List of 20th-century weapons

Last updated May 30, 2025

This is a list of small arms used during the 20th century.

Submachine guns

Thompson submachine gun, commonly associated with American gangsters ThompsonM1A1VWM.jpg — Thompson submachine gun, commonly associated with American gangsters

Owen gun (1942–1960s) – Australian submachine gun used in World War II and subsequent conflicts until the 60s
F1 submachine gun (1962–1991) – Australian submachine gun intended to replace the Owen gun
Steyr AUG 9 mm (1977)
FN P90 (1990–present) – Belgian personal defense weapon, a submachine gun but with a scaled down intermediate rifle cartridge
MP 18 (1918–1945) – German submachine gun, world's first widely used and successful
MP 28 (1928–early 1940s) – An improvement of the MP 18
Steyr-Solothurn MP 34 (1930–1970s) – Often called "The Rolls-Royce of submachine guns", the Steyr-Solothurn MP 34 is based on the MP 28 made from the best quality materials available at the time
MP 35 (1935–1945) – An improved submachine gun based on the MP 28
MP40 (1940–1945 in Germany) – The MP 40 is a simplified MP 38, intended to replace older, more expensive submachine guns. This particular submachine gun is widely used by Germany in World War II
Walther MP (1963–present) – Intended to rearm military and police forces positioned in West Germany, also used by the German Intelligence Service and some American troops stationed in the region
HK MP5 (1966–present) – the most widely used submachine gun of the later half of the 20th century
UZI (1954–present) – Israeli submachine gun, one of the first designs to implement a system to accommodate the magazine in the pistol grip
PM-63 Rak (1965–present)
Sten (1941–1960s in UK) – British submachine gun used extensively throughout World War II
Sterling submachine gun (1944–present) – Designed as a replacement for the Sten in 1945 but only started its process in the 50s
PPD-40 (1935–45) – The submachine gun used by the Russians before the implementation of the PPSh-41
PPSh-41 (1941–1960s in USSR) – Russian submachine gun distinctive for its high rate of fire
PPS (1942–1960s in USSR) – Family of submachine guns used alongside the PPSh family
Thompson submachine gun (1938–1971 in USA) – Family of submachine guns designed in 1910 and onwards, The Thompson is a famous submachine gun commonly associated with American gangsters
M3 submachine gun (1943–present) – A cheaper and lighter alternative to the Thompson submachine gun
MAC 10 (1970–present) – Family of submachine guns, famous among media for their association with gangs
American 180 (Designed in the 1960s, never implemented) – Chambered in 22 LR. It was described as being a "swarm of angry bees" shooting 1200 rounds per minute, it relied on shattering enemy armor through consistent and repetitive fire

Automatic rifles

StG 44 – The first widely issued assault rifle in the world
AK-47 – a famous Soviet automatic rifle whose derivatives have been used in almost every conflict since its invention in 1947
AKM- an upgraded version AK-47. The stamped receiver drastically cut down production times, which allowed just about any country to manufacture it. The most common variant of this weapon; most rifles that are referred to as AK-47s are in fact AKMs.
AKMS – a Paratroop model of the AKM with a folding stock
AK-74 – a newer model of the AK series; it fired a newer and smaller round, the 5.45mm
AKS-74 – a model of AK-74 designed for paratroopers
AK-74M – updated version of AK-74
FARA 83 – Argentinian automatic rifle
Steyr AUG – an Austrian bullpup rifle
Steyr ACR
FN FNC
IMBEL MD -Brazilian 5.56 rifle based on the FN FAL
Diemaco C7 – a Canadian copy of the M16
Type 56 – Chinese AK-47 clone
Type 68
Chinese Type 81 Assault Rifle
Type 86
Type 95
Daewoo K1 – Korean automatic rifle
Daewoo K2 – standard rifle of the South Korean army
APS-95
GIAT FAMAS – bullpup rifle, standard issue of France
Heckler & Koch HK33
Heckler & Koch HK41
Heckler & Koch G36- standard rifle of the German Army
Heckler & Koch G11
Enfield EM2 – prototype British automatic rifle that was never adopted
L85 – standard bullpup of the British Army
IMI Galil
Howa Type 89
AR-10
M16 rifle – standard-issue automatic rifle of the US
CAR-15
M4 carbine – standard carbine of the US
Stoner 63
Mini-14
AR-18
AN-94
Ak 4
Ak 5
Rk 62
INSAS
SAR-21
A-91
AAI ACR
XM29 OICW
AAI SBR
AAA Leader Dynamics SAC
AAI XM70
AEK-971
AL-7
AMD 65
AMP-68
AN11 TISS
AN-94
APS underwater rifle
AR-11
AR-16
Arms-Tech COMPAK-16
Arsenal AKSU
Arsenal SLR-95
Bernardelli VB-SR
FN FAL

Battle rifles

Scoped M1 Garand, a common battle rifle M1C.jpg — Scoped M1 Garand, a common battle rifle

M1 Garand (1936–1958) – The standard rifle of the United States during the Second World War
M1941 Johnson rifle (1941–1961 Worldwide) – A rare rifle issued to marine raiders early during the war
M1903 Springfield rifle (1903–1975) – The standard-issue rifle of the U.S. in World War I it became a sniper weapon in the next world war
M1917 Enfield rifle (1917–present worldwide) – A supplement for the M1903 during World War I
MAS 36 (1936–present worldwide) – Standard rifle of the French in World War II
Ross rifle (1905–1945)
Gewehr 98 (1898–1935) – Standard rifle of Germany in World War I
Karabiner 98k (1935–present) – Standard rifle of Germany in World War II, the smaller version of the Gewehrkarabiner98 (Gewehr 98)
Lee–Enfield SMLE (MLE: 1895–1926/SMLE: 1904–present) – The standard rifle of the British Empire during the first half of the 20th century
Carcano M91 (1891–present Worldwide)
Arisaka type 38 (1906–1945)
Arisaka type 99 (1939–1945)
Mosin–Nagant (1891–present) – The standard Issue Russian/Soviet rifle for almost the entire first half of the 20th century
K31 (1933–1958) – Standard Swiss rifle from 1933 to 1958
SAFN 49 (1948–1982)
ZH-29 (Uncertain time frame between its adoption and last use in military, presumably between early 1930s to mid 1950s)
Hakim Rifle (1950s–early 1960s) – A slightly modified Ag m/42 rifle used by the Egyptian military
Rasheed Carbine (1950s–early 1960s) – Egyptian carbine derived from the Hakim Rifle
RSC M1917 (1917–1926) – Officially named Fusil Automatique Modèle 1917 by the French army
MAS 49 (1951–1979)
FG 42 (1943–1970s) – An automatic rifle built for German paratroopers
Gewehr 43 (1943–1945) – Fairly successful semi-automatic German gun compared to the others, was designed from captured SVT-40
SVT-40 (1940–present) – Widely issued Soviet semi-automatic rifle
SVT-38 – (Subsection of article SVT-40)
FN FAL (1953–present) – Designed in Belgium, widely adopted by NATO countries during the cold war
Heckler & Koch G3 (1959–present Worldwide) – Used by the German military before the adoption of the G36
M14 rifle (1959–present) – An upgrade from the M1, its use was limited since 1964
SKS (1945–present)

Sniper rifles

Machine guns

Explosive devices

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.