart for the specs it says that the maximum armor penetration with armor piercing shot is 7.5 inches at a distance of 3,350 ft against a plate set at 90 degrees from the horizontal. Below that it says that if you use a better shell with better penetration, at a shorter range (1,650 ft) you can only penetrate a 1 inch plate! I would expect to read that it could penetrate 14 inches instead. And then below that it says that that same special high performance shell if fired at the same range at a plate 30 degrees from horizontal you could penetrate 2.2 inches. This is messed up bad. You see, if you make a tank so the armor has a slant (30 degrees instead of 90) you are making the armor in a sense thicker, and there is more of a chance of the shell being deflected off the armor because it is striking at an angle. I know this may sound confusing, but trust me, I know what I am talking about even if I didn't explain it well enough for you.
Here is another example. It says in the text for the 31.5 inch (80 cm) giant railroad cannon Dora that its 15,640 lb shell weighs 7.1 kg! I may not be the sharpest knife in the draw but I know 15,640 lbs doesn't equal 7.1 kg.
There are some interesting tidbits of information (if they are true). According to the production figures listed in the book, the US manufactured well over a million trucks of various sizes during the war. This may be true as a guy once told me that while he was fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, his mom was working in a truck factory. They were making so many they had no place to park them except up and down the city streets.
The Russians developed the 7.62x54R bullet for the 1891 Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle. It is the oldest cartridge in use in the world and is still made world wide and used in such modern weapons as the Dragunov sniper rifle and heavy machine guns.
The Russians made the PPSH 1941 sub-machine gun which first appeared in 1940. For testing all the parts were washed in kerosene and rubbed dry (no lubrication) and the 5000 rounds were fired through it with no problem. That in itself is amazing as those bullets were what they refer to as 'corrosive' which makes the gun very dirty. The gun was meant to last for 30,000 rounds.
If there is anything the Russians can make well, it has to be weapons. In the US the arms industry, whose salesmen are retired generals, try to sell the government weapons costing millions, and billions in parts! No wonder funds for veterans are lacking.
What caught my eye about this was that it covered everything from pistols to battleships in one book. Not every weapon is there, especially for countries like Japan and Italy, but many are. I feel the author has done his research because of the articles about each entry. The colored illustrations are great! But there are so many errors that I wondered if the printing was done by children in a sweatshop and edited by someone so unqualified that they couldn't tell a hand grenade from an A-bomb, but they caught the grammar errors. Here are a few examples.
The German 3.5 inch (8.8 cm), or just '88' as us history buffs call it, anti-tank cannon has a nice write up. However, on the chart for the specs it says that the maximum armor penetration with armor piercing shot is 7.5 inches at a distance of 3,350 ft against a plate set at 90 degrees from the horizontal. Below that it says that if you use a better shell with better penetration, at a shorter range (1,650 ft) you can only penetrate a 1 inch plate! I would expect to read that it could penetrate 14 inches instead. And then below that it says that that same special high performance shell if fired at the same range at a plate 30 degrees from horizontal you could penetrate 2.2 inches. This is messed up bad. You see, if you make a tank so the armor has a slant (30 degrees instead of 90) you are making the armor in a sense thicker, and there is more of a chance of the shell being deflected off the armor because it is striking at an angle. I know this may sound confusing, but trust me, I know what I am talking about even if I didn't explain it well enough for you.
Here is another example. It says in the text for the 31.5 inch (80 cm) giant railroad cannon Dora that its 15,640 lb shell weighs 7.1 kg! I may not be the sharpest knife in the draw but I know 15,640 lbs doesn't equal 7.1 kg.
There are some interesting tidbits of information (if they are true). According to the production figures listed in the book, the US manufactured well over a million trucks of various sizes during the war. This may be true as a guy once told me that while he was fighting the Japanese in the Pacific, his mom was working in a truck factory. They were making so many they had no place to park them except up and down the city streets.
The Russians developed the 7.62x54R bullet for the 1891 Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle. It is the oldest cartridge in use in the world and is still made world wide and used in such modern weapons as the Dragunov sniper rifle and heavy machine guns.
The Russians made the PPSH 1941 sub-machine gun which first appeared in 1940. For testing all the parts were washed in kerosene and rubbed dry (no lubrication) and the 5000 rounds were fired through it with no problem. That in itself is amazing as those bullets were what they refer to as 'corrosive' which makes the gun very dirty. The gun was meant to last for 30,000 rounds.
If there is anything the Russians can make well, it has to be weapons. In the US the arms industry, whose salesmen are retired generals, try to sell the government weapons costing millions, and billions in parts! No wonder funds for veterans are lacking.
November 17, 2010
An excellent resource for anyone interested in military equipment and World War II. Filled with illustrations and photographs, readers will learn about everything from pistols to aircraft carriers that were used in World War II. Small in size, but immense in information, a great book to add to your collection.
Read
February 7, 2018One of my favorite books, really gave me insight that behind the lines matters more than the battles sometimes.
May 8, 2017
Couldn't find a book with better illustrations than this. A must read/ go through book for a WW2 fanatic, or even if you are slightly interested in war-fare. WW2 was probably the first time when advanced weaponry systems were used on a large scale, and one where nations decided it was time to strengthen what you have in your arsenal if you need to be taken seriously. From pistols to Panzers, from anti-tanks to air-crafts, this book has described every major weapon system used by the Allied and the Axis powers. A great collection, would've rated 5 stars if conversion from imperial to metric system was on point.
October 9, 2012
This would have been a MUCH better book if it had been properly edited. The conversions from metric to English units are dreadful in places. For example, 12.7mm is equated with 4.8" in places, with the editors not understanding the difference between cm and mm, and thus being off by a factor of 10. Good drawings, fairly sound info, but man, just some mind-numbing errors with the numbers. Still, I think this book is worth having, if one is experienced with some of the finer details regarding the subject matter. I certainly think it was worth the money.
February 6, 2020
This is a fun book for those interested in WWII weaponry. I read this over the last year or two slowly as bedtime reading.
August 4, 2026
An extensive, though not comprehensive, look at the weapons of WWII. Most of the weapons are the most widely used, though there are a few surprises. Starting with infantry weapons pistols, rifles, anti-tank weapons, mortars, and even flame throwers are reviewed. Unfortunately, a few errors creep in with inaccurate calibre comparisons, ranges, and the like between metric and standard measures. This will continue throughout the book. Light and unarmored vehicles, tanks and half tracks, artillery, special weapons, aircraft and finally ships are reviewed.
Numerous weapons and systems are missing, and this is a clearly necessary issue to keep the book to a reasonable size. But, avoiding the Boeing P-26 and the Polikarpov I-15 are questionable, as well as having no a single Italian submarine class seems strange.
Nevertheless, despite these issues, it is a highly informative and readable book.
Numerous weapons and systems are missing, and this is a clearly necessary issue to keep the book to a reasonable size. But, avoiding the Boeing P-26 and the Polikarpov I-15 are questionable, as well as having no a single Italian submarine class seems strange.
Nevertheless, despite these issues, it is a highly informative and readable book.
November 17, 2025
Leste denne på norsk og boka er et godt oppslagsverk til alle de forskjellige typer våpen som ble brukt under andre verdenskrig. Boka er også oversiktlig med seksjoner for de forskjellige våpentypene som igjen er inndelt i land.
March 1, 2017
Selaku seorang peminat/pengkaji sejarah bertaraf amatur Perang Dunia Kedua,saya sebenarnya agak kecewa dengan mutu persembahan buku ini. Saya berpandangan buku ini lebih sesuai dibaca oleh mereka yang hanya mengetahui pengetahuan paling asas mengenai Perang Dunia Kedua.
Penulis gagal untuk membincangkan kesemua sistem persenjataan yang digunakan di dalam Perang Dunia Kedua yang digunakan di dalam perang besar tersebut. Sebagai contoh,di dalam seksyen Infantry Weapons (Senjata Infantri),penulis tidak menyertakan raifal semi-automatik SVT-40 buatan Rusia. Saya rasa agak hairan kenapa penulis buku ini,Alexander Ludeke tidak memasukkannya di dalam senarai. Sedangkan senjata tersebut tidak kurang pentingnya dari segi sumbangannya di dalam peperangan yang melibatkan Rusia di dalam Perang Dunia Kedua. Malahan,SVT-40 juga dirancang untuk menggantikan raifal Mosin-Nagant yang masih menggunakan sistem bolt action. Namun,serangan Jerman ke atas Kesatuan Soviet pada tahun 1941 melalui Operasi Barbarossa membantutkan rancangan tersebut.
Walaupun demikian,maklumat-maklumat yang dipaparkan masih menarik untuk dibaca. Cuma tidak menepati jangkaan saya seperti yang diharapkan.
Penulis gagal untuk membincangkan kesemua sistem persenjataan yang digunakan di dalam Perang Dunia Kedua yang digunakan di dalam perang besar tersebut. Sebagai contoh,di dalam seksyen Infantry Weapons (Senjata Infantri),penulis tidak menyertakan raifal semi-automatik SVT-40 buatan Rusia. Saya rasa agak hairan kenapa penulis buku ini,Alexander Ludeke tidak memasukkannya di dalam senarai. Sedangkan senjata tersebut tidak kurang pentingnya dari segi sumbangannya di dalam peperangan yang melibatkan Rusia di dalam Perang Dunia Kedua. Malahan,SVT-40 juga dirancang untuk menggantikan raifal Mosin-Nagant yang masih menggunakan sistem bolt action. Namun,serangan Jerman ke atas Kesatuan Soviet pada tahun 1941 melalui Operasi Barbarossa membantutkan rancangan tersebut.
Walaupun demikian,maklumat-maklumat yang dipaparkan masih menarik untuk dibaca. Cuma tidak menepati jangkaan saya seperti yang diharapkan.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews