WW2 Weapons Platforms: What accomplished the most with the least?

[Queequeg]

The 88; started out as a flack cannon, ended up as maybe the most flexible gun of the war.  IIRC, one of the major tank's cannons (the Tiger II?) was basically an 88 with treds and supremely thick armor. 

PPSh 41 was a great gun.  Didn't jam as much, didn't break down.  The Germans often ditched their over-designed POSes for it. 

Maybe something like 40 year old Mosin Nagants in the hands of Russian Partisans.  Red Orchestra was pretty goddamn important in the West, one of the crucial factors behind the eventual Western victory.

I was going to suggest the Browning .50 cal and the M1911, but I wouldn't call those pieces of shit. 

[Mr.Penguin]

The 81mm Stokes-Brandt mortar, the daddy of all modern mortars. Providing reliable fire support for infantry units on a company and battalion level. Used by all sides doing war...

[Tonitrus]

Hitler accomplished the most with the least amount of sanity.  Most victories and defeats.

[Alatriste]

I'm not sure which one offered the best bangs for bucks relationship, but I have some candidates:

- V-1. Cheap, crude, shitty, improvised... but the Allies had to use a disproportionate quantity of resources to fight them.

- All land mines, and up to a certain extent sea ones too. They just get no respect.

- Katyusha rockets? Not sure about this one, in fact.

- The first weapon in every infantryman's arsenal: the shovel.

And I'm against including the Garand. It was actually more advanced and expensive than most rifles 1939-1945 (by the way, I just love to read 'Infantry Weapons' by John Weeks. Good book in every sense of the word, informative and funny; I always get funny looks when I say I read it for his style... )

[Warspite]

The Mosquito.

It was made with balsa wood, for God's sake.

[Norgy]

The Pepeschka.

And, needless to say, the T-34. A simple, almost pedestrian tank, yet deadly effective against German armour.

But I also agree with Seedy on the Sherman. It won the war, despite its flaws.

[Josquius]

The Mosquito.

It was made with balsa wood, for God's sake.

Pretty much exactly what I wrote until I noticed you'd already said it.
Except I said plywood.

[Strix]

I'd say the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (aka Tomahawk).

It first flew in 1938 and was used until the end of the war. It lacked a lot of innovations of newer planes but was rugged enough that it begin as an air superiority fighter and ended up still being a functional close air support fighter by the end of the war. It was also used by over 25+ different nations.

Notable pilots of the plane were Claire Chennault, Gregory Boyington (before he went on to fly in the Black Sheep), and Nikolai Fyodorovich Kuznetsov (a Hero of the Soviet Union).

[Razgovory]

The Pepeschka.

And, needless to say, the T-34. A simple, almost pedestrian tank, yet deadly effective against German armour.

But I also agree with Seedy on the Sherman. It won the war, despite its flaws.

I don't know how effective it was against German armor.  What do you suppose the kill ratios between the German tanks and Russian tanks were?

In my opinion the Sherman was a pretty good tank.  When it was first produced it wasn't cutting edge but better then anything the British had and most of what Germany had.

[Mr.Penguin]

In my opinion the Sherman was a pretty good tank.  When it was first produced it wasn't cutting edge but better then anything the British had and most of what Germany had.

In reguard to the british doesnt that say much, as the British armor at that time was pretty much a joke...

[Scipio]

P-40.  Followed by the Sten gun or grease gun.

[Admiral Yi]

Pz III variants.  Conquered France and half of Russia with a 50 mm gun.  No points for beating up the Brits in North Africa.

[Razgovory]

Pz III variants.  Conquered France and half of Russia with a 50 mm gun.  No points for beating up the Brits in North Africa.

37mm for the most part.

[dps]

The Mosquito.

It was made with balsa wood, for God's sake.

Yeah, but it was actually a pretty advanced design, with real good engines and a heck of an arms load.

[KRonn]

Yeah, Swordfish was good for a supposedly outdated biplane; punched way above its weight.

I'll say P-40 as well, and also I can agree with the F4 Wildcat. Both those planes held their own or adapted, being up against much better opponents. P40 as a fighter bomber or such through the war. P-39 also perhaps, used by the Soviets as a decent ground attack plane, I believe.

T-34 would be about tops on the list, unless it would be considered an advanced design, though the argument can be made that it was simplicity yet uber effective.

Sherman tanks. Yeah, so many of them, I guess pretty versatile. But I'm not sure if they punched above their weight more than did well by sheer numbers and reliability. Later versions I think it could be argued punched about their weight, with the 76mm guns and better armor. Brit Firefly and the US variant.