Battlefield: 1942

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Battlefield:1942 PC Boxart Release Date: 2002 Developer: DICE Publisher: EA Series: Battlefield Platforms: PC Genre: First-Person Shooter

The first game in the hugely successful Battlefield series, Battlefield: 1942 was released in 2002 for the PC, with two expansion packs (The Road to Rome and Secret Weapons of WWII) following later.

The base game follows the main theaters of World War II, focusing primarily on the Americans, British, and Soviet forces (patches later added a mission for Canada as well) facing off against the Axis powers, Germany and Japan. The first DLC, Road to Rome focuses heavily on the Italian campaign and introduces the forces of the Free French and Fascist Italy. Secret Weapons of World War II was the final expansion, and is a more fictionalized take on the war, with the British and Americans facing off against Nazi Germany, with both sides using increasingly more outlandish weapons. The game and both DLCs, alongside the Battlefield Vietnam: Redux were later made available in a box set, titled Battlefield Anthology.

The following weapons can be seen in Battlefield: 1942 and its two expansions:

Overview

Weapons in Battlefield: 1942 are class-locked and faction-locked. The equipment for a class is known as a kit, and there is no way to change individual weapons in the kit . A kit is dropped upon death, and other players can pick up their kit. There are five classes in total:

• Assault: Uses LMGs and automatic rifles.
• Engineer: Uses battle rifles (mostly bolt-action, some semi automatic rifles).
• Anti-Tank: Uses an anti-tank launcher.
• Medic: Uses submachine guns.
• Scout: Uses sniper rifles (all bolt action, and all come with scopes).

Between the factions, many of the weapons are also statistically identical, and for some reason feature left-handed bolts.

Handguns

Unlike many modern first person shooters, Battlefield treats handguns as a part of a player's "kit" and therefore switching to another faction's kit (i.e., playing as the Red Army, killing a German sniper, and stealing his rifle) will result in changing handguns. This is, in reality, purely cosmetic, as both sidearms are functionally the same.

Walther P38

The Walther P38 is the standard pistol for all Axis forces, including the German, Italian, and Japanese forces despite Japan never issuing it to their forces. The main sidearms for the Italians and Japanese were the Beretta M1935 and Nambu Type 14 respectively. Nevertheles, the in-game Walther has black grips and a silver finish.

Walther P38 pistol (manufactured at the Mauser Factory) - World War II dated - 9x19mm

A Russian soldier wields a Walther, taken from a German who doesn't need it anymore.

To prove a point, a very confused Japanese soldier also wields the Walther.

Not to be left out, an Italian anti-tank soldier begins the reload cycle for his Walther. Note that his slide has partially locked back, just like on the Colt. Almost as if they use the same animations...

Finishing the reload animation makes him look far too happy to be on a modern battlefield.

M1911

The M1911 (just referred as "Colt") is the standard sidearm for all Allied forces. Its portrayal is highly inaccurate, shown as a double-action handgun, and firing from an eight round magazine. While this would be possible when reloading with a round in the chamber, the player pulls back the slide whenever a reload is initiated. This is because it is just a reskin of the game's other handgun, inflicting the same damage, having the same capacity and rate of fire, and being just as accurate.

The pistol is the standard handgun of all American military forces, but is also seen in the hands of Commonwealth, Soviet, and Free French soldiers as well. While it's possible in the case of the Canadians and French, the British should be using a Webley revolver or Browning Hi-Power (when playing as the SAS) and the Soviets should be using the Tokarev TT-33. The French could also use the Star Ruby or MAB Model D if they're feeling more patriotic.

Original Colt M1911 (dated 1913) - .45 ACP

A Soviet soldier kills a German machinegunner during the Battle of Berlin; someone has seen fit to equip him with a weapon he'd never carry in reality, and, judging by the uncocked hammer, a broken one at that.

An SAS Commando begins the process of reloading his 1911, the slide helpfully locking back for him. It's possible this is accurate to the time, as the SAS did field a few Colts chambered in .455, although it's likely more a matter of DICE programming the wrong guns. The slide has already partially locked back, for no discernible reason. The streak to the player's right is from a bazooka, though perspective conspires to make it seem the Colt is firing rockets.

A US Army Ranger, likely a member of the 101st Airborne, finishes the reload animation for his 1911. He is preparing to rack the slide; he is not applauding the empty tank before him.

Submachine Guns

Submachine guns, rather than being issued to officers or scouts (the former because they don't exist; the later because they use sniper rifles instead) are the mainstay of Battlefield's Medic Class. SMGs have roughly equivalent stopping power (which is realistically depicted as identical to the handguns), so the only real difference between them is their capacity. Some of the expansion maps feature suppressed SMGs, for variety's sake.

Bergmann MP18

The Bergmann MP18 is the standard weapon for the Japanese and Russian Medic classes. Its magazine is the 32-round box type of the later MP28 rather than the original TM 08 drum used during WWI, and like the Sten the player grips the magazine which increases the risk of jamming the weapon. While the MP18 did see some use by both factions (the former in very limited capacity, the latter as a captured weapon), it would make much more sense for them to be using the Type 100 submachine gun and PPSh-41 respectively.

Bergmann MP18/I with 20-round box magazine accepting MP28 mag-well, what the MP18 was originally designed with and retrofitted with post-WWI - 9x19mm

MP40

The MP40 is the standard weapon for the German and Italian Medic classes. While the Italians used MP40s to some extent, their main submachine gun was the Beretta Model 38.

MP40 - 9x19mm Parabellum

An Italian Medic wields an MP.40 during the invasion of Anzio.

The same Medic aims his SMG at a mildly annoyed American M3 Grant, realizing this was probably not the wisest weapon to antagonize a tank with.

Having expressed his displeasure at the cranky Yanks in the clanky tank, the Medic ejects the magazine from his SMG.

He then manages to live long enough to shove a new magazine into place...

before chambering a round in the weapon. Since the MP.40 fires from an open bolt, this shouldn't be necessary or even possible.

Sten MK.II

The Sten Mk.II Submachine Gun serves as an alternative for the British and as the standard for the Free French Forces Medic class in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome. A suppressed version, the Sten Mk.IIS is also available in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII for the SAS Medic class.

Sten Mk.II 9x19mm Parabellum

A British soldier holds a Sten by the magazine. Experience says that angry IMFDB complaints regarding hand positions will soon follow.

Sten Mk.IIS - 9x19mm Parabellum

An SAS Medic holds a suppressed Sten during a raid on a German weapons factory in Secret Weapons of WWII. He's holding it a bit more correctly than his Army counterpart, but the suppressor would burn his hand if it overheated. Fortunately, he has gloves to protect himself.

The same soldier "aims" his Sten, giving us a better look at the model, including its apparently empty magazine.

M1A1 Thompson

The M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun is the standard weapon for the American, British, and Canadian Medic classes. While the latter two factions made use of Thompsons during the early part of the war, they later made much more use of the Sten after it was developed.

M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun - .45 ACP

A member of the 101st Airborne participates in fierce fighting to the south of the famous Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest), Thompson in hand. Such a battle is completely fictional, but makes for interesting gameplay, and is the closest to historical accuracy in Secret Weapons of WWII.

Loading a fresh magazine.

Pulling the bolt handle back into position.

Shotguns

Browning Automatic 5

Introduced in the expansion pack Secret Weapons of WWII, the Browning Automatic 5 is issued to the SAS Engineer class and is simply called "shotgun." It is the first shotgun in the series, and is extremely lethal in close quarters. Due to the game not having the ability to keep tracking individual shells (as the only other internally fed weapons are bolt action snipers with stripper clips), the A-5 has an extremely odd reload, wherein the player awkwardly tilts the weapon, apparently inserts a few shells, then pulls the charging lever; ammo is represented in full magazines, as it is for all other guns, and reloading from a non-empty magazine will result in lost shells.

The A5 is the most powerful close quarters weapon in the game, and is surprisingly deadly at range as well, often lethal from the chest up even at medium range.

Browning Automatic 5 - 12 gauge

A British SAS Engineer wields a Browning Auto 5 in Secret Weapons of WWII.

The visible portion of the A5's reloading animation, which consists of dropping the weapon out of view, then raising it back up and pulling the charging lever. Somehow, this completely empties the weapon (and destroys any unfired shells) and refills it, all in the space of about three seconds, with no noise.

Rifles

There are several kinds of rifles in Battlefield 1942. Bolt-action rifles are only available to two classes: the Scout (who function as snipers) and the Engineer. The main difference between the two is that Scout rifles are issued a scope and less ammo, while Engineer rifles have more ammo. Some other rifles are exclusive to one or the other. Some factions' Assault classes use automatic rifles instead of light machine guns.

Fallschirmjägergewehr 42

The Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 (using its long form name) serves as an alternative to the STG-44 that is given to the Waffen SS Assault class in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII.

Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 - 7.92x57mm Mauser

An SS soldier at Hellendoorn stands on alert for any potential SAS raids with his FG42.

After catching a faint whiff of tea on the air, he reloads his FG42.

Oddly, the last half of the reload has an odd bit where the rifle is held up, the soldier flicks a lever and releases the bolt.

Gewehr 43 w/scope

The Gewehr 43 w/ ZF4 scope is the standard weapon for Waffen SS Sniper class in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII.

Gewehr 43 with ZF4 Scope - 7.92 x 57mm

While stationed at Essen, an SS sniper keeps watch with his scoped G43.

Always one to be prepared, he taps off his mag with a fresh mag...

With a little bit of clipping through the odd second scope mount.

Karabiner 98k

The Karabiner 98k is the standard weapon for all Axis Engineers, and the scoped variant is the standard weapon for all Allied Scouts. The Italians and Japanese should instead be using their own rifles, the Carcano and Arisaka respectively.

Karabiner 98k - German manufacture 1937 date - 7.92x57mm Mauser

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I

The Lee-Enfield No.4 MK I is the standard weapon for the US Army, British and Russian Engineer classes. A bayonet version is available in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome for the Allied Engineer classes. The US Army should be using the M1 Garand or M1 Carbine and the Russians should be using a Mosin-Nagant carbine.

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I - .303 British

A US Army Ranger Engineer holds a Lee-Enfield while taking part in a battle near the Eagle's Nest, wondering why, if he must carry the wrong rifle, he can't at least have a full magazine for it.

Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk.I(T)

The Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.I(T) is the standard weapon for all Allied Scouts. This is highly incorrect, as it should only be available to British and Commonwealth soldiers; it also has a capacity of five rounds, half that of the real rifle. The American Scouts should instead be armed with scoped Springfield M1903 rifles and the Russian scouts should be armed with scoped Mosin-Nagant M91/30 rifles.

Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.I(T) - .303 British

A very confused US Army Ranger wields a scoped Lee-Enfield SMLE during an American raid on the Eagle's Nest. In reality, he should be carrying a scoped Springfield M1903 or M1 Garand; more bizarrely, the rifle only ever has five rounds in the magazine, despite the SMLE's main advantage being a 10-round capacity. This is likely for balance, as the rifle is functionally identical to the German Mauser 98k.

An SAS sniper, someone who should actually carry this rifle, works the bolt, while hunting the man who told him it can only hold five rounds at a time.

M1 Garand

The M1 Garand appears as the main battle rifle for the USMC Engineer class, although in real-life they didn't actually receive it until every order for the rifle in the US Army was fulfilled. It would make more sense for them to be using the Springfield M1903 for the time being.

M1 Garand semiautomatic Rifle with leather M1917 sling - .30-06

Type 5

The extremely rare Type 5, which never saw service, somehow replaces the equally incorrect Karabiner 98k as the standard weapon for the Japanese Engineer class. While it has the correct 10-round magazine capacity, it also has the very incorrect detachable magazine when it should be non-detachable and loaded with two 5-round Arisaka stripper clips. A more plausible choice for the Japanese engineer would be the Type 44 carbine.

Type 5 - 7.7x58mm

Light Machine Guns

Most "Assault Class" kits feature some form of easily man-portable LMG. Unlike the rifles and handguns, these weapons for the most part of have variable stats, although this mostly just pertains to magazine capacity.

Breda Modello 30

The Breda Modello 30 is the standard weapon for the Italian Assault class in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome. It is incorrectly shown with a detachable magazine in lieu of a stripper clip which gave the already troubled weapon even more reliability issues.

Breda Modello 30 - 6.5x52mm Mannlicher-Carcano

Glad he's been fortunate enough to be issued a weapon actually from his nation, an Italian assault gunner wields a Breda Modello 30 during the Battle of Anzio. Unfortanately, someone has seen fit to issue him and every other Italian in the game with a weapon whose magazine is on the wrong side.

He then immediately kills a fellow Italian because he didn't pay the "pizzo".

Che sera, sera he says, loading a new magazine into his LMG in a manner that should not work.

Bren Mk.2

The Bren Mk.2 Light Machine Gun is the standard weapon for the SAS Assault class in the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII. The Canadians also made use of Brens during the war, but they were slightly different from the British models.

Bren Mk.2 Light Machine Gun - .303 British

A British support gunner holds his Bren.

The player reloads his Bren Mk.2 during an SAS raid on a German weapons plant, a burning Flak Panzer in the foreground.

Pulling the charging handle.

Degtyaryov (DP) 28

The Degtyaryov Light Machine Gun (DP) is the standard weapon for the Russian Assault class.

Degtyaryov Light Machine Gun (DP) - 7.62x54mmR

A Soviet machinegunner supports his friends with his DP while assaulting Berlin.

Taking cover near what is presumed to be the River Havel, he reloads his DP.

Enjoying the river view alongside the two T34's while he finishes reloading.

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle

The M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle is the standard weapon for American, British, and Free French Assault classes. The Brits should be using the Bren as their main LMG and the French could use the FM 24/29 as they considered it superior to the BAR.

M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06 Springfield

A US Army Ranger carries a BAR during a battle near the Eagle's Nest in Secret Weapons of WWII.

The same Ranger removes the magazine from his BAR, having just provided the punchline to the old joke "So three Nazis walk into a BAR..."

He then loads a new magazine into his rifle and looks for more comedic potential.

A loading screen for Road to Rome when playing on a map featuring the United States depicts an American soldier carrying a wounded comrade and a BAR.

The American Assault Class pickup model is a very low resolution BAR.

M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun

The M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun is the standard weapon for the Canadian Assault class. It erroneously holds 30 rounds when it should hold 20.

M1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun - .30-06 Springfield

A Canadian machinegunner holds the M1941 Johnson while the Canadian ensign flies beside him.

There are a few interesting things with the reload animation. The first is that the modelers apparently confused the magazine well with the magazine, so part of the model that was supposed to be the magazine well is removed with the magazine during the reload. The second is that the charging handle is relocated to the left, when it's actually on the right.

Type 99 Light Machine Gun

The Type 99 light machine gun is the main weapon for the Japanese Assault class, replacing the completely out-of-place Sturmgewehr 44. It is essentially a reskin to the Bren, but its fire rate sounds faster (which it actually was in real life), and its 30-round magazine holds only 20.

Type 99 light machine gun 7.7x58mm Arisaka

Launchers

Gewehrgranatengerät

The Gewehrgranatengerät Rifle Grenade Launcher is available for the K98k in the German engineer class with the expansion pack Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII.

Gewehrgranatengerät, mounted on Karabiner 98k rifle

The Gewehrgranatengerät on K98k.

Loading a new grenade.

Panzerschreck

The Panzerschreck is the standard weapon for all Axis Anti-Tank classes. While it's moderately logical for the Germans and Italians to use these weapons in the numbers they do (a better choice would be the Panzerfaust), things take a turn for the surreal when Japanese soldiers wield them during the Battle of Wake Island.

Panzerschreck

"Aiming" the Panzerschrek results in the rather odd fact the model's sights are completely lined up due to the changed perspective...due to the game's mechanics, the shell will still not land anywhere near this point.

An Italian soldier armed with a Panzerschrek demonstrates what happens when it's fired at something not a panzer. Apparently someone was using this Jeep to smuggle the American invasion force's entire supply of dynamite.

A German soldier, having managed to schrek an actual panzer, reloads his AT launcher.

M1 Bazooka

The M1 Bazooka is the standard weapon for all Allied Anti-Tank classes. The bazooka is surprisingly accurate at range and is lethal anywhere, making it an oddly effective sniper rifle.

M1 Bazooka

An American Army Ranger holds an M1 Bazooka during a raid on the Eagle's Nest.

The same Ranger loads a new rocket into his launcher.

The Ranger completes his reload animation elsewhere on the map, having just put a rocket into the smoldering Sturm Panzer in the foreground.

The Ranger kills an enemy Sturm Panzer, one of the eponymous Secret Weapons of WWII with his not so secret M1 Bazooka, causing a spectacular explosion in the process.

A soldier aims his bazooka at a Panzer V during the game's opening cinematic. This is one of the few small arms shown in the FMV.

Explosives

Mk 2 hand grenade

The Mk 2 hand grenade is the standard frag grenade for Allied soldiers.

Mk 2 high-explosive fragmentation hand grenade

An Allied soldier holds his grenade.

The soldier throws the MK2.

Model 24 Stielhandgranate

The Model 24 Stielhandgranate is the standard grenade for the Axis.

Model 24 Stielhandgranate "Potato Masher" High-Explosive Fragmentation Hand Grenade

A German soldier holds the stick grenade.

The soldier throws the grenade.

Tellermine 35 (Stahl)

The Tellermine 35 (Stahl) is available for Allied and Axis engineers.

Tellermine 35 (Stahl) Anti-tank mine

A German engineer looks at a placed Tellermine.

Mounted Weapons

2cm FlaK 38

The 2cm FlaK 38 is mounted on German bases.

2 cm FlaK 38 in single mounting - 20x138mm B

A Flak on a German airfield.

Manning the AA gun.

Browning M2

A Browning M2 is the mounted weapon for Allied bases and vehicles.

Browning M2HB - .50 BMG.

A M2HB mounted on a Allied motorcycle.

Mannin the Browning.

Bofors 40mm

Several Bofors 40mm Anti-Aircraft Guns are seen on the battlefield.

Bofors 40mm L/60 AA gun in a wheeled trailer mounting - 40x311mmR

A Bofors near to a Allied base.

Manning the bofors.

Degtyaryov DT

Soviet tanks are armed with Degtyaryov DT machine guns.

DT machine gun - 7.62x54mm R

A DT mounted on a T34/85.

MG34

The MG34 is mounted on German tanks.

MG34 Panzerlauf with stock fitted - 7.92x57mm Mauser

A Panzer IV with mounted MG34.

MG42

The MG42 is mounted on several points, even on the Japanese vehicles. It also fires much slower than in real-life and its sound does the gun no justice.

MG42 Machine Gun - 7.92x57mm Mauser

Type 97

The Type 97 light machine gun is mounted on Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks.

Type 97 light machine gun 7.7x58mm Arisaka

The mounted Type 97 in-game.