Valkyrie

Valkyrie (2008)

Valkyrie is a 2008 World War II film depicting the 20 July plot by high ranking German officers to kill Adolf Hitler. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a decorated disabled war hero and senior German officer who was a key architect in the plot.

The following weapons were used in the film Valkyrie:

WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Handguns

Walther PPK

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) as well as most of German officers carry Walther PPKs as their sidearms, most notably General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp) and Major Otto Ernst Remer (Thomas Kretschmann).

Note: In reality, von Stauffenberg used a Belgian Browning Hi-Power, called "P-35" by the German Wehrmacht. It is also known that von Stauffenberg used a fixed hand prosthesis to chamber the pistol (other than depicted in the film).

Walther PPK - .32 ACP (7.65x17mm Auto)

Colonel Heinz Brandt (Tom Hollander) keeps his Walther PPK laying on his desk in an attempt to intimidate Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) when suspecting him of giving the dud wine crate bomb to Adolf Hitler (David Bamber).

Stauffenberg's Walther PPK, holster, and hat laying on a table in "The Wolf's Lair", leaving him as a prime suspect in the failed bombing attempt.

Lieutenant Werner von Haeften (Jamie Parker) pulls his Walther PPK on General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson). Note: This shot strongly references From Russia with Love when Kerim Bey does the same thing with the same gun at the same camera angle.

Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) chambers his Walther PPK by pushing it against the desk edge, incapable of properly charging the weapon due to his right hand being amputated from an injury in North Africa.

General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp) takes a Walther PPK to commit suicide.

Luger P08

A Luger P08 is seen in the hand of a Wehrmacht officer, who fires it at Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) and his men.

Luger P08 - 9x19mm

A Luger P08 is seen on the table.

A Wehrmacht officer fires his Luger P08. Note the toggle in mid-cycle on the right.

Walther P38

Surprisingly seen very rarely, Walther P38s appear mostly in the hands of SS or Polizei officers.

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

A German police officer arrests Police Chief Wolf-Heinrich von Helldorf (Waldemar Kobus) while armed with a Walther P38. A Luger P08 is also seen on the table.

Submachine Guns

MP40

Many of German soldiers are seen carrying MP40 submachine guns.

MP40 - 9x19mm

An SS soldier at the airport holds his MP40.

A guard at one of "The Wolf's Lair" gates armed with an MP40.

A German soldier guards the streets of Berlin armed with an MP40.

An SS soldier arrests General Erich Fellgiebel (Eddie Izzard) armed with an MP40.

Rifles

Karabiner 98k

Seen in many of the massing army sequences, in Berlin and in North Africa, the Karabiner 98k is the most commonly seen firearm in the film, and is (accurately) carried by many of the German soldiers.

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

Wehrmacht troops in Berlin assemble with Karabiner 98k rifles slung on their backs.

German soldiers guarding "The Wolf's Lair" (Hitler's Prussian Field Bunker) armed with Karabiner 98k rifles.

A Wehrmacht soldier armed with a Kar98k.

A member of the German firing squad aims his Kar98k.

The German firing squad at the end of the film, all using Kar98k rifles. This is a shot used primarily for the trailer, and is never seen from this angle in the actual film.

Machine Guns

MG 34

MG 34s are manned by the military guards surrounding the forests leading to "The Wolf's Lair" (Hitler's Prussian Field Bunker).

MG 34 - 7.92x57mm Mauser

A Home Guard soldier carries an MG 34 when called to assembly.

German soldiers man MG34s surrounding "The Wolf's Lair".

MG42

An MG42 is briefly seen when Home Guard troops are mobilized during Operation Valkyrie. Another one is also carried by a D.A.K. (Deutsches Afrika Korps) soldier in North Africa.

MG42 with extended bipod - 7.92x57mm Mauser

A German soldier in the background carries an MG42 on his shoulder.

Home Guard soldiers set up an MG42 on the streets of Berlin.

Browning M2 Aircraft

British RAF P-40E Kittyhawk fighters are seen attacking German troops in North Africa, strafing with their six Browning M2 Aircraft heavy machine guns in the wings. The strafe attack results in Stauffenberg losing his eye and hand, which is what had happened in reality. A single real P-40E Mk. I Kittyhawk, registration N94466, appears in the film: this aircraft is formerly of the Royal Canadian Air Force (AK933) and now belongs to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho, and also appeared in Pearl Harbor.

Browning M2 Aircraft, Fixed - .50 BMG

Kittyhawk Mk. IA serial number AK987, in USAAF 23rd Fighter Group ("Flying Tigers") livery, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

A pair of RAF P-40Es fly over German troops.

A P-40E fires its machine guns.

Others

Model 24 Stielhandgranate

Model 24 Stielhandgranates are carried by several German soldiers.

Model 24 Stielhandgranate "Potato Masher" high-explosive fragmentation hand grenade

Model 24 grenades on the left.

Gewehr-Panzergranate 30

Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) uses a Gewehr-Panzergranate 30 rifle grenade to commit suicide at the end of the film.

2 cm Flak 38

2 cm Flak 38 cannons are used by D.A.K. (Deutsches Afrika Korps) soldiers in North Africa to fire at British planes. They are also prepared by Home Guard Reserve troops to guard the streets of Berlin.

2 cm Flak 38 in single mounting - 20x138mmB

German soldiers fire a 2 cm Flak 38 at incoming British planes.

Home Guard troops set up a 2 cm Flak 38 on the streets.

Home Guard troops roll away their 2 cm Flak 38 when Operation Valkyrie is called off.

Kampfwagenkanone 30 L/55

A German Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz.) 222 armoured car is seen in one scene in North Africa, with a turret-mounted KWK 30 L/55 20mm autocannon; the vehicle also mounts a coaxial MG34, not visible in this screenshot. Another one is seen later in Berlin, also with the MG34 obscured in the screenshot.

The KWK 30 L/55 20mm autocannon mounted on a SdKfz. 222 armoured car; the vehicle is facing away from the camera.

A second SdKfz. 222 is seen in Berlin, also armed with a KWK 30 L/55 autocannon. This vehicle is facing towards the camera, with the MG34 hidden by the elbow of the soldier on the right.

Historical Information

• While the plot to place a bomb underneath the table where Hitler was meeting his generals is a well known historical story, what is not often known is that it is estimated there were anything from 17 to 41 other plots against Hitler by his own military. Apparently more than a few Germans saw the evil that was their leader.
• On July 20th, 1944, two 1kg charges of "Plastit W" were used in the bomb plot. The brand name "Plastit W" which is mentioned by von Quirnheim in the film refers to the chemical manufactured by "W"ASAG AG, who produced the explosive codenamed W-Salz ("w-salt"), which today has evolved into "Semtex" C-4 and all those similar derivatives.
• Since only one charge was primed and detonated, Hitler survived again with an perforated eardrum and underpants torn to pieces, while 4 others in the room died, including Colonel Heinz Brandt (portrayed by actor Tom Hollander in the film), who shoved Stauffenberg's briefcase beside the table support thus unwittingly prolonged Hitler's life by 9 months. A Walther PPK in his hand eventually solved that problem below the earth-level of the Berlin city center.