The Advances of Weaponry during World War II

	In every war fought throughout the history of mankind, the dependence on weapons was highly sought for. From swords to guns, weaponry has progressed throughout the ages with each war fought. No other war has seen more advances in weaponry which is World War II. Many of those advances made this war were focused on artillery, land vehicles, naval ships and aircraft. These advances, although beneficial, have also lead to more bloodshed on the battlefield because they can do a lot more damage than their previous versions. Understanding these advances helped the Allied Powers win over the Axis in many battles, but both sides contribute many advances in weaponry.
	One of the biggest contributions that World War II brought in terms of weaponry was artillery. On both the Allied and the Axis powers, most of the advancements made were made by refining previous concepts from World War I. Most artillery weapons went through a few improvements such as: reliability, better barrels to increase speed and accuracy, and useful raw material for the guns and bullets. The most notable example and the gun that had the biggest impact was the machine gun, where its full potential was utilized in World War II. During World War I, machine guns had less portability and were installed onto motor vehicles. During the follow up to World War II, advances to the machine gun provided more portable and much larger caliber compared to their counterparts. Rifles also played a huge part as artillery during World War II, but its design and features were similar to those of World War I and only got a few minor, albeit useful, improvements. These improvements made to rifles included auto loading and continuous single shot which made it easier for foot soldiers to use.
	The next major improvement made to weaponry during World War II would be land vehicles. Tanks were the main vehicles used during both wars. Prior to this war, tanks were the major benefactor and play an important part during World War I, so they were in need for improvement. World War I tanks were introduced by the British and made in response to trench warfare.  However, the impact of these tanks during World War I was little to none due to them being mechanically unreliable. So to improve tanks for the next war, upgrades were a must. A major improvement was the addition of a rotating turret. A majority of tanks during World War I lacked turrets, so this means that their defense is lower and they can only shoot the direction they were facing. Artillery on the tanks of World War I was generally machine guns. With the addition of rotating turrets, tanks had a bigger purpose and they can shoot in any direction without turning the bottom part of the tank. The rotating turret also gave the tank better artillery fire as they can shoot bigger rounds and do more damage.  Many of the tank’s improvements came during the interwar period, and these helped shape the tank for what it was in World War II.
	Another field of advances during World War II was naval ships and others. U-boats were the main ship used by the Axis powers, mainly Germany during World War II. U-boats were military submarines developed by Germany used during both World Wars. Their main objective was to target merchant ships and set up blockades fwogfhoaphgegebetfbvf