The M1 Garand, introduced in 1936, is one of the most iconic weapons in the history of the American warfighter. This rifle replaced the M1903 Springfield as the standard rifle of the U.S. military, and it was a huge improvement, eschewing slow bolt-action fire for a semi-automatic system, allowing for a faster fire rate. Likewise, the Garand featured an eight-round ammo capacity, greater than the Springfield's five-round stripper clips. The M1 Garand, with its semi-automatic fire, was superior to the bolt-action counterparts used by the Axis forces. General George Patton, a man who never minced words, called the M1, "The greatest battle implement ever devised."

Perhaps the most recognizable aspect of the M1 Garand was the distinct "ping" sound it made when an empty clip was ejected from the magazine, which would occur automatically when the all eight rounds were fired, allowing for quick reloading. Though the clip could be ejected manually, it was a tricky process that required both hands, pushing a button to unlatch the clip and operating the action to eject it. As a result, most soldiers simply fired off the remainder of any half-empty clips in order to go into the next encounter with a full set of eight bullets.

M3 Submachine Gun

The Thompson submachine gun (or Tommy Gun) gets all the glory, but the M3 was just as impactful on the battlefields of WWII. Nicknamed the "Grease Gun" because of its resemblance to a mechanic's tool for applying grease to cars, the M3 was chambered for .45 caliber cartridges, and held 30 rounds in a single magazine, though one of the weapon's strengths was the ability to easily convert it to support 9 mm ammunition. It was much more stable and accurate than the Thompson, which is what the M3 was designed to replace. It was also much cheaper to produce than the Thompson, which presumably made it a favorite among military accountants.

The M3 was an early favorite of clandestine special forces groups like the OSS, who commissioned a version of the weapon with an integrated sound suppressor. Overall, the Grease Gun might not look as flashy or sturdy as the Thompson, but looks can be deceiving. The M3 was compact, powerful, and versatile, allowing Allied soldiers to survive during close-quarters encounters.

MG 42

Nazi Germany's arsenal of weapons was formidable, but perhaps no weapon in their roster was as downright intimidating as the MG 42. The weapon boasted a fire rate of 1200 rounds per minute, giving it a distinct sound profile that earned the MG 42 the infamous nickname, "Hitler's Buzzsaw." The weapon weighed 25 pounds, which is considerable, but not bad for a light machine gun, especially compared to its Allied counterpart, the Browning M1919, which weighed 31 pounds, and was much bigger and more unwieldy when carried around.

Another advantage of the MG 42 was its solution to overheating. When the barrel got too hot for the weapon to use reliably, it could be simply removed and replaced with a new one. On the MG 42, this took a matter of seconds, while it was a long and arduous process on the Browning M1919, though that weapon took much longer to overheat, thanks to its sturdier build and lower rate of fire. In any case, Allied troops who came up against this weapon and survived surely had a harrowing story to tell afterwards.

Colt M1911

Perhaps the most iconic sidearm of all, the Colt M1911 was first adopted by the US Army in 1911, hence the name, and variants are still in use to this day. The M1911 held seven rounds in a magazine, with room for one more in the chamber. By WWII, the design had evolved into the M1911A1, though the changes were mostly superficial, like minor adjustments to the sights, a shorter trigger, and adjustments to the grip texture. The biggest change was a lengthened safety spur, a move intended to reduce "hammer bite," which is when the hammer tears at the skin between the thumb and forefinger.

The weapon was heavy, and the powerful .45 round caused significant recoil, but those were acceptable trade-offs for American soldiers who needed to not only take down an enemy soldier, but stop them dead in their tracks. This was particularly important in the Pacific Theater of the war, where the Japanese army frequently charged at American forces with bayonets and swords.

The M1911 served as the standard sidearm for the U.S. military from 1911 through to 1985, a 74-year reign. It was ultimately replaced by the Beretta M9, which offered a higher-capacity "double stack" magazine, but reduced impact thanks to its 9 mm cartridge. Add in the heavier, thirteen-pound trigger pull (compared to the M1911's six-pound pull), and the result was a gun that, while effective and accurate, lacked the character, stopping power, and old-school prestige of the M1911. While WWII was defined in part by new technologies, sometimes the classics won out.

In 1942, work began in earnest on the Manhattan Project, America's nuclear weapons program. Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany had similar projects, but they never advanced far enough to produce a viable weapon. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped a bomb, called Little Boy, on the city of Hiroshima. Three days later, the Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney, dropped the Fat Man bomb on Nagasaki. Together, the attacks killed over 200,000 people, most of whom were civilians. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II.

In the decades since, America and other countries have expanded their nuclear weapons programs, creating intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) armed with nuclear warheads that possess many times the destructive power of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today, there are roughly 13,000 nuclear weapons worldwide.