Vol. VII No. 2

Weapons of Valour: A Review of the Small Arms & Light Weapons Identified in Victoria Cross Citations of the Second World War

Richard Fisher

Abstract

During the Second World War, the Victoria Cross—the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemies of the British Empire—was awarded 182 times to 181 recipients. In many of these cases, the accompanying citation describes a recipient engaged in armed combat. This article reviews those citations and, where possible, specifies the small arms and light weapons used in each case, with the aim of presenting data to inform future research.

Issue: Vol. VII No. 2
Published: 30 Nov 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52357/armax34339
Peer-reviewed?: Yes

Keywords: Second World War, British Empire, gallantry, small arms

Bibliographic Information

Richard Fisher, ‘Weapons of Valour: A Review of the Small Arms & Light Weapons Identified in Victoria Cross Citations of the Second World War’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. VII № 2 (2021), pp. 95–108, <https://doi.org/10.52357/armax34339>.

About the Author

Richard Fisher is a Research Fellow in the Cranfield Defence and Security Centre for Systems and Technology Management at Cranfield University, where he delivers education to members of the UK’s Ministry of Defence and the wider defence industry. Mr. Fisher is also the Founder and Director of the Vickers MG Collection & Research Association, a not-for-profit organisation based in the UK that researches all aspects of military history relating to the Vickers machine gun. As well as papers and material specific to the Vickers and machine gunnery, he has authored the History of the Small Arms School Corps 1853–2017 and is a Trustee of the Small Arms School Corps, Infantry Weapons Collection Trust.