Each of the warring sides has invested staggering amounts of money into designing and building powerful weapons, and we'll take a look at some of the most influential. They are not considered the best or most destructive today, but the military equipment listed below influenced the course of World War II to one degree or another.
The LCVP is a type of landing craft used by the US Navy. Designed for transporting and landing personnel on an unequipped coastline occupied by the enemy.
LCVP or "Higgins boat", named after its creator Andrew Higgins, who designed the boat to operate in shallow waters and marshy areas, was used extensively by the US Navy during naval operations. landing operations during the Second World War. Over 15 years of production, 22,492 boats of this type were built.
The LCVP landing craft was built from pressed plywood and was structurally reminiscent of a small river barge with a crew of 4 people. At the same time, the boat could transport a full infantry platoon of 36 soldiers. When fully loaded, Higgins' boat could reach speeds of up to 9 knots (17 km/h).
Katyusha (BM-13)
Katyusha is the unofficial name for barrelless field rocket artillery systems widely used by the USSR Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War 1941-1945. Initially, Katyushas were called BM-13, and later they began to call them BM-8, BM-31, and others. BM-13 is the famous and most widespread Soviet combat vehicle (BM) of this class.
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster was a British heavy bomber used during World War II and used by the Royal Air Force. The Lancaster is considered the most successful night bomber of World War II and the most famous. It flew more than 156,000 combat missions and dropped more than 600,000 tons of bombs.
The first combat flight took place in March 1942. More than 7,000 Lancasters were produced during the war, but almost half were destroyed by the enemy. Currently (2014) there are only two surviving machines that are capable of flying.
U-boat (submarine)
U-boat is a generalized abbreviation for German submarines that were in service with the German navy.
Germany, not having a strong enough fleet capable of resisting the Allied forces at sea, primarily relied on its submarines, the main purpose of which was the destruction of trade convoys transporting goods from Canada, British Empire and the United States to the Soviet Union and allied countries in the Mediterranean. German submarines proved incredibly effective. Winston Churchill would later say that the only thing that scared him during World War II was the submarine threat.
Research has shown that the Allies spent $26,400,000,000 to fight German submarines. Unlike the Allied countries, Germany spent $2.86 billion on its U-boats. From a purely economic point of view, the campaign was seen as a success for the Germans, making German submarines one of the most influential weapons of the war.
the plane Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was a British World War II single-seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. In total, more than 14,500 of these aircraft were built. The Hawker Hurricane had various modifications and could be used as a fighter-bomber, interceptor and attack aircraft.
M4 Sherman - American medium tank from World War II. Between 1942 and 1945, 49,234 tanks were produced and is considered the third most produced tank in the world after the T-34 and T-54. During World War II, the M4 Sherman tank was built on the basis of the large number various modifications (one of which the Sherman Crab is the strangest tank), self-propelled artillery units (SPG) and engineering equipment. Used by the American army, and also supplied in large quantities to the Allied forces (mainly to Great Britain and the USSR).
The 88mm FlaK 18/36/37/41, also known as the "eight-eight", is a German anti-aircraft, anti-tank artillery gun that was widely used by German forces during World War II. The weapon, designed to destroy both aircraft and tanks, was also often used as artillery. Between 1939 and 1945, a total of 17,125 such guns were built.
North American P-51 Mustang
Third on the list of the most influential military equipment of World War II is the P-51 Mustang, an American long-range single-seat fighter developed in the early 1940s. Considered the best US Air Force fighter of World War II. It was used mainly as a reconnaissance aircraft and to escort bombers during raids on German territory.
Aircraft carriers
Aircraft carriers are the main type of warship impact force which is carrier-based aviation. In World War II, Japanese and American aircraft carriers already played a leading role in Pacific battles. For example, the famous attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out using dive bombers deployed on six Japanese aircraft carriers.
T-34 is a Soviet medium tank that was mass-produced from 1940 until the first half of 1944. It was the main tank of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), until it was replaced by the T-34-85 modification, which is still in service with some countries today. The legendary T-34 is the most popular medium tank and is recognized by many military experts and specialists as the best tank produced during the Second World War. Also considered one of the most famous symbols of the above mentioned war.
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German staff officers in the field near the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch aircraft
Hungarian soldiers are interrogating a Soviet prisoner of war. The man in the cap and black jacket is presumably a policeman. On the left is a Wehrmacht officer
A column of German infantry moves down a street in Rotterdam during the Invasion of Holland
Luftwaffe air defense personnel work with a Kommandogerät 36 (Kdo. Gr. 36) stereoscopic rangefinder. The rangefinder was used to control the fire of anti-aircraft batteries equipped with Flak 18 series guns.
German soldiers and civilians celebrating May 1st in occupied Smolensk.
German soldiers and civilians celebrating May 1st in occupied Smolensk
German assault gun StuG III Ausf. G, belonging to the 210th Assault Gun Brigade (StuG-Brig. 210), moves past the positions of the 1st Marine Infantry Division (1. Marine-Infanterie-Division) in the Ceden area (currently the Polish town of Cedynia).
German tank crews repairing the engine of a Pz.Kpfw tank. IV with a short-barreled 75 mm gun.
German tank Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. H of the training tank division (Panzer-Lehr-Division), knocked out in Normandy. In front of the tank is a unitary high-explosive fragmentation round Sprgr.34 (weight 8.71 kg, explosive - ammotol) for the 75-mm KwK.40 L/48 cannon. The second shell lies on the body of the vehicle, in front of the turret.
A column of German infantry on the march on the Eastern Front. In the foreground, a soldier carries a 7.92 MG-34 machine gun on his shoulder.
Luftwaffe officers in the background passenger car in Nikolsky Lane in occupied Smolensk.
Employees of the Todt organization dismantle reinforced concrete French defensive structures in the Paris area. France 1940
A girl from a village in the Belgorod region sits with a balalaika on the trunk of a fallen tree.
German soldiers rest near the Einheits-Diesel army truck.
Adolf Hitler with German generals inspects the fortifications of the West Wall (also called the Siegfried Line). Commander with map in hand border troops Upper Rhine Infantry General Alfred Wäger (1883-1956), third from right - Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht High Command, Colonel General Wilhelm Keitel (1882-1946). Second from right is Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler (Heinrich Himmler, 1900-1945). A cameraman stands on the parapet in a raincoat.
Church of the Transfiguration in occupied Vyazma.
Pilots of the 53rd Luftwaffe Fighter Squadron (JG53) at an airfield in France. In the background are Messerschmitt Bf.109E fighters.
Artillery officers of the Wehrmacht Afrika Korps, photographed by the corps commander, Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel (Erwin Eugen Johannes Rommel).
Crew of a Swedish-made 40-mm Bofors automatic anti-aircraft gun on the cover of the Finnish Suulajarvi airfield.
Vehicles of the Hungarian army on Vorovskogo Street in occupied Belgorod. The Polish-Lithuanian Church is visible on the right.
The commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal General Walter von Reichenau (10/8/1884-1/17/1942) stands near his staff car. Behind him stands the commander of the 297th Infantry Division, Artillery General Max Pfeffer (06/12/1883-12/31/1955). There is a version according to which, according to the Wehrmacht General Staff officer Paul Jordan, when in the first months of the war, during the offensive, the 6th Army encountered T-34 tanks, after personally examining one of the tanks, von Reichenau told his officers : “If the Russians continue to produce these tanks, we will not win the war.”
Finnish soldiers set up camp in the forest before their group leaves. Petsamo region
A salvo of bow 406-mm main caliber guns of the American battleship Missouri (BB-63) during firing training in the Atlantic..
Pilot of the 9th Squadron of the 54th Fighter Squadron (9.JG54) Wilhelm Schilling in the cockpit of a Messerschmitt Bf.109G-2 fighter at the Krasnogvardeysk airfield.
Adolf Hitler with guests at a table in his home in Obersalzberg. Pictured from left to right: Professor Morrel, wife of Gauleiter Forster and Hitler.
A group portrait of policemen against the backdrop of a temple in an occupied Soviet village.
A Hungarian soldier near the captured Soviet heavy artillery tractor “Voroshilovets”.
A dismantled Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft in occupied Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh region
Loading ammunition into a German StuG III assault gun. In the background is an Sd.Kfz ammunition armored personnel carrier. 252 (leichte Gepanzerte Munitionskraftwagen).
Soviet prisoners of war repair the cobblestone street before a parade of Finnish troops in the center of captured Vyborg.
Two German soldiers with a single 7.92 mm MG-34 machine gun mounted on a Lafette 34 machine gun in a position in the Mediterranean
Gun crews with their 88-mm FlaK 36 anti-aircraft guns on the German artillery support ferry "Siebel" while sailing in Lahdenpohja.
A German soldier digging a trench in the Belgorod region
A damaged and burnt German Pz.Kpfw tank. V "Panther" in an Italian village south of Rome
The commander of the 6th Motorized Infantry Brigade (Schützen-Brigade 6), Major General Erhard Raus (1889 - 1956), with his staff officers.
A lieutenant and a chief lieutenant of the Wehrmacht confer in the steppe on the southern sector of the Eastern Front.
German soldiers wash off winter camouflage from an Sd.Kfz half-track armored personnel carrier. 251/1 Ausf.C "Hanomag" near a hut in Ukraine.
Luftwaffe officers walk past cars in Nikolsky Lane in occupied Smolensk. The Assumption Cathedral rises in the background.
A German motorcyclist poses with Bulgarian children from an occupied village.
An MG-34 machine gun and a Mauser rifle on German positions near an occupied Soviet village in the Belgorod region (at the time of the photo, Kursk region).
A German Pz.Kpfw tank destroyed in the valley of the Volturno River. V "Panther" with tail number "202"
Graves of German military personnel in Ukraine.
German cars near the Trinity Cathedral (Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity) in occupied Vyazma.
A column of captured Red Army soldiers in a destroyed village near Belgorod.
A German field kitchen is visible in the background. Next is the StuG III self-propelled gun and the Horch 901 vehicle.
Colonel General Heinz Guderian (Heinz Guderian, 1888 - 1954) and SS Hauptsturmührer Michael Wittmann
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel at Feltre airfield.
German road signs at the intersection of K. Marx and Medvedovsky (now Lenin) streets in occupied Ostrogozhsk, Voronezh region
A Wehrmacht soldier near road signs in occupied Smolensk. The domes of the Assumption Cathedral are visible behind the destroyed building.
The inscriptions on the sign on the right side of the photo: Most (to the right) and Dorogobuzh (to the left).
A German sentry and a soldier (probably the driver) near the headquarters car Mercedes-Benz 770 near the Market Square in occupied Smolensk.
In the background is a view of Cathedral Hill with the Assumption Cathedral.
Wounded on Eastern Front a Hungarian soldier resting after dressing.
Soviet partisan executed by the Hungarian occupiers in Stary Oskol. During the war, Stary Oskol was part of the Kursk region, and currently it is part of the Belgorod region.
A group of Soviet prisoners of war sit on logs during a break during forced labor on the Eastern Front
Portrait of a Soviet prisoner of war in a shabby overcoat
Soviet captured soldiers at a collection point on the Eastern Front.
Soviet soldiers with their hands raised surrender in a wheat field.
German soldiers in Königsberg next to an MG 151/20 aircraft cannon in the infantry version
The historical center of the German city of Nuremberg destroyed by bombing
A Finnish soldier armed with a Suomi submachine gun in the battle for the village of Povenets.
Wehrmacht mountain rangers against the background of a hunting house.
Luftwaffe sergeant near the airfield. Presumably an anti-aircraft gunner.
Jet fighter Messerschmitt Me-262A-1a from the 3rd group of the 2nd combat training squadron of the Luftwaffe (III/EJG 2).
Finnish soldiers and German rangers sail on boats along the Lutto River (Lotta, Lutto-joki) in the Petsamo region (currently Pechenga, since 1944 part of the Murmansk region).
German soldiers set up the Torn.Fu.d2 radio, an infantry backpack VHF radio manufactured by Telefunken.
Re fighter crash site. 2000 Heja of pilot István Horthy (István Horthy, 1904-1942, eldest son of the regent of Hungary Miklos Horthy) from the 1/1 fighter squadron of the Hungarian Air Force. After takeoff, the plane lost control and crashed near the airfield near the village of Alekseevka, Kursk region (now Belgorod region). The pilot died.
Citizens at the Blagoveshchensky market in Kharkov, occupied by German troops. In the foreground are artisan shoemakers repairing shoes.
Finnish troops on parade at the monument to Swedish Marshal Thorgils Knutsson in captured Vyborg
Three marines of the 1st Kriegsmarine Division (1. marine-infanterie-division) in a trench on a bridgehead in the Ceden area (currently the Polish town of Cedynia).
German pilots look at peasant oxen at one of the airfields in Bulgaria. A Junkers Ju-87 dive bomber is visible behind. On the right is a Bulgarian ground forces officer.
Equipment of the 6th German Panzer Division in East Prussia before the invasion of the USSR. In the center of the photo is the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D tank. An Adler 3 Gd car is visible in the background. In the foreground, parallel to the tank, stands a Horch 901 Typ 40.
A Wehrmacht officer gives the command to attack with his whistle.
German officer on the street of occupied Poltava
German soldiers during street fighting. Medium tank Pzkpfw (Panzer-Kampfwagen) III on the right
initially armed with a 37 and then a 50 mm 1/42 cannon. However, their shots turned out to be
unable to penetrate the inclined armor protection of the Soviet T-34, as a result of which
the designers re-equipped the vehicle with a 50-mm KwK 39 L/60 gun
(60 calibers versus 42) with a longer barrel, which made it possible to increase
the initial speed of the projectile.
A German staff car with a French flag on the hood, abandoned on the coast of France.
The photographs were taken on May 8, 1945 during the retreat of the 6th Wehrmacht Infantry Division in the Neustadt area at Tafelfichte in the Ore Mountains (Bohemia, modern Nové Město pod Smrkem, Czechoslovakia) and the Giant Mountains (Riesengebirge, Silesia, Czechoslovakia). The photos were taken by a German soldier who still had Agfa color film in his camera.
Retreating soldiers at a halt. The emblem of the 6th Infantry Division is visible on the cart.
Adolf Hitler and German officers walk their dogs at Rastenburg headquarters. Winter 1942-1943.
German dive bombers Junkers Ju-87 (Ju.87B-1) in flight over the English Channel.
Soviet captured soldiers butcher a horse for meat in a village in the Kursk region.
Adolf Hitler hosts a parade of German troops in Warsaw in honor of the victory over Poland. Present on the podium are Hitler, Colonel General Walter von Brauchitsch, Lieutenant General Friedrich von Kochenhausen, Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt, Colonel General Wilhelm Keitel, General Johannes Blaskowitz and General Albert Kesselring and others.
German Horch-830R Kfz.16/1 vehicles are passing in the foreground.
German soldiers near a damaged Soviet T-34 tank in the village of Verkhne-Kumsky
A Luftwaffe Oberfeldwebel gives a coin to a gypsy girl on the island of Crete.
A German soldier inspects a Polish PZL.23 Karas bomber at Okęcie airfield
A destroyed bridge over the Seim River in Lgov, Kursk region. The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is visible in the background.
Units of the Panzer Brigade Koll enter a Soviet village near Vyazma. The column consists of Pz.35(t) tanks.
German soldiers are sorting letters - looking for items addressed to them.
German soldiers outside their dugout listen to their comrade play the accordion during a lull in the fighting in the Belgorod region
German dive bombers Junkers Ju-87 (Ju.87D) from the 7th squadron of the 1st dive bomber squadron (7.StG1) before taking off on the Eastern Front.
A column of German vehicles from the Panzer Brigade Koll tank brigade is moving along the road near Vyazma. In the foreground is the Pz.BefWg.III command tank of brigade commander Colonel Richard Koll. Phänomen Granit 25H ambulances are visible behind the tank. Along the side of the road, a group of Soviet prisoners of war is walking towards the column.
A mechanized column of the 7th German Tank Division (7. Panzer-Division) drives past a Soviet truck burning on the side of the road. In the foreground is a Pz.38(t) tank. Three Soviet prisoners of war are walking towards the column. Vyazma area.
German artillerymen fire from a 210-mm heavy field howitzer Mrs.18 (21 cm Mörser 18) at the positions of Soviet troops.
Oil leakage from the engine of the German fighter Messerschmitt Bf.110C-5 from the 7th squadron of the 2nd training squadron (7.(F)/LG 2). The photo was taken at a Greek airfield after the return of 7.(F)/LG 2 from a flight to cover the landing on Crete.
Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, commander of Army Group South, and Panzer General Hermann Breith, commander of the 3rd Panzer Corps, at a meeting at the map of military operations before Operation Citadel.
Destroyed Soviet tanks in a field near Stalingrad. Aerial photography from a German plane.
Polish prisoners of war captured during the Polish Wehrmacht campaign.
German soldiers at a collection point, captured by the Allies during the Italian campaign.
German command tank Pz.BefWg.III from the Panzer Brigade Koll tank brigade in a village near Vyazma. In the hatch of the tank's turret is the brigade commander, Colonel Richard Koll.
When in 1945 the Second world war was coming to an end, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition were armed with huge surpluses of military equipment. After all, in the United States alone, approximately 294 thousand aircraft were produced during the war years.
Military equipment in huge quantities, in order to save money, it was not even transported back to the States, but was abandoned or destroyed in theaters of combat. In addition, for example, car companies opposed the return of surplus cheap jeeps due to fears of a decline in sales of new cars.
Unused Navy ships were stripped for parts, sunk to form artificial reefs, and even used as targets for nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Tanks were converted into tractors, airplanes were dismantled for scrap, but to this day military equipment from the Second World War remains mothballed in large quantities throughout the southwestern United States. 
1946 Armored vehicles at a storage site in the USA. 
1946 18 million pounds of scrap brass remains in US Army warehouses. 
1946 
1946 Obsolete M3A1 tanks in a US Army warehouse. 
1946 
1946 Surplus motorcycles in England in sets of five are being prepared for sale for scrap. 
1947 Heavy bombers await dismantling at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1947 Engines from mothballed aircraft at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1947 Airplanes turn into scrap heaps at Kingman Air Force Base in Arizona. 
1946 800 military jeeps awaiting auction in a warehouse in England. 
1946 
1946 
1949 
1946 A former tank plows the land on a farm.
The Second World War, according to historians, was a war of engines, both at sea, in the air, and on land. However, while quite a lot is known about ships, aircraft, tanks and self-propelled guns as the main weapons, other military equipment is rarely remembered. Unless you can see a military vehicle at retro motor shows. At the same time, a huge amount of military equipment ensured the functioning of aircraft and tanks, transported infantry, weapons and ammunition, arranged crossings and bridges, provided communications for troops and detected aircraft, cleared minefields and evacuated the wounded, restored equipment and destroyed railways. All this equipment is grouped on the website in the “Military Equipment” section, with the exception of cars, which are described in a separate section.
One of the rarest types of military transport and combat vehicles was the snowmobile. Only the USSR produced them in series and used them in combat.
An equally rare type of military equipment were balloons. One of their varieties, barrage balloons, was quite widely used by Great Britain, Germany and the USSR. The widespread use of them in the air defense system of large cities significantly reduced the damage from enemy bombing.
Before the massive use of radar stations during the war, sound detectors (acoustic locators) were actively used to detect enemy aircraft in the air defense system. Despite, at first glance, the primitiveness of their design, they provided invaluable assistance in the fight against aircraft. Their particular effectiveness was evident at night, when they were used to direct anti-aircraft searchlights and at the same time anti-aircraft guns at the target.
Anti-aircraft searchlight installations were used by almost all armies that fought, but were produced only by industrialized countries: Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the USSR, the USA and France. The most common were mobile installations with a reflector diameter of 1500 mm.
Huge amounts of work during the war were carried out by engineering equipment, which was either specially created or rebuilt from military equipment, and was used in the form of civilian models. The most significant place was occupied by armored repair and recovery vehicles (ARV) and repair and recovery vehicles (REM). With their help, damaged or broken vehicles were pulled out even from the battlefield, repaired and returned to service again. In the fight against minefields, a variety of mine trawls were of decisive importance: roller, chain, knife and combined. Thanks to them, passages were made in minefields for equipment and infantry at speeds from 6 to 12 km/h. Engineering barrier vehicles were used to create passages through rubble, destruction and barriers. Combat bulldozers leveled sites, removed craters, paved roads, and bridge layers made it possible to quickly overcome ditches and water obstacles. Sapper vehicles, ammunition carriers, fascia layers, carpet layers, mobile cranes and other special equipment were an integral part of supporting the operations of armies. The greater the engineering equipment of military units with engineering equipment, the higher the mobility of the armies. At the same time, the production of engineering equipment was an expensive pleasure that only large industrialized countries could afford. It should also be noted that during the war, not a single country was equipped with all types of engineering equipment in sufficient quantities.
An independent type of military equipment were army tractors and tractors, depending on the quantity and quality of which the mobility of the armies depended. Despite the fact that during the period of hostilities about half a million units of tractors and tractors were used, not a single army could do without the mobilization of civilian models of equipment. The amount of mobilized equipment cannot be accurately counted, since in some countries it was used only in the initial period of the war, in others throughout the entire won, in others - at the final stage. Characterizing the development of this technology, it should be noted that even the largest participants in the war followed different paths. Thus, Great Britain and the USA determined the priority in the development of wheeled vehicles, Germany - half-tracked, the USSR - tracked. At the same time, not a single country has achieved optimal characteristics of equipment for use in various climatic conditions and war-torn territories.
Among the auxiliary military equipment, not the least important place was occupied by crossing and bridge means, which were intended for crossing troops across water barriers, as well as natural or artificial earthen barriers. These, first of all, included pontoon or floating bridges, which were created from the property of pontoon-bridge parks. It should be noted that the large warring countries had crossing and bridge facilities that were approximately identical in terms of tactical and technical characteristics.
Motorcycles were widely used as light transport during the war. Fourteen countries produced about 3 million motorcycles of 62 brands. In addition to the direct transportation of infantry, they were widely used for organizing communications of military units, for reconnaissance, for sabotage purposes, and for evacuating the wounded and dead from the battlefield. For military purposes, both civilian models of motorcycles and specially created ones were used. Militarized motorcycles differed from civilian ones in their protective paint, lighting devices, and the presence of special devices for weapons or equipment. Specially created military motorcycles, as a rule, had increased cross-country ability in off-road or desert conditions, and were also equipped necessary equipment and special devices. Some manufacturers armored motorcycles, equipped them with towing devices and trailers, equipped them with additional fuel cans and means for evacuating the wounded. Motorcycles were armed with machine guns, small-caliber and anti-aircraft guns, mortars, anti-tank rifles and even flamethrowers. The largest number of motorcycles were produced by Great Britain and Germany.
The means of communication used during the war included radio communications, wired communications and encryption devices that ensured the inaccessibility of this communication to the enemy.
Wired communications in the ground forces prevailed over other means of communication in the USSR and the USA. At the same time, the United States not only fully covered its needs, but also provided the USSR with field telephones and cable by 80%.
An integral part of the means of communication were encryption devices and machines that ensured the classification, transmission and declassification of information (texts, telephone and radio conversations). These devices were produced and used by the most militarily developed 10-12 countries. The total number of such devices produced by all countries is estimated at 250-300 thousand, and the number of their types is no more than 50.
Radio communications were a means of controlling troops, naval and aviation forces, and by the end of the war, weapons. In aviation and the navy, radio communication has been the only form of communication since the First World War. Its massive use by ground forces was observed only at the second stage of the war. If at the beginning of the war in many armies only command vehicles in aviation and armored vehicles were provided with radio communications, by the end of the war the infantry platoon commander already had his own radio station. The largest amount of radio-receiving and transmitting equipment was used by the troops of Germany, the USA and Great Britain.
A special place in communications equipment was occupied by portable radio stations of intelligence officers, underground fighters and partisans, often camouflaged as household items. They not only had small dimensions, but also had sufficiently high power and communication range, as well as ease of maintenance. To combat agent radio stations, enemy counterintelligence agencies widely used radio direction finders, both stationary, mobile, and portable.
Radio navigators, radio beacons and emergency transmitters, which were used in the navy and aviation, were related to communications, although indirectly. By the end of the war, not a single aircraft or warship was used without these devices.
Radars, despite their auxiliary role in the technical equipment of armies and navies, played an outstanding role during the war, often radically changing the use of entire branches of the military, increasing their effectiveness many times over. If in the initial period of the war radars were used mainly in maritime navigation and long-range detection of air targets, then in the final period neither the fleet, nor aviation, nor artillery could function without them. If at the beginning of the war Germany was the leader in both the quantity and quality of radars, then by the end of the war the United States took the unquestioned leading position in all areas. Radars made it possible to detect aircraft at long distances, guide fighters at enemy aircraft, control the fire of naval and anti-aircraft artillery, direct anti-aircraft searchlights to the target, and ensure counter-battery warfare. Using sonar, submarines were able to navigate minefields, detect enemy ships and aircraft in advance, and conduct torpedo attacks at night and from periscope depth. Bombers equipped with special radars could accurately detect surface or ground targets at night or in poor visibility conditions at high altitudes. The use of night fighters, as well as bombers, without radar was in principle impossible. Just like the use of aviation without “friend or foe” aircraft identification systems and navigation systems was unnatural.
In addition, essentially a separate war was launched in the field of radar. Direction finders were used to identify enemy radars and transmitters, means of jamming enemy radars were used, and fighters and ships were targeted at enemy radio sources. To scan large sea areas, hydroacoustic radio buoys were used, the signals of which were processed by special centers on patrol aircraft.
After the end of the First World War, the former opponents left each other alone. But only for a while. War experience suggested that many types of weapons were very far from perfect. And in order not to repeat past mistakes, the leading world states decided to devote special attention development and increase in military power.
It should be noted that in the battles that died down, relatively new types of weapons - and. In addition, the enormous importance of communication was taken into account. AND distinctive feature military equipment that was in service with various countries of the world on the eve of the Second World War was its mobility. This meant that it was now possible to quickly change the deployment of military crews to gain a decisive advantage in waging a maneuver war.
Military equipment of the USSR, USA and Great Britain
In the pre-war period, the Soviet Union made its main bet on powerful tank forces. Soviet engineers managed to create such a masterpiece of tank engineering as the T-34. In addition, the IS-2 models, as well as the KV-1 and KV-2, entered production. However, these tanks were not as effective as the T-34. Of particular importance was artillery and air support for armored vehicles. In addition, since the main military force of the USSR was still the infantry, special attention was paid to the development of hand-held firearms and explosive weapons.
Tank "T-34"
The basis of Great Britain's military strength was the navy. At the same time, units of the British Commonwealth countries had at their disposal unified weapons, which demonstrated very high effectiveness in combat. American military equipment was represented mainly by air and naval forces. On the eve of the war, the United States had the world's largest fleet of combat aircraft - it contained about 325 thousand aircraft.
German and Japanese military equipment
The German army was too small to wage an offensive war, and most of its weapons were already outdated. But as a result of swift and merciless attacks, the Germans still managed to capture almost half of the European continent and at the same time fighting in Africa.
It should be noted that until 1942, the Wehrmacht did not have heavy tanks - Tiger combat vehicles entered production only at the end of that year, and only 1,355 of them were produced before the end of the war. And since Germany’s military power was significantly inferior to the enemy armies, the main emphasis was placed on maneuverability.
One of the allies of National Socialist Germany in World War II was Japan. The main military strength of the Land of the Rising Sun came from armored vehicles, although the importance of Japanese aviation and infantry cannot be diminished. However, due to their too remote location, the Japanese were not able to prove themselves during the war, and after the American nuclear attack they had to retreat completely into the shadows.
The Second World War is the largest armed conflict. The losses suffered by all the warring parties cannot be compared with the results of the war of 1914-1918. The memory of the huge number of dead, entire armies of wounded and maimed soldiers, destroyed cities, land unsuitable for cultivation and other consequences of the war haunted almost the entire world for a long time. Military technology continued to improve further, offering more and more new ways of inflicting damage on a potential enemy.