The Ordnance QF 2-pounder was a British 40mm anti-tank gun from the Second World War. Its first prototypes were built in the mid-1930s, and serial production continued in the period 1936-1940. In total, about 12,000 copies of this weapon were produced. The initial velocity of the anti-tank missile oscillated around 800 m / s, and the rate of fire was up to 22 rounds per minute, with a maximum range of 1000 meters.
Originally, the Ordnance QF 2-pounder was designed as a light infantry support cannon, but due to its relatively large weight and constructional conditions that made it difficult to navigate without a motor vehicle, it was transformed into an anti-tank gun. It worked very well in its new role and at the beginning of World War II it was considered one of the best weapons of this type in the world. It was also installed - after appropriate modernization - in Tetrarch, Valentine, Matilda Mk. II and the first models of Churchill cars. The towed version was particularly heavily used by British troops during the fighting in France in the summer of 1940 and in the campaign in North Africa in the period of 1940-1942. The Ordnance QF 2-pounder gun began to be decommissioned in 1942.
BESA is a British 7.92 mm machine gun from the interwar period and World War II. The weapon was developed in 1936 and entered production shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) plants were responsible for its development and production. In total, about 40,000 of these weapons of all versions were produced. The total weight of the unloaded rifle is 21 kilograms, and its length is 1.1 meters, with the barrel length being 0.74 meters. The maximum rate of fire was up to 750-850 rounds per minute, and the initial velocity of the bullet fired from this rifle was about 820 m / s. The rifle was fed with a cartridge belt of 225 rounds. The weapon on display is a British modification of the Czechoslovak ZB-53 machine gun manufactured by Zbrojovka Brno. The rifle, despite its drawbacks (for example, it was prone to jamming due to a dirty weapon), entered production and was produced throughout World War II. The rifle was mounted as a secondary weapon on many British armored vehicles, such as the Matilda II, Valentine and A-34 Comet tanks.