Military Weapons

The Military Weapons section of Olive-Drab.com covers all types of military firearms -- rifles, pistols, submachine guns -- as well as military knives and bayonets, crew served weapons, and heavier firepower. Follow the links below to the individual pages and sub-sections.

J.D. Estes tries out .30 cal. machine gun at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, TX, August 1942
J.D. Estes tries out .30 cal. machine gun at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, TX, August 1942.

Today in WW II: 12 May 1941 Konrad Zuse, a German engineer working alone, completed the Z3, later determined to be the first fully operational electromechanical computer. Isolated by WW II, Zuse's work was unknown in the US and UK until after the war.  More ↓
12 May 1942 Second Battle of Kharkov, eastern Ukraine: Red Army offensive captures Kharkov from Germans who later encircle and destroy the Soviet forces [12-28 May].
12 May 1943 Organized Axis resistance in North Africa ends.
12 May 1943 Third Washington Conference, the Trident Conference between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begins in Washington, DC [12-27 May].
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Military Weapons Directory

This section provides information about military weapons ranging from the rifle or pistol of the individual soldier, through crew served infantry weapons like mortars or machine guns, up to military firepower like artillery, naval and air systems, as well as chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.