Odd Weapons of WW2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: De Lisle C

The De Lisle Commando carbine was developed in 1942 for commando operations. It featured the magazine and silenced barrel of the Colt M1911 and the woodwork and operation of the Lee Enfield No. 4 Rifle.

Answer: Fairbain-Sykes

The Fairbain-Sykes dagger became a symbol of the Commandos and featured a razor sharp double edged blade and a brass grip.

Answer: No

The FG42 or Fallschirmjägergewehr was a select fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for paratroop use.

Answer: Brixia

The Brixia M35 was an interesting design, in that it was a breech-loader, which decreased range. It was a bad design and apart from some use in Libya, it was rarely used. The other three are companies: Carcano & Manlicher supplied the Italian Army's rifle and FIAT made MGs and cars.

Answer: Tree

The "Tree" spigot mortar was a bad design with little value, and the much better Stokes 3inch or 2inch mortars were used. The other three I just made up.

Answer: Stinger

The stinger was rarely used due to difficult action and for all the concealment, range was low and it proved to be too loud for clandestine operations. The other three names I just made up.

Answer: True

The PIAT was a remarkle weapon, with the same range and effectiveness as the US M9 Bazooka. It was used from Sicily onwards. On the morning of the D-Day landings, a single PIAT disrupted a German attempt to reach the invasion beaches. Troops had landed by glider and had seized and held the vital bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River. Among the positions held was a "T-junction" on the main road from Benouville to Le Port which led on to Caen.

A German force of six tanks, infantry and a battery of Flak 88s approached the junction. Sgt. "Wagger" Thornton (D Company) Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry armed with the only working PIAT and two rounds shot the lead tank, a Panzer IV, at short range.

The tank blew up, blocking the junction for heavy vehicles and preventing the German counter-attack from reaching the beaches.

However, Sgt. Thornton personally expressed dislike for "that bloody weapon".

Answer: False

Melvin M. Johnson, an American arms designer, developed his semi-automatic rifle by mid-1938, and submitted it to U.S. Army trials. Trials and development of the rifle continued until early 1940, when the Army Ordnance Board finally rejected the Johnson rifle.

While several reasons were given for this and other rejections, the primary reason was the advanced state of production on the M1 Garand rifle. The same year, Johnson submitted his rifle for trials to the U.S. Marine Corps, where it was tested against the Garand rifle.

The results of the first tests were good for the Johnson, but the Garand rifle was deemed superior. The weapons was supplied to the Dutch after the war because of uprisings in the Dutch East Indies.

Answer: Russia

The Russian commanders decided they would be an army of attack and did not issue scabbards with bayonets. Later models of the Mosin-Nagant series had folding cruciform or spike bayonets permanately attached.

Answer: Katana (Samurai Sword)- -It showed authority and a link to the Samurais of old.

The sword was a symbol of rank in the Imperial Japanese Army, only officers were permitted to carry it. When an officer was presented with his sword he was required to carry it everywhere with him, even officers in vehicles or flying aircraft had to carry a sword. Type 100s were isssued to specialised personell, as were Nambu Type 14s. Hardly any Japanese carried a tanto, as they either had a Katana or a bayonet.