Weapons
The Atom Bomb
"By the time the atom bomb was ready to be used Germany had surrendered. Leo Szilard and James Franck circulated a petition among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb on moral grounds. However, the advice was ignored by Harry S. Truman, the USA's new president, and he decided to use the bomb on Japan.
On 6th August 1945, a B29 bomber dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima. It has been estimated that over the years around 200,000 people have died as a result of this bomb being dropped. Japan did not surrender immediately and a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. On 10th August the Japanese surrendered. The Second World War was over" (Simkin 1).
Machine-guns
"In the Second World War the British Army used the extremely reliable Vickers 303. It was a recoil-operated machine gun, water cooled and belt fed. It weighed 40lb without its tripod and fired the standard .303 British cartridge at about 450rpm.
During the war the German Army developed the MG42 machine-gun. Its 1,000rpm could be extremely wasteful during battle. The Red Army used the Maxim-Gun at the beginning of the war but later switched to the drum-fed and gas-operated Degtyarev Model 1940. The United States Army preferred the Browning M2 that fired 100 round belts at 450 rpm" (Simkin 1).
"By the time the atom bomb was ready to be used Germany had surrendered. Leo Szilard and James Franck circulated a petition among the scientists opposing the use of the bomb on moral grounds. However, the advice was ignored by Harry S. Truman, the USA's new president, and he decided to use the bomb on Japan.
On 6th August 1945, a B29 bomber dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima. It has been estimated that over the years around 200,000 people have died as a result of this bomb being dropped. Japan did not surrender immediately and a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. On 10th August the Japanese surrendered. The Second World War was over" (Simkin 1).
Machine-guns
"In the Second World War the British Army used the extremely reliable Vickers 303. It was a recoil-operated machine gun, water cooled and belt fed. It weighed 40lb without its tripod and fired the standard .303 British cartridge at about 450rpm.
During the war the German Army developed the MG42 machine-gun. Its 1,000rpm could be extremely wasteful during battle. The Red Army used the Maxim-Gun at the beginning of the war but later switched to the drum-fed and gas-operated Degtyarev Model 1940. The United States Army preferred the Browning M2 that fired 100 round belts at 450 rpm" (Simkin 1).