History Main / ImproperlyPlacedFirearms

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' has some of the GRU soldiers be armed with an [=M37=] shotgun. While this makes sense, as the KS-23 shotgun (their Russian equivalent) isn't introduced until the 70's, Snake finds their usage of an American shotgun strange which Sigint justifies it, by revealing that, alongside the [=XM16E1=] assault rifle, is bought into the Soviet Union for study and research purposes. Sigint further reveals that they are attempting to emulate the SAS' jungle operation tactic, where they used shotguns in the case for close encounters.

** Even the mobile suits' non-beam-firing weapons aren't immune to this. In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]'', for instance, the updated Zaku machine gun is essentially the barrel, scope, side-folding grip and magazine from the original machine gun bolted onto the receiver of an upscaled AR-15; a technical drawing of it even shows the charging handle repurposed as a magazine release. CG cutscenes in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game ''Zeonic Front'', meanwhile, show GM Snipers with beam sniper rifles that are straight-up [[https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/File:Rgm79g_p01a.jpg modeled after the PSG1]] rather than [[https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/File:Rgm-79g-sniper-beamrifle.jpg the more blocky rifles]] they have in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam The 08th MS Team]]''.

** The Genome soldiers from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' are issued with FAMAS assault rifles despite no US Special Forces ever adopting it. This and the presence of the SOCOM pistol are because, due to their blocky designs, they were much easier than most other guns to recognizably render on an engine developed for the UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer and later moved to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. Even with ''Twin Snakes'' (a [=GameCube=] remake of the first ''Solid'' title), the Genome soldiers' use of FAMAS is still retained.

** No such excuse, however, is given for UsefulNotes/{{the sixth generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}} version of ''VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent'', which gives Jamie Washington and Carson Moss Type 89-F assault rifles in the New York level, despite the fact that the Type 89 is an indigenous Japanese assault rifle that was never exported, and are only even here because they're [[PropRecycling reused]] from ''Chaos Theory'' (which correctly only gave them out to JGSDF soldiers in the Kokubo Sosho level).

* The box art for ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' depicts Nazis using M16s, that [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns fire while falling through air]], no less. The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] port's box has an undefined character (presumably the hero) carrying not only another M16, but also what appears to be an IMI Uzi and a Beretta 92 (alongside his clothing overall having more of a [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam-era]] look than a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII one). Meanwhile, the UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar port tries to "upscale" the look of the basic in-game pistol by [[PropRecycling taking the Beretta 92-esque sprite]] from ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and chopping several columns of pixels off the sides of the barrel to make it look like a WWII German pistol, and the box art for the original version's ''Spear of Destiny'' expansion features the hero smashing open the glass case of said spear with a post-war Kalashnikov.

* In the various version of ''Anime/CuteyHoney'', Panther Claw goons wield [[CoolGuns Luger P.08]] and Nambu Type 14 pistols. While the Luger may be justifiable, as while the main production run ended in 1942 a few smaller production runs were made until 1986 (and total production was a few million) and the ammo abounds, the Nambu ended production in 1945 (and was always scarcer than the Luger, at less than half a million produced) and the ammunition is extremely difficult to find.

* Most of the guns in the ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' franchise are based on real-world weapons, some of which are outdated today (even though the series takes place circa 2030 A.D.) and are frequently rare. The [[CoolGuns FN P90]] seems to be particularly popular with the creators, as half the guns in the franchise are at least partially based on it.

** Enemies early in ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'' are armed with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Individual_Combat_Weapon AICW]], a prototype weapon system that was essentially to the Australian version of the AUG as the XM29 OICW was to the American M16. Unlike most other occurrences of this trope, however, this is actually a plot point, as after Sam overhears a guard test-firing his weapon (noting that he [[GoodGunsBadGuns thinks Kalashnikov when he thinks of guerrillas]], and has had enough of those fired at him over his life to know that what he heard was not one) he is given optional objectives for this and the second mission to find and tag weapon crates to find out where exactly small-time Peruvian guerrillas are getting such advanced hardware from.

** UNIT, an elite military formation, is armed with bolt-action Lee-Enfield rifles which had been declared obselete in British service nearly twenty years beforehand; they also had [=WW2=]-era Vickers and Bren machine-guns.[[note]]Brens are still in service, just about. But the Vickers dates back to before WWI[[/note]]

* Mal's signature pistol in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' is based off a US Civil War-era Volcanic repeater for the Western feel. From it's on-screen performance it's much more accurate and powerful and its use is accompanied by a hissing/whirring noise showing there's evidently something more high tech in there. The prop itself is a shell built over a contemporary Taurus Model 85. Jayne's handgun is a modified replica American Civil War-era [=LeMat=], an American-designed, French-built revolver that included a shotgun barrel.
** Jane's beloved [[ICallItVera Vera]] is a similarly old weapon, a heavily modified Saiga-12 shotgun originally built for the film ''Film/{{Showtime}}''. Despite this it's ostensibly a rifle in the show, and like the ''Cowboy Bebop'' notation above it needs oxygen to fire.

* ''VideoGame/Metro2033'''s unspecified type of a [[HandCannon .44 Magnum]] revolver, to the point of becoming almost a RunningGag on the series' wiki. Not only is the type of bullet it uses only widespread in America, but revolvers nowadays aren't that widespread outside of the US. There hasn't been a .44 round manufactured in Russia for decades, and ''Metro 2033'' is set in [[AfterTheEnd the ravaged remains of Moscow]] in an alternate near future. The flavor text for it in ''VideoGame/MetroExodus'' explains that regular pistol calibers were no match for the mutants that started appearing after the bombs fell, so the survivors were forced to upscale their sidearms; the .44 caliber just so happened to deliver the proper stopping power in the most compact package possible.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', FBI agents at the 5th wanted level strangely carry AK-47s, an odd weapon for American law enforcement to carry. In the other [=GTA3=]-era games, they carry the [=MP5=], a more plausible weapon and one which acts in the game as a more logical "mid-power" weapon between the Uzi carried by the level-four SWAT teams and the M16s carried by the army at six stars, while the AK is only carried by criminals after [=GTA3=]. However, in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' the same sort of issue crops up: the soldiers in and around Fort Zancudo carry the AK-looking Assault Rifle instead of the more appropriate AR-15 looking Carbine Rifle, possibly because they're just happen to be equipped with a surplus Opfor training equipment.
* Although ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'', with a 22nd century protagonist, has a fully-automatic rocket launcher (still a dream) and a quad-barreled laser weapon (ditto), it also features [[RuleOfCool archaic weaponry]], including [[BottomlessMagazines unlimited-reload]] Schofield revolvers, a manual-loading snap-open double-barreled shotgun, an unashamedly labeled Tommy Gun (albeit one sized up to take 5.56mm rounds) and a man-portable ''[[{{BFG}} cannon]]'' (of the cannonball variety). All of which is hilariously out-of-place in places such as ancient Egypt and Babylon... [[ArtisticLicense But for]] [[RuleOfCool very]] [[RuleOfFunny good]] [[RuleOfFun reasons]].
* In ''Hidden & Dangerous 2'' and its expansion pack, you face Italian soldiers that wield German firearms and tanks. The Japanese feature about the same amount, but in their case the developers took the time to model appropriate weapons. There are also some Italian-model aircraft on the field, yet the pilots seen wear Luftwaffe uniforms.
* The box art for ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' depicts Nazis using M16s, that [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns fire while falling through air]], no less. The [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] port's box has an undefined character (presumably the hero) carrying not only another M16, but also what appears to be an IMI Uzi and a Beretta 92 (alongside his clothing overall having more of a [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam-era]] look than a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII one). Meanwhile, the UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar port tries to "upscale" the look of the basic in-game pistol by [[PropRecycling taking the Beretta 92-esque sprite]] from ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and chopping several columns of pixels off the sides of the barrel to make it look like a WWII German pistol, and the box art for the original version's ''Spear of Destiny'' expansion features the hero smashing open the glass case of said spear with a post-war Kalashnikov.
* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' has the female Nazi EliteMooks all wielding ''British'' Sten guns. Whether this is acceptable is up for debate, since the Germans [[RealityIsUnrealistic did make their own copies of the Sten near the end of the war]], but the majority of them were visibly different from the original and meant for the Volkssturm, a militia force that was about as far from "elite" as possible, made up of people who hadn't already been in the regular army hastily equipped as a desperate attempt to hold off the Soviets in the final days of the European theatre of the war.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor''
** The first levels of both ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard'' and ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne Airborne]]'', respectively "Off Target" and "Infinite Mischief", start off with the player fighting Italian blackshirts, who are equipped with Karabiner 98Ks and [=MP40s=] instead of the more historically accurate Carcano rifles and Beretta Model 38 submachine guns. ''Airborne'' also has an odd [[InvertedTrope inversion]], as while the holster for the folding-stock [=M1A1=] paratrooper carbine is present on the models for the men of the 82nd Airborne, the weapon itself is not actually available in the game at all, and the 82nd are instead forced to settle for the ill-suited-for-paratroopers Garand and BAR as their primary long arms.
** Downplayed in ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault'', where US Marines on Guadalcanal are using M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, and M1919 Browning Machine guns. While these were already in widespread use at the time, these weapons were given mostly to US Army units, with the Marines having to rely on older weapons like Springfields or M1917 Browning machine guns. Though, it's implied the Marines here received surplus stocks from the Army, or simply stole the weapons from them, as was common during the Guadalcanal campaign.
* Funny enough, ''VideoGame/MafiaII'', whose prologue starts in Sicily, and quite possibly is a ShoutOut to ''Airborne'', also has Italian Blackshirts armed with German weapons.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series has been subject to this trope ever since its first installment. Examples:
** The American and Russian Sniper and Engineer classes used British Lee-Enfield No. 3 rifles instead of Springfield M1903s or Mosin-Nagant rifles. A later patch replaced the USMC Engineer's No. 3 with the M1 Garand, but the US Army Engineer as well as the Sniper for both factions still use the Lee-Enfield.
** The Russian and British Assault class originally used the Browning Automatic Rifle. A later patch replaced the Russian BAR with the DP-28, and the SAS Assault in the Secret Weapons of WWII expansion got the Bren.
** The Assault classes in general, save for the Germans and their [=StG 44=], all use machine guns which are treated as generic assault rifles - not only usable but even viable for operation by a single person, issued far more extensively than in reality, and [[ArbitraryGunPower pathetically weak]] compared to much smaller and logically weaker weapons. The bolt-action and semi-auto rifles that were actual standard-issue are only used by the aforementioned Sniper and Engineer classes.
** The Russian Medic uses an MP-18, as opposed to the PPSH-41. This might be for balance reasons, as the PPSH's [[MoreDakka 71-round drum]] would have likely made the weapon a GameBreaker (and the devs presumably overlooked that it could also use 35-round mags).
** Most of the Japanese classes in general all use German weapons, while the Engineer uses the experimental and never issued Type 5 Rifle. The Assault class originally used the [=StG 44=], though like the above, a patch eventually replaced it with the Type 99.
** The Russian army in ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' uses two Russian assault rifles and a handgun alongside ''Chinese'' machine guns and sniper rifles and a ''Swedish'' RPG. What's even weirder is that the game features a wide assortment of much more sensible modern Russian firearms[[note]]though still preferring rare guns over actual standard-issue hardware - the standard AK-74 or AK-74M is completely ignored in favor of the prototype AEK-971, the special forces-only AN-94, and the less-issued but [[SmallReferencePools far more well-known]] AKS-74U carbine[[/note]], but the majority of them are only usable in multiplayer.
** In general, starting with ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'', players can choose from a wide assortment of weapons... such as weapons that were never used by the playable factions (such as the F2000, the [=KH2002=], the FAMAS Surbaissé, and the USAS-12), weapons that were only designed for civilian use (like the Cobray Street Sweeper, the Barrett Model 98B, and a .44 Magnum revolver), and even weapons that ''never left the prototype stage'' (the MP-412 REX, Magpul PDR, and Pancor Jackhammer).
*** ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldHardline Hardline]]'' is even worse with its experimental, military grade hardware in the hands of domestic law enforcement and {{gangbangers}} from the poorest areas of Los Angeles and Miami.
*** ''VideoGame/Battlefield1'' took a lot of criticism in this fashion due to the prevalence of automatic, prototype and non-mass produced firearms instead of the common bolt-action rifles, pistols, shotguns and melee weapons the various nations used in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. This is averted in the game mode "Back to Basics" in which the all classes are equipped with only the unscoped bolt-action rifles used by their respective nations (e.g. the British can only use the SMLE and the Germans can only use the Gewehr 98).
*** ''Battlefield 1'' also has plenty of weapons in the game that were either exceedingly rare but did see limited frontline service (such as the [=M1918=] Browning Automatic Rifle and Selbstlader 1916), mass produced but never saw combat (such as the Huot Automatic Rifle) and weapons that never got past the prototype stage and never saw mass production (such as the Selbstlader 1906, Hellriegel 1915 and Mars Automatic Pistol).
* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' has the "SCAR" as the default US assault rifle, except the game was produced before the SCAR trials were finished and the rifle shown in-game has elements of both Heckler & Koch's [=XM8=] and Fabrique Nationale's proto-SCAR from the time.
* While all the other guns in the original ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' (set around 2293) are futuristic enough, the game's sniper rifle is merely a long-barreled, early model M16 with a scope attached to the carry handle, a rather out-of-place ShoutOut to ''Manga/{{Golgo 13}}''. Lampshaded in the old official site's timeline of the series, where the in-universe explanation for replacing it with the LightningGun in ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2003'' was that it was "a relic of centuries past".
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', set in the mid-26th century, still fluffs most of the UNSC's weapons as using cartridges originating from the 20th century. Though canon has occasionally implied that these aren't ''quite'' the same as the 20th century originals, the only apparent advancement in ammunition we see in the original trilogy is a caseless weapon (the SMG from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' and on) that's actually viable in sustained combat. The series also [[BiggerIsBetter tends to favor larger calibers]] than real-world militaries would use for the same purposes no matter how overpowered such a round would be, which already reaches the apex of silliness in [[VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved the first game]] - the pistol is firing what is essentially [[HandCannon .50 Action Express]], yet while the SuperSoldier Master Chief properly uses both hands to fire it, ''none'' of your allies seen using it (and none of whom are augmented in any way, mind) have any issues [[FiringOneHanded one-handing the thing]] without the gun smacking into their faces after every shot. There's also the sniper rifle, which at first glance appears to be a barely-modified Denel NTW-14.5.
* ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune II'':
** The Grease Gun serves as the main weapon... of the Soviet military stationed in Prague. ''In 1989.''
** In the same game, literally ''everyone'' uses the .45 ACP Colt 1911 as sidearm. Forget Beretta, Makarov, Norinco, or any other brand or caliber that would be more plausible for non-American folks to carry; heck, the only 9mm weapons in the entire game are the Micro-Uzi and the [=MP5SD=].
** To a very slightly less absurd extent, all AK-74 assault rifles you find have been modified to chamber 5.56mm NATO. While it makes some sense for the Shop's armory to have theirs modded as such for logistics' sake, it's not nearly as plausible for terrorist cells to do the same considering how much easier the -74's original 5.45mm ammo is to come by in the areas of the world the game takes place in. Even in the case of the Shop, getting their hands on [=AKs=] for clandestine operations in areas where it and its original ammo are common, and then modifying it to take Western ammo anyway, would defeat most of the purpose of bothering with them.

* Invoked and exaggerated in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission''. One of the weapons that Axl, a robot in the year 22XX, can equip is a flintlock pistol. Referred to as an "Ancient Gun", it's also his strongest single-hit weapon in the game and always scores a CriticalHit on bosses. It's also guarded by the strongest {{Superboss}} in the game.
* The armored vehicle variant shows up in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn'', with its TwentyMinutesInTheFuture setting. Many contemporaneous US military vehicles such as the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Light_tank_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M2 Bradley]] (here called a "light tank", [[TanksButNoTanks which it isn't]]), the [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Artillery_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 M110 Howitzer]], and [[http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Apache_%28Tiberian_Dawn%29 AH-64 Apache]] are featured, the only problem being that many of them (including the above three) were ''Nod'' units. Sure, the United States hasn't been above supplying... [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters let's call them "partisans"]], in the past, but it doesn't usually ship them current-model military vehicles at the same time as it funds the UN force opposing them. This gets even worse in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', where Nod now has the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Sikorsky_RAH-66_Comanche RAH-66 Comanche]] stealth helicopter'', a design that was hyped for a number of years (and also ended up semi-properly showing up in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' as a US-only helicopter) but ultimately was not adopted and only had two prototypes. On the other hand, intentionally or not it could be a demonstration of how technology ended up going in different ways from reality thanks to the economic repercussions of Tiberium's arrival - cutscenes, for instance, indicate that the YF-23, another aircraft that only had two prototypes in reality, is GDI's standard jet fighter, while the YF-22, the winning competitor in the Advanced Tactical Fighter program that was developed into the F-22 Raptor, is used by Nod in those cutscenes, or that Nod uses the AH-64 because GDI has upgraded to the completely fictional Orca VTOL. This is actually explained in [[AllThereInTheManual the manual]], which implies Nod got its equipment directly from the source with reference to a scandal involving US defense contractors.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' is rather strange in this regard. Taking place in an alternate timeline supposedly equivalent to the real 1960's, most of the firearms seen are fictional, but the few identifiable ones seem like very odd choices in the context of the series. The standard Britannian pistol appears to be a slightly modified Heckler & Koch [=USP45=] or Mark 23 pistol, while the service rifle looks like some kind of cross between a FAMAS and an FN P90. Considering that, in-universe, the EU and Britannia are mortal enemies, it makes very little sense for Britannian troops to be using German, French, and Belgian arms.

* Most of the guns in the ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' franchise are based on real-world weapons, some of which are outdated today (even though the series takes place circa 2030 A.D.) and are frequently rare. The [[CoolGuns FN P90]] seems to be particularly popular with the creators, as half the guns in the franchise are at least partially based on it.
* ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' gives Mirielle a modern Walther P99, which averts this. This trope is played straight with Kirika's Beretta Md. 1934. Instead of giving her the more widely available Walther PPK (which uses the same cartridge and is almost exactly the same size), the production staff deliberately gave her an out-of-production World War 2 vintage pistol because they didn't want to give her "the James Bond gun".

* In the various version of ''Anime/CuteyHoney'', Panther Claw goons wield [[CoolGuns Luger P.08]] and Nambu Type 14 pistols. While the Luger may be justifiable, as while the main production run ended in 1942 a few smaller production runs were made until 1986 (and total production was a few million) and the ammo abounds, the Nambu ended production in 1945 (and was always scarcer than the Luger, at less than half a million produced) and the ammunition is extremely difficult to find.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' had a scene with Soviet border guards armed with Steyr [=AUG=]s.
** Odd example in ''Film/GoldenEye'', this is one of the movies where real AK-74s are shown alongside fake ones (both modified [=AKMs=] or Type 56s as well as rubber props). Bond himself did get a hold of a real AKS-74U. Oddly, Xenia and Trevelyan are seen with fake ones in some scenes. Likely they didn't have enough of real AK-74s as the movie demanded.
* The movie ''Film/PitchBlack'' featured a shortened Armscor [=M30R6=] 12ga. shotgun dressed up a little to look futuristic. It either shot slugs or was treated as an energy weapon.

* In ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' movies, you will notice many. Since part of ''Film/RamboIII'' was filmed in Israel, the production had access to genuine Soviet hardware captured during the wars with the Soviet-backed neighbours while it was there.
** Russian helicopters fitted with western weapons (such as the FN MAG machine guns) and even western helicopters with attachments to make them look like Russian choppers (and made them extremely difficult to fly).
** ZSU-23 Shilka replica made using an M113 chassis in ''Rambo 3''.
** [=AKMs=], [=AKMSUs=], or Chinese AK replicas modified (such as adding the muzzle brake) to look like AK-74s and AKS-74s since Hollywood did not have access to those weapons at those times. [[TheDragon Sgt. Kourov]] in the third film uses one of these dressed-up [=AKMs=] mounted with a US-made M203 grenade launcher, instead of a Russian made grenade launcher for the same reasons above. Because the two weapons weren't made for each other, the actors were forced to [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/8/84/Rambo3-AKM2034A.jpg sort-of grip the magazine in an incredibly awkward fashion]] to fire the launcher.
** A fake SVD made from a Valmet with an SVD-style stock in the second movie. The SVD is quite rare in the United States even now, and at the time its look-alike, the Romanian PSL, hadn't been imported either.
* In the sci-fi movie ''Film/EnemyMine'' the human pilot is armed with a stainless steel Walther PPK. That somehow shoots {{Slow Laser}}s.
* ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''
** The main weapon of the German soldiers is the MP 40, despite the movie taking place in 1936. The MP 40 was the MP 38 slightly redesigned to be cheaper to manufacture and a little safer to carry, and the two are visually nearly identical, but still falls 2 years too short (there ''was'' a little-known prototype version of the MP 38, the MP 36, which bore a superficial resemblance to the later weapon but it had a wooden body, a slightly tilted magazine housing and was produced in very small numbers). Of course, as the Germans were collecting paranormal technology, they obviously must have acquired a short duration time-machine.
** Some German officers are armed with Walther P38 pistols, which would not be produced until 1938; only hammerless prototypes of the gun existed in '36, which probably wouldn't be in the hands of regular soldiers.
** Something more jarring: Near the finale, Indiana Jones threatens the bad guys by aiming at them with a rocket launcher. Ignoring the fact that such weapons didn't even exist at the time (they only came about during the war as a more powerful upgrade from the anti-tank rifles used at the time), said weapon is actually a post-war RPG-2 with several cosmetic addons.
** Another, smaller goof is that Indy is at one point seen with an Inglis Hi-Power, a Canadian variation of Browning's design that didn't begin production until 1944. Even having the original FN Hi-Power, like he does in the bar shootout,[[note]]Indy was originally envisioned as having the Colt 1911 for at least this scene, but as above, since 9mm blanks were more reliable they went with the Hi-Power instead[[/note]] would have been a stretch, since it would have only been in production for a year at best at the time of the film. Moreover, the initial sales were almost all for military contracts ''and'' FN had an agreement with Colt at the time to not sell its guns in the United States. So Indy would've needed to meet up with an FN sales agent in Europe and special-order the pistol.
* Justified in ''Film/{{Lifepod}}'' (the sci-fi remake of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/{{Lifeboat}}'') where one character is carrying a 20th century revolver because it will get through spaceport detectors that are looking for contemporary energy weapons.

* ''[[Literature/TheDestroyer Remo Williams]]'' had the hero being tracked as he ran through the woods by what was actually the High Power Illuminator Radar. It is the distinctive 'Mickey Mouse ears' system. This is a radar meant to 'spotlight' a target for the MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile.
* The film ''Film/{{Zulu}}'' had a few examples:
** While the production crew acquired plenty of period accurate Martini-Henry rifles, the production used up all of the available blank ''cartridges'' for its obsolete caliber. Thus, some extras wound up with anachronistic Lee-Enfield Mk I bolt-action rifles with the telltale magazine removed instead.
** Also, officers used Webley Mk VI revolvers in lieu of period-accurate (but difficult to procure) Beaumont-Adams revolvers.

* In the film ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'', most of the American paratroopers (including their Colonel, played by Elliot Gould) are seen carrying the M1 carbine, rather than the modified [=M1A1=] carbine (a smaller, easier to carry weapon with a folding wire-stock) that was specifically designed for and issued to American paratroopers. Many of the M1 carbines are also seen with the post-war modifications of a bayonet lug and/or adjustable ramp rear sight, because the number of real M1 Carbines that escaped having these modifications made to them after the war were few and far between. The sergeant played by Creator/JamesCaan carries a carbine with both of these anachronistic modifications.
* In ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', Kaffee notes that Lt. Colonel Markinson committed suicide with a .45, yet the scene depicting his death clearly shows him shooting himself with a Beretta; likely a combination of the props department doing their research and getting the proper M9 the USMC used as their sidearm at the time, only for the writers to [[TheArtifact not update relevant dialogue from the original stage production]], which was written when the USMC as a whole still used the M1911.
* Averted in ''Film/BuffaloSoldiers'' in a nicely self-referential way. The plot revolves around how relatively easy it was to sell off large amounts of weapons stolen from US army bases in Germany. After the Cold War ended and US troops returned home, vast amounts of materiel were left behind. One member of the film crew owned 100 of the appropriate guns to lend the production. Where one character is given a particularly heavy gun to carry on exercises as a punishment, there was some difficulty in sourcing this gun.
* ''Film/TheHurtLocker'' has several scenes with U.S. soldiers wielding original-model Beretta 92 pistols, the precursor to the 92F and FS which was used by the U.S. military under the "M9" designation. The DVD commentary reveals that the blank-adapted 92FS prop they intended to use was delayed in customs, and the writer Mark Boal had to go hunting for a replacement locally. He eventually found a Jordanian General who gave the production team an old 92 to use until their own prop could clear customs. Fortunately the two pistols were similar enough to fool most moviegoers.
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has the British agent Peggy Carter, whose weapon is a Walther PPK handgun. The movie is set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when the most famous users of this gun were the German police and the Nazi Party officials. This can be somewhat justified by two facts:
## The Walther PP (Polizei Pistole) was introduced in 1929, the PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminal, i.e. "Detective's Pistol") followed it in 1931. Both were available commercially before the war, in both the UK and USA.
## When the war started, one of the first things the British SOE and American OSS did was acquire as many German and European-made handguns, rifles, etc., as they could lay their hands on, with special emphasis on anything that was military- or police-issue in occupied territory. The reason being that arming their agents with the other guy's weapons made it easier for their agents to acquire ammunition, etc., and harder for the enemy to trace back to their agents if the gun needed to be used and then disposed of.
* ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' features the Germans manufacturing or using several firearm models that are anachronistic for the film's early 1890s setting. Chief among them is the classic Mauser C96 pistol, which (while not referred to by name on-screen) wouldn't have been manufactured for at least a few years later (production stared in 1896). It is also incorrectly referred to as capable of fully automatic fire, while the real thing was only semi-automatic (in fact, one of the very first semi-automatic pistols). It would only receive full-auto variants during the interwar period (1927 at the earliest). Also, several of the artillery pieces seen in the film (especially the German mortar) would only come into existence a few years prior to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, at least more than a decade after the events of the film. [[ZigZaggingTrope However]], the uniforms and Gewehr 88 rifles used by the German guards and soldiers are period accurate. A non-weapon goof that fits this trope is that the "German" steam locomotives in the film [[JustTrainWrong are actually of British manufacture]] and [[AnachronismStew wouldn't have been around for another few decades]].
* Most of the guns used by the USDF in ''Film/AlienOutpost'' are dressed up South African Galil copies, which is all well and good. What's odd is one soldier using an [=XM177=], a weapon that went out of production in the '70s, and the German soldier pulling out a Luger P08 (which was already on the way out during World War II).
* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'' has a handful of guns that don't quite fit its Civil War timeframe. Blondie uses a Winchester 1866 "Yellow Boy" rifle (slightly modified to make it resemble a Henry rifle) and Tuco finds both an 1868 Garland revolver and an 1889 Bodeo when he's robbing the gun store. It's a common misconception that Blondie's revolver, an 1851 Colt Navy converted to fire cartridges, is an anachronism, but such conversions were available as early as 1858.

* During the ColdOpen of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' fodder ''Film/AgentForHARM'', a Soviet border guard chases Stefanik with an M16 assault rifle. Not only is it a distinctly ''American'' firearm, but at the time the film was made, it had only been in military service for a year at most, making its appearance in the film even more implausible. This was apparently a very odd form of ProductPlacement, as Colt is specifically thanked in the credits for supplying weapons for the film.
* In ''Film/ElAlameinTheLineOfFire'', Italian soldiers are seen using the original Carcano Modello 91 (already phased out before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) and German weapons, such as the Karabiner 98k rifle and the Granatwerfer 34 mortar. {{Justified}} by the ''horrible'' logistic situation of the Italians in North Africa: a few of the old 91s are alongside the standard issue 91/38 because simply there weren't enough of the latter (notably, Serra first arrives from Italy with the original model but is later seen with the 91/38) and they used the same ammunition, while the latter were simply "liberated" from their German allies, if not directly supplied by them (it helped that the mortar used the same ammunition as the Italian one).
* ''Film/TheGrandDuel'' takes place during the WildWest sometime after 1870. However it features a German [=MG42=] machine gun. The [=MG42=] was put into service by the German army in 1942 during WWII.
* ''Film/TheLifeAndTimesOfJudgeRoyBean,'' another Western-set film, has a lawman using a Thompson submachine gun in the final shootout.

* In most episodes of ''Rat Patrol'', doctored up M3 Halftracks and M7 Priests (likely the same ones used on ''Hogan's Heroes'') stood in for their Afrikakorps counterparts.

** The Genome soldiers from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' are issued with FAMAS assault rifles despite no US Special Forces ever adopting such rifle. This is because the FAMAS rifle alongside the SOCOM pistol, due to their blocky designs, were much easier to render on an engine developed for the UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer and later moved to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. Even with ''Twin Snakes'' (a [=GameCube=] remake of the first ''Solid'' title), the Genome soldiers' use of FAMAS is still retained.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has the enemies (Russian mercenaries) carry AN-94 assault rifles as their main weapon. While chronologically correct (the game is set in 2009, the rifle came out in 1993), the AN-94 is almost never used in real-life due to a very high cost, low reliability and ergonomics issues; the only users of the rifle are selected counter-terrorism Russian units. Made even weirder by the fact that some enemies use the still uncommon but way easier to obtain AKS-74U, but for some reason ''they're'' the ones in more specific, smaller roles (defense of the cores of the Big Shell). Less impossible but no less strange, if you alert the guards and then hide, the clearing teams they send to find you are armed with the SPAS-12, a weapon of which only 37,000 were made.

* British infantry units realized there was no comparison between their Bren guns and the standard German squad [=MGs=] ([=MG34=] and [=MG42=]) when it came to laying down sheer volume of fire (the Bren remained unparalleled for delivering short bursts of extremely accurate MG fire, but sometimes you need more than a thirty-round magazine). As often as not captured German [=MGs=] would be pressed into service - but at the risk of their distinctive sound bringing down the wrong sort of attention from friendly forces mistaking the users for Germans. The Armored Corps in particular would often used the Besa machine gun, in 8mm Mauser, on models of tanks designed in Britain (American tanks such as the Sherman retained their Browning machine guns) because of the difficulty in chambering it in .303 and because their supply chain was separate from the main Army's, thus not causing many issues by the use of non-standard equipment. It also allowed them to use captured German ammunition.

* Invoked and exaggerated in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission''. One of the weapons that Axl, a robot in the year 22XX, can equip is a flintlock pistol. Referred to as an "Ancient Gun", it's also his strongest single-hit weapon in the game and always scores a CriticalHit on bosses. It's also guarded by the strongest BonusBoss in the game.

** The mistakes are not only limited to the Axis forces either. M3 Grease Guns are seen in widespread use by both the US forces in Normandy landings as well as British SOE operatives & French resistance fighters in "S.O.E", in place of the more appropriate Thompson and Sten respectively (the former is available in the base game while the latter was only added later as multiplayer DLC).

* ComicBook/TexWiller, who operates in the Far West, once used a Mauser Gewehr 71 rifle to snipe rogue Indians from beyond the range of their Winchesters. [[JustifiedTrope There's actually a good explanation for this]]: Tex was defending a mail wagon that was carrying a Mauser salesman who had come to America to try and get commissions from non-army customers, and brought the rifle, the scope and ammunition for demonstrative purposes.