Best WWII automatic weapon

[Desert Fox]

The Second World War saw the introduction of many automatic weapons, but which one was the best?
My personal favourite was the PPSh-41 for its simplicity. But, it was a hard decision to pick it over the Aussie Owen gun, a very ingenious design and of course, it was an Australian weapon!

 

[Soren]

Too bad you forgot the best in your poll, the MP-44.

 

[Desert Fox]

For this poll I tried to choose one per country, one that had a significant impact on the fighting men of the war. Sure, the MP44 was a great weapon, but it didn't see as much of the war as the MP40 did.
I could've added the MP44, the FG42, the Type 100 (Japan) or the Suomi. But they werent as influential during the war as these particular weapons that are in my poll.

 

[Soren]

The MP-44 is the best small-arm of WW2, and it saw more action than the Owen - so if you ask me it should be on the list, but nevermind.

If I had to choose between the above I think its going to be a tie between the Thompson and MP-40.

 

[Gnomey]

I would go for the MP40 although I would normally vote for the MP44 but it isn't on the list...

 

[Wildcat]

Owen gun. If you are in the jungle you couldn't ask for a better weapon.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i assume we're keeping this to small arms and not squad suport weapons like the bren?

 

[Nonskimmer]

My vote goes to the PPSh-41. Typically Russian: Simple, rugged, reliable, and lethal as all hell.

I think the Finnish Suomi should be on that list, even though it predates WWII.

 

[P38 Pilot]

My vote goes to the Thompson. It was reliable, hard-hitting, and a good submachine gun for intense combat. The Thompson will always to me the sub-machine gun of choice for WWII. (And if I recall, the Thompson was even used by the British in numerous of campaigns like N. Africa.)

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

yeah we used her, but our commandos got the ultimate commando weapon, the sten!

 

[102first_hussars]

The sten was a peice of crap apprently, a friend of mine who was in the Royal Marines from 1947 to 1958 i beleive said that the damn thing was made from old bicycle parts and what not

 

[MacArther]

I would vote for the PPSH-41, because it does the job of a submachine gun well. With either a 71 round drum or a 35 round box magazine it had plenty of ammo, and its rate of fire was great for room clearing actions. The thompson, while my other favorite, also took longer to produce than its contemporary, the "Grease Gun" (Although I would take a Thompson over a grease gun any day). Also, from what I've read, the German infantry respected the PPSH-41 enough to capture it and its ammo whenever possible.

the MP-44

I see a trend in all the choices, they are all SMGs, NOT assault rifles.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

The sten was a peice of crap apprently, a friend of mine who was in the Royal Marines from 1947 to 1958 i beleive said that the damn thing was made from old bicycle parts and what not

oh, don't get me wrong, it was made of pressed metal and was liable to fall to bit when dropped.... but she was cheap, easy to produce, easy to use, small, light, compact, great for smuggling around France!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Id go for the 44 but since it is not up there I will go for the 40. Not really sure though there are many up there that were just as good or better than the 40.

My vote in theory goes to the 44.

 

[Matt308]

Hey since there is no criteria to this other than those on the poll, I vote for the MG42. Hands down. End of thread.

 

[exec228]

with such an offtopic - vickers/maxim due to water cooling which provided almost infinite length of burst.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i posed the question earlier what kinda weapon's we're limited to but got no reply, if we're talking any army automatic we can only talk about the Bren........

 

[timshatz]

My vote goes to the PPSh-41. Typically Russian: Simple, rugged, reliable, and lethal as all hell.

I think the Finnish Suomi should be on that list, even though it predates WWII.

Same here. PPSh would be the one. Knew a guy who carried one in Iraq as a personal weapon just after the invasion. Had that and a Webly for the simple reason both worked. Trashed them when he rotated out.

Can't improve on the above quote. Just got the job done. One of those in a Jungle Fighting environment would be fantastic.

 

[Screaming Eagle]

I voted for the Thompson. Simply because it was one of the best weapons allied troops had in WW2.

 

[102first_hussars]

I would pick the Grease Gun simpy because it held more ammo then most of the Thompsons