List of World War II weapons of the United Kingdom

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Contents

Small arms

Rifles

De Lisle Rifle.jpg

Rifle Pattern 1914 Enfield - AM.006960.jpg

M1917 Enfield USA 30-06 Armemuseum noBG.png

Lee-Enfield No 4 Mk I (1943) - AM.032027 noBG.jpg

Lee-Enfield no 5-IMG 6559-white.jpg

Submachine guns

Lanchester SMG Mk.1.jpg

Pistolet maszynowy STEN, Muzeum Orla Bialego.jpg

Corporal, East Surrey Regiment 1940.jpg

Sterling SMG.JPG

Welgun submachine gun.jpg

Machine guns

The Bren was the main British light machine gun(LMG) of the war Bren gun HKMCD.JPG
The Bren was the main British light machine gun(LMG) of the war

Army Heritage Museum B.A.R..jpg

Lewis LMG.png

Vickers-K-machine-gun-batey-haosef-1.jpg

Vickers machine gun, Musee de l'Armee.jpg

MWP Vickers HMG.JPG

Machinegeweer Browning .30 luchtgekoeld, met uitwisselloop en toebehorenset (2155 047345).jpg

PEO Browning M2E2 QCB (c1).jpg

Besa machine gun.JPG

Vickers-Berthier-M1924-light-machine-gun-batey-haosef-1.jpg

Handguns

Enfield No. 2 Mk 1 1938.jpg

Webley IMG 6789.jpg

FN Hi Power.jpg

M1911A1.png

Webley Self-Loading Pistol-IMG 6301-white.jpg

Welrod Mk II (6825681888).jpg

M&Prevolver.jpg

Colt Shooting Master.jpg

Colt Official Police 32-20 1927.png

Grenades

Landmines

Other

Soldier with No 2 mk II "lifebuoy" IWM-H-37975-Flame-thrower-lifebuoy.jpg
Soldier with No 2 mk II "lifebuoy"

Infantry anti-tank weapons

Boys anti-tank rifle which was the main infantry anti-tank weapon of the British Army in the early war Boys rifle cropped.JPG
Boys anti-tank rifle which was the main infantry anti-tank weapon of the British Army in the early war
PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank) along with ammunition PIAT AM 045504 withProjectile noBG.jpg
PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-tank) along with ammunition
Blacker Bombard.jpg

Artillery

QF 2-pounder anti-tank gun was in use at start of war The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H23836.jpg
QF 2-pounder anti-tank gun was in use at start of war
The QF 6-pounder replaced the 2-pdr Desert6Pdr.jpg
The QF 6-pounder replaced the 2-pdr
BL 5.5 inch medium gun was introduced mid war for medium gun batteries 74th Medium Regiment in Italy.jpg
BL 5.5 inch medium gun was introduced mid war for medium gun batteries

Anti-tank guns

Guns and howitzers

Coast defence guns
Railway guns

Anti-aircraft artillery

40mm Bofors guns in Greece 1940 Royal Artillery 40mm Bofors guns being assembled on their arrival in Greece, 25 November 1940. E1255.jpg
40mm Bofors guns in Greece 1940
QF 3.7 inch Heavy anti-aircraft gun set up for firing Hyde Park Anti-aircraft guns H 993.jpg
QF 3.7 inch Heavy anti-aircraft gun set up for firing

Mortars

3 inch mortar with crew. 4 Para mortar team Italy 1944.jpg
3 inch mortar with crew.

Vehicles

Light tanks

Light tank VI, main British early war light tank Light Tank Mk VI bovington.JPG
Light tank VI, main British early war light tank

Medium tanks

The M4 Sherman was most widely used allied tank of the war. Obtained from the US through lend-lease M4 Sherman tank at the Imperial War Museum.jpg
The M4 Sherman was most widely used allied tank of the war. Obtained from the US through lend-lease

Cruiser tanks

The Cruiser Mark VI Crusader was the main British mid war cruiser tank. In late 1942 they were supplanted by American tanks such as the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman. A Crusader tank of 4th Light Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert, 20 September 1942. E17110.jpg
The Cruiser Mark VI Crusader was the main British mid war cruiser tank. In late 1942 they were supplanted by American tanks such as the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman.

Infantry tanks

Churchill infantry tank was one of the heaviest (most armoured) allied tanks of world war II Churchill Tank at Southsea.jpg
Churchill infantry tank was one of the heaviest (most armoured) allied tanks of world war II

Other tanks

Self-propelled guns

Archer was a powerful 17-pounder anti-tank gun on Valentine chassis Archer-latrun-2.jpg
Archer was a powerful 17-pounder anti-tank gun on Valentine chassis
Bishop was a 25-pounder gun mounted on a Valentine chassis IWM-E-17430-Bishop-SP-gun-19420925.jpg
Bishop was a 25-pounder gun mounted on a Valentine chassis

Other armoured fighting vehicles

Universal carrier which was British personnel carrier that served from 1940 through all of the war Universal Carrier (4536527034).jpg
Universal carrier which was British personnel carrier that served from 1940 through all of the war
M3 Half track used as personnel carrier and provided to British forces through lend-lease M3 halftrack front Wings Over Wine Contry 2007.JPG
M3 Half track used as personnel carrier and provided to British forces through lend-lease

Utility vehicles

Austin K2/Y military ambulance Austin K2 ambulance (21604878600).jpg
Austin K2/Y military ambulance
Bedford OYD general service transport for troops and cargo Karlovo nam. 2017 H4. Vojenska vozidla, Bedford OYD-3ton.jpg
Bedford OYD general service transport for troops and cargo
Morris C8 Quad field artillery tractor with 25pdr gun and limber IWM-H-8241-Morris-C8-19410320.jpg
Morris C8 Quad field artillery tractor with 25pdr gun and limber

Motorcycles

Aerial bombs

British aerial bombs: 2000lb, 4000lb and 12000lb blockbusters, 1000lb and 500lb GP bombs Raf ww2 bombs.jpg
British aerial bombs: 2000lb, 4000lb and 12000lb blockbusters, 1000lb and 500lb GP bombs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentine tank</span> British infantry tank

The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during World War II. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in eleven marks, plus various specialised variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production. The many variants included riveted and welded construction, petrol and diesel engines and a progressive increase in armament. It was supplied in large numbers to the USSR and built under licence in Canada. It was used extensively by the British in the North African campaign. Developed by Vickers, it proved to be both strong and reliable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruiser Mk I</span> British cruiser tank

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk I (A9) was a British cruiser tank of the interwar period. It was the first cruiser tank: a fast tank designed to bypass the main enemy lines and engage the enemy's lines of communication, as well as enemy tanks. The Cruiser Mk II was a more heavily armoured adaptation of the Mark I, developed at much the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruiser Mk II</span> British cruiser tank

The Tank, Cruiser, Mk II (A10), was a cruiser tank developed alongside the A9 cruiser tank, and was intended to be a heavier, infantry tank version of that type. In practice, it was not deemed suitable for the infantry tank role and was classified as a "heavy cruiser". It served briefly in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordnance QF 2-pounder</span> Tank gun and anti-tank gun

The Ordnance QF 2-pounder, or simply "2 pounder gun", was a 40 mm (1.575 in) British anti-tank gun and vehicle-mounted gun employed in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ram tank</span> Canadian medium tank

The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardization on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for training purposes and was never used in combat as a gun tank. The chassis was used for several other combat roles however, such as a flamethrower tank, observation post and armoured personnel carrier.

This article lists British armoured fighting vehicle production during the Second World War. The United Kingdom produced 27,528 tanks and self-propelled guns from July 1939 to May 1945, as well as 26,191 armoured cars and 69,071 armoured personnel carriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lend-Lease Sherman tanks</span> Medium tank

The United States provided tens of thousands of its Medium Tank M4, also named the Sherman, to many of its Allies during the Second World War, under the terms of Lend-Lease.

The Allies of World War II cooperated extensively in the development and manufacture of new and existing technologies to support military operations and intelligence gathering during the Second World War. There are various ways in which the allies cooperated, including the American Lend-Lease scheme and hybrid weapons such as the Sherman Firefly as well as the British Tube Alloys nuclear weapons research project which was absorbed into the American-led Manhattan Project. Several technologies invented in Britain proved critical to the military and were widely manufactured by the Allies during the Second World War.

The British Army made extensive use of a variety of combat vehicles during the Second World War. This article is a summary of those vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African National Museum of Military History</span> Military museum in Johannesburg, South Africa

The South African National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg was officially opened by Prime Minister Jan Smuts on 29 August 1947 to preserve the history of South Africa's involvement in the Second World War. In 1975, the museum was renamed from the South African National War Museum and its function changed to include all conflicts that South Africa has been involved in. In 1999 it was amalgamated with the Pretoria-based Transvaal Museum and National Cultural History Museum to form the Northern Flagship Institution. In April 2010 Ditsong was officially renamed Ditsong Museums of South Africa and the SANMMH was renamed the Ditsong National Museum of Military History.

References

  1. "De Lisle Carbine". www.militaryfactory.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  2. "Enfield P14 and M1917 Rifles". www.historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Lee-Enfield (Series)". www.militaryfactory.com. Retrieved 2021-12-28.