Rifle, Pistol, Boat and Bomber: Second World War Workhorses on Three Fronts

The M1903 was the standard American infantry rifle through the First World War, adopted in 1903 with a controlled-feed bolt action closely derived from the Mauser design. Replaced as the primary rifle by the M1 Garand from the later 1930s, it stayed in Second World War service as a grenade launcher and, with a telescopic sight, a standard American sniper rifle.

Adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1939 and chambered in a new 7.7mm cartridge, the Type 99 was meant to replace the older 6.5mm Type 38, yet both rifles served side by side through the war. Later production shows a marked decline in finish, which historians link to Japan's worsening industrial resources.

Adopted by the German military in 1938 to succeed the Luger P08, the P38 used a simpler locked-breech action that was cheaper to build at wartime scale. Its double-action first-shot trigger influenced later pistols, though shortages meant it never fully replaced the Luger before the war ended.

Entering service in 1941, the Il-2 wrapped its engine, cockpit and fuel system in armor so it could attack German tanks, artillery and columns at low altitude. It was built in greater numbers than any other combat aircraft in history, and German troops nicknamed it the Black Death.

Developed in 1940 and 1941, the M3 paired a steered front axle with rear tracks to keep infantry and weapons crews up with tanks over rough ground. Built in tens of thousands, the chassis served as personnel carrier, ambulance, command vehicle and gun platform in every major theater where American ground forces fought.

Designed by New Orleans boatbuilder Andrew Higgins and mass-produced from 1942, this shallow-draft wooden craft dropped a bow ramp so troops and vehicles could land directly on a beach. It carried the first waves onto the Normandy beaches on D-Day in June 1944, and Eisenhower is widely quoted as crediting Higgins with winning the war.

Introduced to United States Navy service in 1943, the Hellcat was rushed into production to beat the Japanese Zero, combining a powerful radial engine with a rugged airframe, heavier armament and armor. It is credited with the large majority of US Navy aerial victories against Japanese aircraft in the war.

Commissioned from February 1943, the Iowa class paired nine 16-inch guns with enough speed to operate alongside the fast carriers. USS Missouri was the site of Japan's formal surrender in Tokyo Bay in September 1945, and the ships were recalled for Korea and again in the 1980s.

Entering service in 1944, the pressurized, long-range B-29 flew incendiary raids on Japanese cities under General Curtis LeMay from early 1945. It is the only type ever to deliver a nuclear weapon in war, when Enola Gay and Bockscar attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.