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Strike Witches
Set in an alternate timeline World War II, Strike Witches focuses on Witches, elite pilots with innate magical ability, who fly Striker Units and fight against the alien Neuroi who have attacked Earth and devastated most of Europe. The existence of magic makes the world inherently different, however most events and history are largely the same until the Great War. During the World War I, powerful aliens attacked humanity, interrupting the war; although they were defeated, interruption of the war had lasting effects. Nazi-ism never formed in the Empire of Karlsland (based on Germany), the Bolshevik Revolution never occurred in Orussia (based on Russia), Ostmark (based on Austria-Hungary) still exists in full; also of note is that the Italian unification never occurred, leaving the Duchy of Romagna and Duchy of Venezia both on the Apennine Peninsula. Earth's geography differs slights as well, notably the coastline of North America, but as a whole the world can be defined as "alternate timeline Earth".
In 1937, the Neuroi attacked the Empire of Fuso (based on Japan), but thanks largely to the newly developed Striker Units and the Witches flying them, the Neuroi were repulsed. In 1939, several Neuroi hives formed over Europe, obliterating cities, killing thousands, and forcing humanity to retreat. Much like the real world Fall of Europe in 1939/40, humanity's last free bastion in Europe became the Commonwealth of Britannia (based on Britain), a safe haven only because Neuroi are averse to crossing bodies of water. Given this context, humanity's countries are not at war with each other, but united to defend against the Neuroi, and as such Witches and other military members from all nations work and fight alongside one another.
The story of Strike Witches picks up in early 1944, when Yoshika Miyafuji, due to her extremely strong magical ability, is recruited to by Squadron Leader Mio Sakamoto of the Fuso Imperial Navy to become a Witch. The story of the first season introduces the world and setting of the series, and follows Yoshika's struggles to become a Witch in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, known as the Strike Witches. The 501st JFW's base is located in Folkestone Harbour, which in the real world was an important strategic port, especially notable for its involvement in the Dunkirk evacuation. All the Witches in the series are based on real world WWII fighter aces; those details will be noted for each character as they come up.
Warning: Some descriptions and images are potential spoilers for the series, read at your own risk.
The following weapons were used in the anime series Strike Witches:
Pistols
Walther PPK
A Walther PPK is issued to Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji (inspired by Japanese ace Kaneyoshi Mutou) when she first arrives in Britannia, however she refuses the pistol, stating a dislike for guns. To explain Yoshika's mindset, Yoshika's father, Ichiro Miyafuji (inspired by Jiro Horikoshi, chief designer of many WWII Japanese aircraft), worked on and perfected the Striker Units the Witches use, but he was killed in an accident in his lab in the late '30s, and as such Yoshika, a young civilian in Fuso away from the war, always saw the conflict little more than a terrible, far away thing that stole her father from her. Yoshika accepts Mio's offer to come to Europe on the condition that she simply wants to help people, however Yoshika fairly quickly learns that to help the most people, one must fight the Neuroi. Official artwork for the series later shows Yoshika using a Mauser M712 Schnellfeuer as her sidearm.
Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the Karlsland Air Force (inspired by German ace Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke) uses an identical PPK, which she either keeps on her person or pulled out for the occasion she is seen using it. It's possible its issued to all new Witches of the 501st, but it's not seen otherwise.
Submachine Guns
Sten Mk II
Sten Mk II submachine guns are used by Britannian troops under the command of Air Chief Marshall Trevor Maloney, ordering the 501st JFW be disbanded, intent on replacing Witches with his new mechanized Warlock aircraft/mech. Maloney and his actions are directly inspired by Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, and Leigh-Mallory's similar political moves during the Battle of Britain.
Rifles
Boys Mk I
Flight Sergeant Lynette Bishop of the Britannian Air Force uses a Boys Mk I fitted with the muzzle brake of the Mk II and bipod removed. Lynette, along with her older sister Wilma, are inspired by the children of WWI Canadian ace Billy Bishop, William and Margaret Bishop, both of whom served in WWII, William as a Spitfire pilot. While Lynette is purely Britannian, in a reversal of the Bishop sisters' inspiration, Wilma enlisted and serves in the Faraway Land Air Force (Canada, but name inspired by Newfoundland). Wilma does not appear in the anime, but is the protagonist of the One-Winged Witches spin-off manga.
Machine Guns
M1918A2 BAR
A Browning Automatic Rifle is carried by Charlotte Yeager.
MG42
The MG42 is carried by most members of the 501st JFW. Due to her strength ability, Gertrud Barkhorn prefers using two MG-42s at once, often with devastating effect. Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen prefers the MG-42 to her heavier Suomi KP/-31 SMG, and Minna likes the "balance of power and stability." Erica prefers it to her MP40 sidearm because "it shoots fast and rarely stops working." All Strike Witches MG-42s are modified to use 75 round MG-34 type double-drum magazines.
BREN
A Bren gun is carried by Perrine Clostermann. She states that she would prefer to use a Chatellerault M1924/29, but is unable to obtain one. Instead, she uses the BREN, which is similar to the Chatellerault in many aspects but is presumably easier to obtain in Britannia.
Browning M1919A6 Machine Gun
A Browning M1919A6 machine gun is carried by Francesca Lucchini. It was given to her by Shirley after she misplaced the Romagnan weapons she brought to Britannia with her. Francesca states that she likes the gun because of the high rate of fire, durability, and high ammo capacity.
Type 99-1 Cannon
The Japanese Type 99-1 cannon in flexible mount configuration appears to be the standard armament for Fuso Empire Witches, with its use by Mio Sakamoto, Yoshika Miyafuji and Shizuka Hattori, among others. It has been modified to utilize a conventional pistol grip more suitable for dismounted use. The use of this weapon in aerial combat is something of a historical irony, since the Type 99 cannon was part of the main armament of A6M "Zero" fighters in World War II.
Browning AN/M2
The Britannian Hurricanes seen attacking the Neuroi in the Season 1 prologue are fitted with Browning .303 Mk II machine guns.
Launchers
"Fliegerhammer"
Carried by Sanya V. Litvyak. It is loosely based on the M202 FLASH, though it is named after the Fliegerfaust / Luftfaust, a WW2 prototype anti-aircraft rocket launcher designed by Nazi Germany. Sanya is able to channel her magic into the weapon, thereby making the rockets more powerful. The Fliegerhammer is also capable of something resembling automatic fire, in that the operator can fire one rocket after another simply by holding down the trigger.
