The standard sniper’s rifle of the Imperial Japanese military in the Second World War was a relatively unimpressive creation, being little more than a standard Type 38 rifle fitted with a scope.

Despite attempts to replace the 6.5mm cartridge that had been deemed obsolete after the Great War, the improved short rifle pattern of the Carcano rifle would service as the official standard issue of the Regio Esercito in the Second World War.

The Mauser C96 had been one of the first successful autoloading handguns introduced, and had served around the world before, during and after the Great War. In the interwar period Spanish copies proliferated, including a popular select fire model, prompting a German response.

Faced with a rapidly expanding military and a need to conserve primary small arms for the front lines, the US would turn to a simple but effective bolt action trainer in .22 Long Rifle.

Problems with Japan’s first smokeless powder rifle prompted a redesign of the mechanism, leading to one of the strongest and simplest rifles ever produced, which would serve the Empire for almost half a century.

The Gewehr 98 had served the Imperial Army well in the Great War, but was showing its age by the 1930s. This would lead to a program of modernization, and its product would become the standard service weapon of the Wehrmacht in the Second World War.

The British Sten Gun was an extremely simple stamped steel submachinegun developed as an inexpensive replacement for the existing Lanchesters in service in the early phases of the Second World War. The Mark II variant would go on to be the most produced and iconic variant of the weapon, and a replica example is shown here.

An interesting hybrid rifle, the Type I is a fusion of the Italian Carcano action to the fittings of a Japanese Arisaka, and is an interesting example of cooperation between the European Axis and the Japanese Empire.

The standard issue sidearm of Hungary in the Second World War was a simple, robust automatic chambering the 9x17mm cartridge. The last design by the legendary Rudolf Frommer, it would see service with the Hungarian as well as German armies during the conflict.

With the onset of the Second World War the British found themselves short of handguns, and just as they had in the Great War they looked across the Atlantic for a solution. They found the popular Smith & Wesson Military and Police Model, and promptly placed an order for a large number in their .38/200 cartridge.

The Soviet M38 was intended for issue to specialists and non-combat troops, but its handy nature made it a popular choice in the brutal urban combat that came to characterize the popular image of the Second World War’s Eastern Front.

Faced with a decision between the Mauser and Mannlicher rifles to replace their black powder Kropatscheks, the Portuguese would instead choose a locally designed hybrid rifle for their forces.

As the Second World War loomed, a need to update the venerable Lee Enfield rifle in British service saw the design modernized into the new #4 Rifle, with a series of improvements on the same core principals.

The excellent handgun adopted by Poland on the eve of the Second World War would go on to be one of the most common in German service during the conflict, seeing service on all fronts of the European Theater.

The Japanese Type 44 Arisaka was a specialized variant of the Type 38 rifle intended for use by cavalry and other mounted troops, incorporating a folding bayonet.

The standard service pistol of Mussolini’s armies during the Second World War was a simple blowback automatic, and would serve on for decades in Italian service as well as helping to build the global brand of Beretta.

The iconic standard issue rifle of the United States during the Second World War, famously deemed by no less a figure than General George Patton as “The Greatest Implement of Battle Ever Devised”.

The slightly larger forerunner to the famous Walther PPK, the Polizei Pistole was used by German police and military officers during the Second World War. Remaining in production until the capture of the Walther factory in May of 1945, several were captured by US troops at that time.

Despite adopting a new Mauser 98 pattern rifle, as the Second World War loomed Belgium also undertook a program to upgrade existing stocks of the older Model 1889 rifles to the same pattern.

The French MAS36 was intended as a stopgap until a suitable semi-automatic rifle could be developed, but this was not to be. The Fall of France in 1940 led to it being the final rifle adopted by the Third Republic, as well as the last bolt action rifle standardized by a major power.