War Technology by Charles Webb https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t Made with a wink and a smile en-us 2018-03-22 01:07:04 UTC 2018-03-22 01:30:10 UTC hello@padlet.com M1918 Bar 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244807527 The 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle was the light machine gun standardized by the U.S. Army in 1938 and used up until Vietnam, seeing extensive use with U.S. World War II infantry. Though the U.S. never developed a light machine gun in the Second World War as practical and powerful as the British Bren or German MG34, the M1918 BAR still did the trick.
Weighing between 13 and 24 pounds, depending on the model, and firing .30-06 rounds from a cartridge that usually held twenty, the BAR was originally indoctrinated as a rifle support weapon. When the U.S. began exchanging fire with German troops armed to the teeth with automatic weapons, military doctrine switched to focusing rifle squads around at least two BARs, as the center of their tactics.

]]> 2018-03-22 01:12:25 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244807527 Thompson Submachine Gun 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244807799 The United States produced over 1.5 million Thompson Submachine Guns during World War II. Already iconic for its U.S. prohibition-era use by both criminals and police, this recognizable weapon was especially treasured by paratroopers for its effectiveness in close-quarters combat. The model mass-produced for the U.S. Army, beginning in 1942, was the M1A1, which was simpler and cheaper. Usually equipped with a 30-round magazine, the Thompson fired .45 caliber bullets – very common for the U.S. forces at the time – and provided excellent stopping power.

]]> 2018-03-22 01:13:42 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244807799 Colt 1911 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244808180 One of the most popular handguns ever made, the Colt 1911 set the standard for the 20th-century pistol. The standard issue sidearm for U.S. Armed Forces from 1911 until 1986, the Colt 1911 has even been modified and for use in various service branches to this day. The Colt 1911 was developed by Browning during the Philippine-American War because troops needed more stopping power from their weapons. The .45 caliber rounds of the Colt offered just that. It was a reliable and powerful sidearm for U.S. infantry during World War II.

]]> 2018-03-22 01:15:43 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244808180 M4 Sherman Tank 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244809041 The Sherman tank was the most commonly used American tank in World War II. More than 50,000 Shermans were produced between 1942 and 1945. They were used in all combat theaters—not only by the United States, but also by Great Britain, the Free French, China, and even the Soviet Union. Initially developed to replace the M3 "Grant/Lee" medium tank, the first Shermans were manufactured in 1942 and some early productions examples saw combat in North Africa in 1943. The model proved itself somewhat effective against German Mk II and Mk IV Panzers, but it was thoroughly outclassed by the Tiger, Panther, and King Tiger tanks. Notorious for their flammability, Shermans were nicknamed “Ronsons” after a lighter with the slogan “lights every time.”
The Sherman tank’s primary role was infantry support, spearheading attacks as well as bolstering defensive positions. 
]]> 2018-03-22 01:18:53 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244809041 P-39 Bell Airacobr 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244809619 Unique pre-war design, hampered by lack of turbosupercharger
Cannon firing through propeller hub; liked by Russians for tank-killing. 9,500 planes produced, starting in April, 1942. P-39N specs: 375 MPH, four 30 caliber machine guns, two 50 caliber machine guns, and one 37 mm cannon. Along with the P-40, the Airacobra was one of the few U.S. fighters available in large numbers at the start of the war. While its lack of a turbosupercharger made it ineffective about 12,000 feet and while it was generally outclassed by the Zero, it served well in the early months of the war. It was relatively free of mechanical defects and breakdowns; like most American aircraft it could absorb a lot of enemy gunfire and still return its pilot back to base.
]]> 2018-03-22 01:21:49 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244809619 B-17 Flying Fortress 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810027 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry (prototype Model 299/XB-17) outperformed both competitors and exceeded the air corps' performance specifications. Although Boeing lost the contract (to the Douglas B-18 Bolo) because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances,[6][7] becoming the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the B-24 and the multirole Ju 88. The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. ]]> 2018-03-22 01:24:21 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810027 USS Lexington(CV-6) 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810592 USS Lexington (CV-2), nicknamed "Lady Lex",[1] was an early aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy. She was the lead ship of the Lexington class; her only sister ship, Saratoga, was commissioned a month earlier. Originally designed as a battlecruiser, she was converted into one of the Navy's first aircraft carriers during construction to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, which essentially terminated all new battleship and battlecruiser construction. The ship entered service in 1928 and was assigned to the Pacific Fleet for her entire career. Lexington and Saratoga were used to develop and refine carrier tactics in a series of annual exercises before World War II. On more than one occasion these included successfully staged surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship's turbo-electric propulsion system allowed her to supplement the electrical supply of Tacoma, Washington, during a drought in late 1929 to early 1930. She also delivered medical personnel and relief supplies to Managua, Nicaragua, after an earthquake in 1931.]]> 2018-03-22 01:27:54 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810592 USS Enterprise (CV-6) 20webbch https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810832 USS Enterprise (CV-6), was the seventh U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. Colloquially called "the Big E", she was the sixth aircraft carrier of the United States Navy. A Yorktown-class carrier, she was launched in 1936 and was one of only three American carriers commissioned before World War II to survive the war (the others being Saratoga and Ranger). She participated in more major actions of the war against Japan than any other United States ship. These actions included the Attack on Pearl Harbor (18 dive bombers of VS-6 were over the harbor, 6 were shot down with a loss of eleven men, making her the only American Aircraft carrier with men at Pearl Harbor during the Attack and the first to receive casualties during the Pacific War), the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, various other air-sea engagements during the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Enterprise earned 20 battle stars, the most for any U.S. warship in World War II, and was the most decorated U.S. ship of World War II. She is also the first American ship to sink an enemy vessel during the Pacific War when she sank Japanese submarine I-70 on 10 December 1941. On three occasions during the Pacific War, the Japanese announced that she had been sunk in battle, resulting in her being named "The Grey Ghost".]]> 2018-03-22 01:29:29 UTC https://padlet.com/20webbch/tqhlu9cg1s7t/wish/244810832