Historical Context
Cold War
A period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR).
Battles & Operations
-
Rhodesian Bush War (4 July 1964 - 21 December 1979)
The Rhodesian Bush War was fought from 1964 to 1979 between the government of Rhodesia, which had declared independence from Britain in… Continued…
-
Battle of Ia Drang (14-18 November 1965)
The Battle of Ia Drang, fought from 14 to 18 November 1965 in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, was the first major battle between… Continued…
-
Battle of Huế (31 January - 2 March 1968)
The Battle of Huế, fought from 31 January to 2 March 1968, was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnamese and… Continued…
-
Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January - 9 July 1968)
The Battle of Khe Sanh was a 77-day North Vietnamese siege of a US Marine Corps combat base near the Laotian border and the Demilitarized… Continued…
-
The Troubles (October 1968 - 10 April 1998)
The Troubles was a thirty-year conflict in Northern Ireland between republican paramilitaries seeking a united Ireland, chiefly the… Continued…
Weapons
-
AK-47
The AK-47 is the most produced firearm in human history: Mikhail Kalashnikov's gas-operated assault rifle in 7.62x39mm, built around loose… Continued…
-
Armalite AR-18
The Armalite AR-18 is a 5.56mm select-fire rifle designed in 1963 by Arthur Miller and George Sullivan at Armalite in Costa Mesa… Continued…
-
Barrett M82
The Barrett M82 is a semi-automatic rifle chambered for the .50 BMG machine-gun cartridge, designed by Ronnie Barrett in Tennessee in the… Continued…
-
Beretta BM59 Rifle
The Beretta BM59 is the Italian answer to the same question the M14 answered in America: how to turn the M1 Garand into a select-fire… Continued…
-
Beretta M9
The Beretta M9 is the 9 mm semi-automatic pistol adopted by the United States armed forces in 1985 to replace the .45 caliber M1911A1. It… Continued…
-
Beretta Model 70 (and Variants)
The Beretta Model 70 (also known as the Puma, among several other, less common, marketing names) and variants are a series of classic 20th… Continued…
-
Bren
The Bren was the light machine gun of the British and Commonwealth armies from 1938 until the 1990s: a Czech design from Brno… Continued…
-
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a 9x19mm semi-automatic pistol begun by John Browning in the 1920s and completed after his death by Dieudonne… Continued…
-
CAR-15
CAR-15 was Colt's name, from the mid-1960s, for a family of weapons built on the AR-15 and M16 rifle, and soldiers came to use it for the… Continued…
-
Carl Gustaf m/45
The Carl Gustaf m/45 is a Swedish 9mm submachine gun adopted in 1945 and made at the Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna.… Continued…
-
Degtyaryov DP-27
The DP-27 was the standard light machine gun of the Soviet Army from the late 1920s through the Second World War. Designed by Vasily… Continued…
-
FAMAS
The FAMAS is the French army's bullpup assault rifle, adopted in 1978 and in service for four decades. Made at the Saint-Étienne arms… Continued…
-
FN FAL
The FN FAL — Fusil Automatique Léger, or light automatic rifle — was the most widely adopted battle rifle of the Cold War. Designed by… Continued…
-
FN MAG
The FN MAG is a Belgian general-purpose machine gun designed by Ernest Vervier at Fabrique Nationale and introduced in 1958. It fires… Continued…
-
Fairbairn–Sykes Fighting Knife
The Fairbairn–Sykes Fighting Knife was a slim, double-edged dagger designed in 1940 by William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes, two former… Continued…
-
Franchi SPAS-12
The Franchi SPAS-12 is a dual-mode Italian combat shotgun produced from 1979 to 2000 that can be switched between gas-operated… Continued…
-
G3 Rifle
The Heckler & Koch G3 is a select-fire 7.62x51 mm NATO battle rifle adopted by West Germany in 1959 and kept as its standard rifle until… Continued…
-
HK MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 is the submachine gun by which every other has been judged since the 1970s. It shrank the roller-delayed blowback… Continued…
-
HK MP7
The Heckler & Koch MP7 is a personal defense weapon: a machine pistol the size of a large handgun that fires a small, very fast 4.6x30mm… Continued…
-
IWI Galil
The Galil is an Israeli assault rifle developed in the late 1960s by Yisrael Galili and Yaacov Lior of Israel Military Industries. It is… Continued…
-
Ithaca 37
The Ithaca 37 is an American pump-action shotgun made by the Ithaca Gun Company of Ithaca, New York, from 1937. Based on a John Browning… Continued…
-
K-50M
The K-50M is a North Vietnamese submachine gun of the late 1950s and 1960s: a rebuilt Chinese Type 50, itself a copy of the Soviet PPSh-41.… Continued…
-
L85A1
The L85A1 is the British Army's 5.56mm bullpup rifle, the individual weapon of the SA80 family. Adopted in 1985 to replace the L1A1… Continued…
-
M1 Carbine
The M1 Carbine was the most-produced American small arm of the Second World War: a five-pound, semi-automatic .30-caliber carbine designed… Continued…
-
M1 Helmet
The M1 helmet was the steel combat helmet of the United States armed forces from 1941 until the mid 1980s, worn through the Second World… Continued…
-
M14 Rifle
The M14 was the United States' last wooden-stocked battle rifle: a select-fire development of the M1 Garand chambered for the new 7.62mm… Continued…
-
M16 Rifle
The M16 brought the assault rifle to the West: Eugene Stoner's AR-15 design in 5.56mm, built of aluminum forgings and polymer around a… Continued…
-
M18 Claymore Mine
The M18A1 Claymore is an American directional anti-personnel mine. Its curved plastic case holds a layer of C-4 explosive behind about 700… Continued…
-
M1903 Springfield
The M1903 Springfield was the United States' service rifle from 1903 until the M1 Garand replaced it in the late 1930s, and a sniper's and… Continued…
-
M1919 Browning Machine Gun
The M1919 Browning is John Browning's water-cooled M1917 machine gun made air-cooled: a short-recoil, belt-fed .30-06 weapon that armed… Continued…
-
M203 Grenade Launcher
The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm grenade launcher that clips under the barrel of an M16 rifle or M4 carbine. Developed by the AAI… Continued…
-
M21 Sniper Weapon System
The M21 Sniper Weapon System was the United States Army's sniper rifle from 1969 to 1988: a National Match M14 selected for accuracy… Continued…
-
M24 Sniper Weapon System
The M24 Sniper Weapon System was the United States Army's standard sniper rifle from 1988 until the 2010s: a Remington Model 700 long… Continued…
-
M249 Squad Automatic Weapon
The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon is the American version of the Belgian FN Minimi: a gas-operated, belt-fed 5.56mm light machine gun light… Continued…
-
M26 Grenade
The M26 was the standard American fragmentation hand grenade of the Vietnam War. Adopted in the early 1950s to replace the cast-iron Mk 2… Continued…
-
M40 Rifle
The M40 is the bolt-action sniper rifle of the US Marine Corps, adopted in 1966 and in service in successive versions until the 2010s. The… Continued…
-
M60 Machine Gun
The M60 was the United States' first general-purpose machine gun: a belt-fed 7.62mm weapon light enough for one soldier to carry on the… Continued…
-
M67 Grenade
The M67 is the standard fragmentation hand grenade of the United States armed forces. Adopted in the late 1960s, it is a smooth steel… Continued…
-
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is an American 66 mm anti-tank rocket in a disposable, telescoping launch tube. Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in… Continued…
-
M79 Grenade Launcher
The M79 is a single-shot, break-open, shoulder-fired grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm low-velocity grenade to about 400 meters… Continued…
-
MAC-10
The MAC-10, properly the Ingram M10, is a very compact submachine gun designed by the American engineer Gordon Ingram in the 1960s and made… Continued…
-
MG 42
The MG 42 was the German general-purpose machine gun of the Second World War and the most influential machine gun of the twentieth century.… Continued…
-
Mk 25
The Mk 25 is the United States Navy's designation for the SIG Sauer P226 as carried by the Navy SEALs: a standard P226 in 9mm with a… Continued…
-
Molotov Cocktail
A Molotov cocktail is a glass bottle filled with gasoline or another flammable liquid, lit by a burning rag or a chemical igniter and… Continued…
-
Mosin Nagant 1891/30 Sniper Rifle
The Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 Sniper Rifle is the sniper version of the standard Soviet infantry rifle of the Second World War. Rifles chosen… Continued…
-
Nagant M1895 Pistol
The Nagant M1895 is the seven-shot Belgian-designed service revolver of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, unique among military… Continued…
-
PASGT Helmet
The PASGT helmet was the standard combat helmet of the United States armed forces from the early 1980s until the mid-2000s. Its name stands… Continued…
-
PK Machine Gun
The PK is a Soviet belt-fed general-purpose machine gun designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov's team and adopted in 1961. It fires the old rimmed… Continued…
-
PPS-43
The PPS-43 is a Soviet submachine gun introduced in 1942, designed by Alexei Sudayev and first built in besieged Leningrad. Made almost… Continued…
-
RPD Machine Gun
The RPD was the Soviet Union's first light machine gun for the 7.62x39 mm intermediate cartridge. Designed by Vasily Degtyaryov in 1944 and… Continued…
-
RPG-2
The RPG-2 was the first Soviet shoulder-fired anti-tank grenade launcher to be issued in large numbers. Adopted in 1949, it was a plain 40… Continued…
-
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a Soviet shoulder-fired, reusable anti-tank grenade launcher adopted in 1961 and the most widely used weapon of its kind in… Continued…
-
Raufoss Mk 211
The Raufoss Mk 211 is a .50 caliber (12.7x99mm) multipurpose cartridge developed in Norway by Raufoss, now part of the Nammo group. Its… Continued…
-
Remington 870
The Remington 870 is a pump-action shotgun made by Remington Arms since 1950. With a steel receiver machined from a solid block and twin… Continued…
-
SKS
The SKS is Sergei Simonov's semi-automatic carbine for the Soviet 7.62x39mm intermediate cartridge, adopted in 1949 and made obsolete in… Continued…
-
SVD Rifle
The SVD Rifle, or Dragunov, is a Soviet semi-automatic sniper rifle designed by Yevgeny Dragunov and adopted in 1963. It fires the old… Continued…
-
SVT-40 Rifle
The SVT-40 was the Soviet Union's semi-automatic infantry rifle of the Second World War: Fedor Tokarev's gas-operated, tilting-bolt design… Continued…
-
Sig Sauer P226
The SIG Sauer P226 is a full-size double-action service pistol introduced in 1984 for the United States Army's XM9 trials, which it lost to… Continued…
-
Spetsnaz Trench Shovel
The Russian small infantry spade, the MPL-50, is a short, all-steel-bladed entrenching tool of nineteenth-century design that became a… Continued…
-
Sterling Submachine Gun
The Sterling is the 9mm submachine gun that replaced the Sten in British service. George Patchett designed it at Sterling Armaments in… Continued…
-
Swedish Military Mora Knife
The Mora knife is the plain Swedish sheath knife made in and around Mora, in the province of Dalarna, and it was the everyday knife of the… Continued…
-
Thompson Submachine Gun
The Thompson was America's first submachine gun: a .45 ACP automatic designed as a trench broom for a war that ended before it shipped.… Continued…
-
Tokarev TT-33 Pistol
The Tokarev TT-33 was the service pistol of the Red Army from the 1930s until the Makarov replaced it in the 1950s: Fedor Tokarev's… Continued…
-
Uzi
The Uzi is a submachine gun designed in Israel by Major Uziel Gal around 1950 and made by Israel Military Industries. By placing the… Continued…