TOOLS OF THE TRADE

 

Medium and Heavy Machine Guns

Great Britain .303 caliber Vickers. Reliable, water cooled medium machine gun. Tripod mounted. Well-designed.
United States .30 caliber Browning M 1917. Effective weapon, but heavy. Well suited for continuous rapid fire.
Soviet Union 7.62 mm Model PM 1910. Heavy, but equipped with a wheeled mounting. It could be fitted with runners for use in snowy conditions.
Germany MG 42. Belt-fed, reliable general-purpose gun. Worked well even in adverse conditions. Fired over 1000 rounds per minute.
Italy 6.5 mm Fiat-Revelli Modello 1914. Air-cooled, causing frequent heat problems. Had to be oiled during operation. Poor design.

 

Mortars

Great Britain Light, very accurate. Could fire a 36-ounce bomb 500 yards.
United States 81 mm M1. Heavy, but long range and powerful.
Soviet Union PM 40. Light, short range. Could only be fired at two angles.
Germany 50 mm GrW 34. Heavy, long range. Well-built and tough.
Italy 45 mm Modello 35 Brixia. Light, short-medium range. Weak bomb.

 

Heavy Tanks

 

Great Britain Mark II Matilda II. 24mph top speed. Well armored and well armed. Carried a four-man crew
United States M28 Pershing. Heavy, powerful. Armed to the teeth. 2500 were built. Well protected, powered by a potent 500 horsepower Ford engine.
Soviet Union T-35. Three large guns, up to seven machine guns.