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Compare And Contrast Essay
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Compare Contrast essay
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Compare/Contrast Essay Template Name:Alex Graves Hour:7
In the news these days, there is talk about banning modern day machine guns, so most people know about them. But what about their WWII counterparts? Modern day machine guns are focused on speed and style. Where WWII machine guns were focused mass production and reliability. Both show the superior engineering of their times, along with the supreme power of weapons, yet there are differences. Both classes of weapons actually had a lot in common. Some common ground in this subject is that both are considered automatic weapons. Automatic weapons fire rounds at a much faster rate than other types of guns, such as bolt or semi-automatic weapons. According to (1)www.thefreedictionary.com, the definition of automatic weapon is “A firearm that reloads itself and keeps firing until the trigger is released. Another thing WWII and modern day machine guns have in common is the way they are loaded with ammunition. Lots of guns have changed from single shot, to bolt action, to lever action, and much more. Machine guns have most
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One huge difference is the rate of fire in the modern day machine guns compared the the WWII machine guns. According to (3)en.m.wikipedia.org the rate of fire of the tommy gun from WWII is 600 rounds per minute. That may sound like a lot of bullets going down range, but also according to (3)en.m.wikipedia.org the rate of fire of a modern day minigun is up to 6,000 rounds per minute. That's 100 bullets going down range in one second. One more large difference in the guns is the maximum range they can be accurate. According to (4)answers.yahoo.com a minigun could be accurate to 1000 yards. When according to (3)en.m.wikipedia.org a tommy gun only has a accurate range of 150 yards. This shows that modern day machine guns shoot faster and are more accurate than WWII machine
There were many technological developments in WWl. Machine guns were invented to help soldiers kill many people at the same time. Machine guns could fire
Weapons have been around from the Neanderthals of the post-ice age, to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Rocks became knives, sticks became spears, and bayonets became AK-47’s. The technology from the French and Indian War was revolutionized and manufactured by the newly opened weaponry companies. Colt and Winchester had a new end of the market during the times of conflict in the United States.
The rifle and the coveted shotgun, literally brought home the bacon. With sleek models such as the Winchester .44 in 1873, accurate targeting sights increased a hunter’s ability to take down his prey, even from large distances, often exceeding 200 yards. The other weapon of choice, the shotgun, did not boast a straight, clean shot, but had the capacity to tear anything to shreds in a single blast. A short barrel provided the advantage of a wider blast range and easier handling (Trachtman et al 50). In many battles, the shotguns were often preferred for their simplifying features.
When we think of weapons that the soldiers used in War World I we think of them as defense. But what is sort of ironic is that the same weapons the soldiers used to protect them selves were the same weapons that killed them. "The development of poison gases took on a new urgency during 1914-18." (http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/index.htm) Poison gas was a lethal or incapacitating gas used as a weapon in warfare. It was used extremely between the years of 1914-1918 in order to torture enemies during war. Another major weapon used during the war was the machine gun. "The machine gun was a fairly primitive device when general war began in August 1914." (http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/index.htm) The machine gun is an automatic weapon that fires rapidly and repeatedly without requiring separate squeezes on the trigger each time. This weapon was one of the most affective weapons and murdered the most enemies. These weapons were similar to the weapons that Remarque described in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front.
"Battleground America," written by Jill Lepore, provides a strong history of guns and the way they have changed in the eyes of the American through the years. She proves her point with strong evidence throughout her article, sprinkling it with opinion and argument that is strongly supported. She presents her argument to convince her audience that the open availability of guns allows citizens to undeservingly purchase them by displaying the credibility in her sources, using negative connotations in her speech, and the strength and objectivity only a strong logos appeal can provide.
New advances in technology changed warfare in WW2. The change in technology since WW1 has produced such things as Atom Bomb, and new and improved sea and air warfare. New techniques had to be used because of technology, techniques such as 'mouseholing'. More people were killed because of technology, as more people died in WW2 than WW1.The technological advances in WW2 changed the battlefield completely as more deadly auxiliary was introduced.
Prior to the invention of the Minié ball it was necessary for the bullet to be the same diameter as the barrel in order for it to engage the rifling. This made it difficult and time consuming to load because the bullet would have to be rammed down the barrel with some force. Due to this fact, muzzle loading rifles had not seen any previous use in combat. The Minié ball, however, changed this. The Minié bullet was slightly smaller in diameter than the rifle barrel, was conical in shape, and contained an iron plug in its hollow base. When fired the force of the expanding charge would force the iron plug into the base of the bullet, thus causing the base to expand slightly and engage the rifling. The Minié bullet, fired from a rifled musket, had an effective range of up to 250 yards, which was a vast improvement over earlier muskets and ammunition. The rifled musket firing the Minié ball became the most common firearm used by both sides during the Civil War, and the Springfield armory in Massachusetts produce nearly two million for the Union Army. (History.com, 2010)
A popular weapon used by both sides was the rifle. Rifles were invented before the Civil War and were greatly used in the War of 1812. However, more types were built and a larger amount was used during the Civil War. Rifles added a spin to bullets for a greater accuracy at longer ranges. Using this weapon, soldiers could fire 400 yards away, as opposed to the average 80 yards (Robertson 50). Rifles were the fastest and hardest weapon of the time. Rifles allowed their bullets to be shot harder and faster towards its target. New inventions, used by the Union more than the Confederate, included Parrott rifles. They were composed of iron. Robert Parker Parrott, an American soldier and inventor, created these weapons, hence the name Parrott rifles. Despite its name, the Parrott rifle was actually a cannon. Its size ranged from 10 to 300 pounders. It was not favored by most because it was considered unsafe (“Civil War Artillery”). Because of its bulkiness and heaviness, it seldom led soldiers to inaccuratel...
Dawson states that one aspect of modern war is having advanced artillery. During the Civil War, Americans did have the modern technology needed for a modern war. Their artillery was improved; they started using single-shot muzzle loading rifles, which were a major advance over the smooth bore muskets. Dawson claims this led to battlefields that were bigger than before since the new muskets had a longer range. Griffith argues that statement saying, “Even with these wonderful new weapons, in fact, it remains doubtful that a genuine revolution in firepower had actually occurred.” The new rifles did not make as much an impact as Dawson claimed. The new musket could fire accurately and at three times the distance but it was not until late in the war that all soldiers had the improved musket. Furthermore, the rifle tended t...
Johnson, David E. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998. Print.
A majority of weapons used in World War II were improved weapons from World War II. Most guns increased in power and abilities. In World War II people thought that pistols were useless but this was proved wrong due to the fact that the U.S. Mi...
The next real step in the evolution of the gun came during the Civil War. Rifles were invented that ...
No other weapon in my opinion has changed the face of the battlefield as has the machine gun. It's design and and association with mass death makes it a great and powerful weapon. Two men, Hiram Maxim and Richard Gatling, made huge impacts in the development of the Machine Gun and bringing it to use in the military. These two brilliant men designed capable and reliable versions of Machine guns in a time when everyone was making unreliable models. However before we get into discussion about the inventions of Hiram Maxim and Richard Gatling, it's important to understand how machine guns were developed.
Although use of the tank had some benefits, many of the tanks used by the British were ineffective due to the fact that they regularly didn’t make it to the battlefield, instead either breaking down or, due to the substantial rain, got stuck in the mud. However, many versions of the original tank, Little Willy, were developed – before the development of the Mark IV and Mark V. Furthermore, very few of the tanks were used successfully by either side, especially at the beginning of their development. Although, towards the end of the war, Britain was using various tanks and built 2,818 tanks from 1916-1918 . In comparison, Germany only built a total of 20 tanks, all within the final year of the war, proving that they didn’t think that the tank was a significant military technique and therefore did not feel the need to use their resources on a military force that they viewed as incompetent and wasteful.