Sniper Rifles The M 1903 A 4 example essay topic

Planes of WWII The North American P-51 Mustang The P-51 is considered to be one of greatest single seat fighters to be used in WWII. Its original design called for the use of a 1,100 hp Allison V-1710-39 engine, but this version proved to have limitations in combat operations at higher altitudes. When the Allison was replaced by the British Rolls Royce Merlin engine the Mustang left into prominence as an excellent fighter. Its ability to fly long distances in the escort fighter role earned it fame during the long missions to Germany and over the expanses of the Pacific. A related aircraft is known as the A-36, which was an early version of the P-51 provided with dive brakes and underwing racks, to operate in a close-support role. Grumman F 6 F Hellcat The Hellcat replaced the F 4 F Wildcat during the last three years of the war as the main fighter for the U.S. Navy.

It was rugged, dependable, and had the performance to match or beat the Japanese fighters that it fought M-1 Garand Rifle The M-1 was the standard weapon of the US infantry soldier in World War II. It is semi-automatic, fed by a clip that holds eight caliber. 30 cartridges. It is gas operated, self-loading, and a shoulder weapon. The gun weighs 8.94 pounds, is 43 inches long, with the barrel itself being 22.30 inches.

The Garand has a muzzle velocity of 2,760 feet per second, and a maximum range of 5,500 yards. A bayonet can be attached to the M-1, giving it a reach of about five feet. Thompson Submachine Gun Fully automatic, the Thompson is an all-round field weapon of. 45 caliber. It weighs 12.5 pounds when fully loaded with a 30-round magazine and is 33 inches long. The M 1928 Thompson fires between 600 and 700 rounds per minute.

Colt. 45 Pistol The standard side-arm of American soldiers from the early 1900's through Desert Storm, the Colt 45 (M 1911 / M 1911 A 1). is still the handgun choice of many soldiers. The effective range is about 50 yards. They are typically semi-automatics with a seven round magazine plus one in the chamber. Sniper Rifles The M 1903-A 4 was a specifically designed sniper rifle that came as a result of early U.S. combat involvement in the Pacific.

There was a high demand, that could not be filled, for telescopic (sniper) rifles. The Infantry Board and the Ordinance Department conducted an evaluation and recommended that the Weaver 2.5 x 330 C hunting telescope be adopted for use on M 1903 and M 1903-A 1 rifles. The rifle was officially adopted on 14 Jan 1943 as the M 1903-A 4 (sniper). The M 1903-A 4 was an accurate rifle with an effective range of about 600 yards (550 m), with the main limit on long range accuracy coming from its very low power scope (2.5 x). From its adoption in 1943 until the end of the war, the M 1903-A 4 was used extensively in every theater of operation by both the US Army and the USMC.

The rifle was again used in the korean conflict, and even in the early stages of the Vietnam conflict when sniper rifles were in severe shortage. The M 1903 A 4 is a legendary classic sniper rifle. It served with distinction in WWII, Korea, and even Vietnam. USMC M 1903-A 1/Unertl Unlike the US Army, the USMC had a standard issue sniper rifle at the start of hostilities in WWII, it was a M 1903/Lyman 5 A (5 x), which was adopted (with the Winchester A 5 Telescope) during WWI. After there was a push to standardize sniper equipment, the Marine Corps Equipment Board did an extensive study of optics under field conditions and recommended a scope of about 8 x, with an objective lens of about one and half inches, a medium fine crosshair reticle, and double micrometer quarter minute click mounts. They specifically cited a 8 x target scope made by John Unertl as being the best they found.

They also recommended the scope be mounted on a Winchester M 70 target rifle, but the USMC decided on the M 1903 based on favorable accuracy comparisons between specially selected M 1903's and the M 70. So the M 1903-A 1 mounted with the Unertl 8 x became the "sniping standard" in the USMC. Tanks M 3 The Lee / Grant tank, (the name depended on if you were in the US Army or the British Army, respectively) was a stop-gap tank. It had a well developed chassis, but as yet there was no way to mount the newly developed 75 mm gun in a revolving turret. The Lee had the 75 mounted in the hull, and a 37 mm gun in a small turret carried over from the M 2 the Lee replaced. M 4 The most widely produced tank in the world during WWII, the US produced TWICE as many Shermans as Germany produced tanks of all types.

A good tank, particularly when first employed in 1942 and 1943, it was easy to produce and very reliable. Noticeably, it is one of the few tanks produced by the major powers to NOT use a Christie style suspension. The Sherman featured rubberized tracks that lasted much longer than the steel tracks of German and Russian vehicles, and served well in Western Europe where there were more roads. It did suffer from shortcomings to off-road mobility. Atomic Bomb On 6 August 1945 the United States exploded an atomic bomb over Hiroshima and revealed to the world in one blinding flash the start of the atomic age. As the meaning of this explosion and the nature of the force unleashed became apparent, a chorus of voices rose in protest against the decision that opened the Pandora's box of atomic warfare.

The decision to use the atomic bomb was made by President Truman. There was never any doubt of that and despite the rising tide of criticism Mr. Truman took full responsibility for his action. Only recently succeeded to the Presidency after the death of Roosevelt and beset by a multitude of problems of enormous significance for the postwar world, Mr. Truman leaned heavily on the advice of his senior and most trusted advisers on the question of the bomb. But the final decision was his and his alone. The epic story of the development of the atomic bomb is well known. It began in 1939 when a small group of eminent scientists in this country called to the attention of the United States Government the vast potentialities of atomic energy for military purposes and warned that the Germans were already carrying on experiments in this field.

The program initiated October of that year with a very modest appropriation and later expanded into the two-billion-dollar Manhattan Project had only one purpose-to harness the energy of the atom in a chain reaction to produce a bomb that could be carried by aircraft if possible, and to produce it before the Germans could. That such a bomb, if produced, would be used, no responsible official ever questioned. "At no time from 1941 to 1945", declared Mr. Stimson, "did I ever hear it suggested by the President, or by another responsible member of the Government, that atomic energy should not be used in that war". And Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer recalled in 1954 that "we always assumed if they [atomic bombs] were needed, they would be used.