History Channel: Tales of the Gun - U.S. Guns of World War II

For the most part, they weren't revolutionary, but evolutionary. In an age when the horrors of war prompted extraordinary advances in weapons technology, the infantrymen who fought under the Stars and Stripes in World War II brandished rifles and sidearms that, for the most part, had been designed decades before.

But they worked. In all weather, from frozen fights in wintry Northern Europe to the steamy jungles of the Philippines, the U.S. GUNS OF WORLD WAR II proved their worth. This authoritative film documents the origins, evolution and deployment of the firearms that preserved freedom. Go inside some of the world's foremost gun collections for an up-close look at authentic WWII weapons, and extensive combat footage shows them in action. Experts detail the refinements that made the American weapons into the most rugged and dependable ever built, while veterans recall the battles where they blasted their way into history.

World War Two introduced instruments that pierced the darkness and weapons that released the power of the atom. Yet for all the advances in science and technology, the American infantryman on the ground fought the war with guns that, for the most part, were designed decades before. U.S. infantry weapons were not revolutionary in concept or design; but in robustness and dependability, they were, with few exceptions, unequaled. This hour examines the weapons that came through surf and snow, dense jungle and choking dust...guns of the American G.I.