List of World War II weapons used in Ireland explained

This is a list of World War II weapons of Ireland. Throughout World War II, Ireland held a policy of neutrality. Ireland prepared for invasions from both Britain and Nazi Germany. Some cooperation with the Allies did occur such as Plan W as well as allowing allied aircraft over Irish airspace through the Donegal Corridor and providing access to weather reports from the Atlantic Ocean which were used to help decide when D-day would occur. The IRA allied itself with Nazi Germany in pursuit of Irish republicanism as seen from Operation Dove. However they were not part of the Irish army and were not supported by the Irish government and so will be left out of this list. Of note is that Ireland got a lot of British WWI weapons due to conflicts with the United Kingdom just after WWI such as the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War when a lot of these weapons would have been captured by Irish forces in the fighting.

Small arms

Rifles

• Short Magazine Lee–Enfield No. 1 MKIII^[1] - Standard issue
• Springfield M1903 - Local Defence Force and Local Security Force
• M1917 Enfield - Local Defence Force

Sidearms

• Enfield No. 2^[2]
• Webley MK IV Revolver - Standard issue
• Mauser C96 - 295 in Army stockpiles

Machine guns

• Vickers machine gun^[3]
• Lewis gun^[4]
• Bren gun
  • Madsen Machine Gun - vehicle use
• Hotchkiss M1909 - vehicle use
• Vickers.50 Machine Gun - vehicle use

Grenade

• Mills bomb^[5]
  • MK3 Rifle Grenade Molotov Cocktail/Petrol Bomb (made and used during exercises)

Submachine Guns

• M1921 Thompson -Army stockpiles left over from the Revolutionary period
• Bergmann MP-18 - Army stockpiles put into commission

Sniper Rifles

• Pattern 1914 (Scoped variant)

Shotguns

• Winchester 1897
• Unidentified 12 Bore Shotgun

Melee Weapons

• Pattern 1907 Bayonet
• Irish Army officers sabre

Anti-Tank Weapons

• • • Boys Anti-Tank Rifle Vickers QF 2-Pounder Anti-Tank Gun 25 lb Anti-Tank mine (Irish made)
• The 'De Valera' mine (Irish made)

Artillery

Mortars

• Brandt Mle 27/31^[6]

Field artillery

• QF 18-pounder gun^[7]
• BL 60-pounder gun
• QF 4.5-inch howitzer

Anti-Aircraft Guns

• Bofors 40mm
• QF 3-Inch 20-cwt
  • QF 3.7-Inch QF 12-Pounder 12-cwt (modified for anti-aircraft purposes)

Coastal Defence Guns

• BL 9.2 Inch
• BL 6-Inch

Armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs)

Armoured cars

• Rolls-Royce Armoured Car^[8]
• Landsverk L180^[9]
• Leyland Armoured Car
• Beaverette
• Universal 'Bren' Carrier
• Ford MK V
• Ford MK VI
• Ford MK IV
• Dodge MK VII
• Dodge MK VIII
• GSR Morris MK IV

Tanks

• Landsverk L-60^[10]
• Vickers MK. D

AFV Armaments (not including small arms used as armaments)

• • Madsen 20mm QF 6-Pounder

Marine Service vessels

• Muirchú
• PAS Fort Rannoch
• MTB-1
• MTB-2
• MTB-3
• MTB-4
• MTB-5
• MTB-6
• Various port control pilot boats

Other vehicles

• Morris Commercial C8 FAT
  • • BSA M20 500cc Motorbike Morris Commercial CDSW Leyland Retriever Machinery Lorry

See also

• List of aircraft of Ireland in World War II

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rifle, Short, Magazine, Lee-Enfield (Smle) » Military Heritage of Ireland Trust CLG. 2021-05-05. Military Heritage of Ireland Trust CLG. en-GB.
2. Web site: WE Browning Hi-Power (BAP). 2021-05-05. Hobby Airsoft. en.
3. Web site: Pathé. British. On Guard In The Outposts Of Peace Aka Outposts Of Peace - Irish Army Manoeuvres. 2021-05-05. www.britishpathe.com. en-GB.
4. Web site: Lewis Gun. 2021-05-05. www.militaryfactory.com. en-US.
5. Web site: Ireland Infantry Arms List (Current and Former Types). 2021-05-05. www.militaryfactory.com.
6. Book: Norris, John. Mortars in World War II. 2016-03-30. Casemate Publishers. 978-1-4738-7920-1. en.
7. Web site: Ordnance QF 18-pounder field gun Mk IV. 2021-05-05. www.historyofwar.org.
8. Web site: Sliabh na mBan. 2021-05-05. www.military.ie. en.
9. Web site: Landsverk L180, M38 Armoured Car: introduction. 2021-05-05. www.landsverk-m38.nl.
10. Web site: L60 tridsvagn M38/39/40 (1936). 2021-05-05. www.tanks-encyclopedia.com.