Infantry weapons are likely the first things that people think of when they think of WW2 weapons. Maybe your grandpa carried a M1 Garand. Maybe he carried a K98 or Carcano but you don’t like to tell anyone.
Out of all the weapons used in war, small arms are one of the types that many civilians are able to enjoy in their spare time.
So here is our compiled list of normalized prices, In US dollars, as converted by available GDP cost metrics. Please note that slave labor was HEAVILY utilized by nations during WW2. Thus the cost of some nation’s arms is lower than it cost say England or the United States to build.
Handguns
M1911 .45 – $15
SMGs
MP40 – $24 (1942 Cost)
Thompson SMG
$209 (In 1939)
$70 (in 1942)
$45 (In 1945)
M3 “Grease Gun”
1942 – $22
1945 – $15
Mk II Sten
1942 – $11
Rifles
Mauser 98k
$28 (Pre-War price)
MP44 sturmgewehr
$26 (1944 cost)
M1 Garand rifle
$83 – 1942
$31 – 1945
$45 – 1942
Machine Guns
M2 “Ma-Duce” .50 BMG
$1560 1945
M1919A4 Machine Gun
$579 – 1945
M1918A2 BAR
$319 – 1945
MG 42
$100 – (1944 cost)
The lafette tripod costs an additional $160.
Explosives & Other
Mk 2 Hand grenade
$1 – 1942
Bazooka
$19 – 1942
8cm Granatwerfer 34 8cm mortar
$324 – 1939
12cm Granatwerfer 42 12cm mortar
$480 – 1939
Next: The Cost of WW2 Vehicles
Sources :
Skennerton’s British Small Arms Of Word War 2
“German Antitank Weapons” from Intelligence Bulletin, November 1944