Line #36 Main/SelectiveHistoricalArmoury


1	Military fiction set in the past, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in particular, will often inexplicably leave out weapons that should be very common, often in favour of [[RuleOfCool "cooler"]] but rarer or even anachronistic items. In films, this can be explained by availability of props, but video games have little excuse other than the developers cutting corners, especially if they took the time to model other weapons that have little in-game use, like pistols.
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3	In these cases, it is weapons that ''should'' be abundant in the setting that are conspicuous by their absence. Compare with AnachronismStew, VideogameHistoricalRevisionism, ImproperlyPlacedFirearms and WeaponsKitchenSink.
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6	!!Examples:
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10	[[folder:General ]]
11	* Works featuring Ancient Greek militaries tend to outfit the Greeks in the full bronze hoplitic armor of the Greco-Persian Wars era (circa 498 to 449 BC). In truth, not only did Greek weapons evolve with time and only a relatively small part of Greek fighters were hoplites, most hoplites didn't wear the bronze cuirass (either wearing the tube-and-yoke thorax[[note]]This is a recent name for an apparently organic armor that appears frequently in ancient Greek art. Historians have previously called it a ''linothorax'' and assumed it to have been made of linen, but that name is a neologism and conclusive proof of its material is lacking. We know that Greeks used both linen and leather armors--the latter was known as a ''spolas'' and thus some modern researchers refer to the tube-and-yoke thorax by that name--but we haven't yet definitively identified the tube-and-yoke seen in art as either linen or leather. It may have been made of either, depending on availability.[[/note]] or no cuirass at all), greaves, helmets or swords, partly due the weight and/or expense of all that equipment (in fact, in later periods the tube-and-yoke thorax seems to have replaced the bronze one altogether), and partly because most hoplites had to buy their own equipment and most could only afford the basics, that being the shield and spear and maybe a helmet, as in a phalanx formation the shield protected most of the body anyway and you could only use the spear (in fact the only hoplites who were regularly trained in swordfighting were Spartans, and that was because they rightly feared revolts from their slaves, who'd use guerilla tactics against which the phalanx was useless). Greeks are usually shown in the late Archaic/Classical Corinthian-type helmet, which almost totally covered the face and gave a pretty intimidating appearance, but many others were known as well.
12	** Especially egregious are works set during UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar or the mythological epoch preceding it, as the Achaians had an almost completely different culture and used completely different tactics (Achaian battles were preferentially long sequences of [[CombatByChampion one-on-one duels]] until one side gave up) and armor. ''Film/{{Troy}}'' is especially notable for throwing in ''Roman'' tactics (in the late Empire, Roman armies would preferentially set themselves behind a shield wall to pin down the enemy [[RainOfArrows while their archers did the actual killing]], as the Trojans do in the second battle scene), while ''ComicBook/AgeOfBronze'' is notable for [[ShownTheirWork showing everyone as historical research has revealed they were]].
13	* No matter the period, [[UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome Roman troops]] are almost invariably represented in the get-up from the early Imperial period, with maybe a leather or stripped-down version of their trademark segmented armor (known today as ''lorica segmentata''; it is speculated that its historical name was ''lorica laminata'') and Gallic or Italic-type helmets, and rarely show anything but the legionary heavy infantry. Generals, if not armored like the lower ranks, will wear Greek muscled cuirasses and Attic-type helmets--an artistic trope by the Imperial period, though no actual examples from then have yet been found. The real Roman army existed for over a thousand years (''two'' if one includes [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire the Eastern Roman Empire]]), during which their equipment varied from Italic versions of the hoplitic armory to almost indistinguishable from early Medieval armies, and made use of other special troops, which, depending on the period, could include heavy cavalry (that up until the losses in the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Second Punic War]] was actually considered the best in the known world), light cavalry, cataphracts (heavily armored shock cavalry), light infantry, archers, slingers, and various kinds of skirmishers.
14	* Many works set in the late Middle Ages (or in a fictional world very closely resembling it) omit guns entirely, despite them having been present on the battlefields alongside armored knights for centuries. There is also an over-reliance on swords, because sword fights look cool. In reality, almost everyone used polearms in battle, swords were (with very few exceptions) only used as backup weapons or rank insignias (prior to the proliferation of mercenaries late in the period, carrying a sword was usually limited to knights and nobles, who were the only people who had the money and time to afford swords and train to actually use them).
15	* In any military fiction set after 1960, generally only basic Soviet weapons like the AK-47 and RPG-7 and common American types like the M16 rifle, M60 machine gun and M72 rocket launcher will be seen. AK variants and derivatives are not so universally abundant as in real life, and extremely common rifles like the G3 and FN FAL are seldom seen.
16	* In post-USSR settings, modern Eastern bloc guns that ought to be widely available, such as the Bizon, AK-74, Pecheneg, and so on, seem to be widely absent. Instead, guns like the AKM ([[MisidentifiedWeapons which will always be called the AK-47]], which hasn't been produced in Russia since 1959) and the RPD (not produced since 1961) will still be shown.
17	** If the producers can be bothered to give the Post-Soviet Russians anything newer than the AKM, the AKS-74U (which is likely going to be called an "[[MisidentifiedWeapons AK-74u]]"), the AN-94 (a gun too complex for standard infantry and was often passed up by the special forces soldiers eligible to use them in favor of simpler weapons), and the AK-12 (always in the form of its 2012 prototype) are typically as far as they'll go.
18	* Many films, television shows and video games set just before or during WWII will have inappropriately placed weapons for the time frame they are being displayed in. Three common culprits are the German [=MP40=] and [=MG42=] and the American [=M1=] Garand rifle, which are frequently depicted in scenes set before they were widely deployed or even developed.
19	* Most works set during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar will feature the [=M16A1=], [=M1911A1=], M79 and M60, generally ignoring other common weapons, such as the Grease Gun and even the M14.
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22	[[folder:Film ]]
23	* The 2006 film ''Film/{{Flyboys}}'', set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, featured the Fokker Dr.I triplane exclusively as the fighter plane of the German air army when it was in fact not terribly common. More [[DrinkingGame/TVTropes egregiously]] nearly every one is painted bright red, when the only pilot to use an all-red scheme was Manfred von Richthofen (hence "The RedBaron"), and even partial red paintjobs were generally a trademark of Richthofen's ''[[BadassCrew Jasta 2.]]'' Also, several of the French and other Allied planes shown are anachronistic, because they were either non-existent or phased out during the events of that movie (it's supposed to be set in 1916). In short, there are lots of examples of JustPlaneWrong in the movie (even though it's relatively clear that the creators were going for a more RuleOfCool than realistic approach).
24	* In ''Film/PainAndGain'', a great many of the firearms displayed in the movie were produced much later than the year 1995, in which the film is set, sometimes by as much as a decade. The HowWeGotHere intro displays a rather amusing example, when a slow motion shot subtitled [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/9/99/PainGain_603.jpg "June 17th, 1995"]] shows Miami-Dade S.W.A.T jumping off of an armored car developed in 1999, using weapons and attachments not developed until the mid-2000s. The scene at the firearms store also displays several anachronistic firearms as well.
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27	[[folder:Literature ]]
28	* Subverted in Creator/HarryTurtledove's AlternateHistory novel ''Literature/TheGunsOfTheSouth'', where the Confederate army use AK-47s because [[GivingRadioToTheRomans they've been imported by time-travelling white supremacists]] who want the CSA to win the American Civil War, so slavery can continue.
29	** An almost identical plot appears in Creator/HarryHarrison's short story ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rebel_in_Time A Rebel in Time]]'', written nearly a decade earlier. The only major difference is the weapon being smuggled - a WWII British Sten - which would arguably be an even better choice, since due to its famous simplicity, it could easily be manufactured even with basic 19th century industry (pretty much at a village smithy).
30	* In Literature/EncryptionStraffe, the joint Italian-Yugoslav-Volksdeutsch resistance in late 1944 got their hands on at least one very rare OG-43 SMG, along with some better known but still rare StG-44s. The BigBad of their arc was even more ridiculous, his personal squad using silenced OG-43s.
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33	[[folder:WWII First Person Shooters ]]
34	* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944/early 1945, to the point where the Thompson would be discontinued immediately after the end of the war. Despite this, many games will either leave the M3 out because the designers feel it's too similar to the Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). It also looks fairly similar to the German [=MP40=], which might cause issues in multiplayer in some games. Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, even in the hands of Marines who in real life never acquired the the M3 until after the war. Even then, it will usually be the improved [=M3A1=] which, while designed towards the tail end of WWII, didn't actually see combat until Korea.
35	** Games that feature British player characters seldom offer them the Thompson either, despite it seeing quite a bit of service alongside the more common - [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns if persnickety]] - Sten.
36	** Some games set in the Pacific theatre give Japanese soldiers German weapons instead. Ditto for the Italians in games that actually bother to depict them.[[note]]This case has some basis in reality as Italian troops would sometime "borrow" weapons from their allies due their logistic troubles, but German weapons remained the vast minority in Italian hands[[/note]]
37	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
38	** [[VideoGame/CallOfDuty1 The first game]] has the FG 42 as a usable weapon, of which less than 7,000 were made, while the American Grease Gun, of which more than 700,000 were made, is conspicuously absent. Also, the only pistols available are the American M1911 and the German Luger, and the only mounted machine gun seen is the MG 42, even in scenarios where it makes little sense at best, like one being found in a US training camp in 1942.[[note]]Admittedly, it could be a captured example used to acclimate recruits to the MG 42's notoriously demoralizing sound when fired.[[/note]]
39	** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty2'': When coming up against German armored vehicles, you must either run up to them and attach a StickyBomb, or in some levels find a Panzershreck reusable rocket launcher (of which fewer than 300,000 were made) lying about. You and your British or American AI teammates will never have [=PIATs=] or [=M9=] "Bazookas" available, nor will the opposition ever have any disposable Panzerfaust rockets (more than 6 million made) lying about. Though the developers did not bother to model these weapons, they did make the effort to model several pistols - and then never give them to you except in rare circumstances (for instance, not counting the multiplayer, there is only ''one'' Webley revolver in the entire game). In the first ''Call of Duty'' the Panzerfaust was a common sight, but many complained that it was a single use weapon that forced them to go back and grab a new one entirely after every shot, especially since even back in that game any sort of anti-tank launcher was [[ATeamFiring hilariously inaccurate]] and would require multiple shots even when only one hit was necessary. On the other side, the M1 Carbine is far less common than it was in the first game (and [[MisidentifiedWeapons still identified as the M1A1]]), and while the M3 Grease Gun is actually included this time it can only be used in multiplayer. Like above, the only German machine gun seen is the MG 42, even though the earlier MG 34 was slightly more prolific, especially in mountings on vehicles. Amusingly, several of these omissions had already been corrected in the first game's expansion, ''United Offensive'', which included the Bazooka and eschewed the pre-placed MG 42s in favor of portable machine guns, including an MG 34, that players could mount where they wanted - but except for the non-American semi-auto rifles and handguns, none of them made the jump to ''Call of Duty 2''.
40	** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' includes the PTRS-41 rifle (presumably as a 'historic' equivalent of the Barrett M82 sniper rifle from ''VideoGame/{{Call of Duty 4\|ModernWarfare}}''), even though the PTRS-41 is a massive caliber ''anti-tank'' rifle not at all suitable for being carried around and fired from the hip, as it is in the game (it weighs somewhere around 40 pounds). The first ''Call of Duty'' used it properly as a stationary anti-tank rifle. However, they were far more useful than the real things, able to destroy a Panzer IV with a few shots to the front armor, whereas in reality even the PTRS's [[{{BFG}} high-velocity 14 millimeter bullets]] would just [[NoSell bounce off with minimal damage]].
41	*** In the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the Japanese mostly carried Arisaka bolt-action rifles; the Type 100, their only SMG, was rather rare, and production of both variants of it only amounted to about 24,000, versus circa 35,000,000 Arisakas. Not so in ''World at War'', in which seemingly every other Japanese soldier packs a Type 100. The amount of man-portable automatic weaponry in the game is overdone in general.
42	* ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'' completely ignored how its weapons were used in actual history. The assault class of each army gets a historical machine gun which functions in-game as an assault rifle, while the bolt-action rifles that were really the standard-issue weapons of most armies are restricted to the Engineer and Sniper. The worst offenders, though, are the stationary machine guns, which do not cause a whole lot of damage, and whoever uses them ''stands up straight, completely exposed to enemy fire''. Interestingly, the mod ''VideoGame/ForgottenHope'' added historical weapons, and the result was a game which was much more authentic and more fun to play.
43	** The Japanese in the game use German weapons like the Kar 98, MP-18, and Walther P38, as well as the experimental and never-issued Type 5 rifle; Russians use American and British weapons, but after a patch the former have their own DP-28 LMG as their main Assault weapon. Oddly, the Russians use the MP-18 instead of the extremely common [=PPSh-41=]. The British have Thompsons and [=BARs=] instead of Stens and Brens. Like above, the Grease Gun, which should be extremely common, is missing despite some of the battles taking place after 1943.
44	** Not to mention that when playing as the Germans, you have access to the [=StG=]-44 ''before 1944''.[[note]]This can be explained pretty easily: The [=StG-44=] was the last wartime development of a series that began with the Haenel Maschinekarabiner 42 in late 1941; all of the guns in the series look superficially similar, if not identical. The only issue is that it [[MisidentifiedWeapons wouldn't have been called the StG-44 until about July 1944]].[[/note]]
45	** The Russians with [=MP-18s=] are likely a balance issue, since the 71-round drum of the [=PPSh-41=] would be unbalancing. Yet, the [=PPSh=]-41, as well as the later PPS-43, [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg03-e.htm could also use 35-round box magazines]].
46	* ''Battlefield 1943'' continues the tradition with Thompsons being the only submachine gun available for the Americans, the Type 100 being the only submachine gun available for the Japanese, the German Karabiner 98 rifle being the sniper rifle for the Japanese,[[note]]Though in this case, the developers actually wanted to use an Arisaka, but they were unable to acquire one due to budget constraints.[[/note]] and the experimental, never-entering-service Type 5 being the semiautomatic rifle for the Japanese (and reloading with 8-round en bloc clips like the Garand, which simply didn't work with the Type 5's cartridge). As the game's options are quite limited in general and strictly multiplayer and [[CosmeticallyDifferentSides all weapon types being exactly the same for both sides]], though, it was clear they were just looking for a simple justification for the game to be easily balanced.
47	* The ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' games set in the Pacific theatre have interesting choices of arsenal. The PC exclusive ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault Pacific Assault]]'' in particular makes a considerable effort to be true to history; it actually remembers that the US Marines were still equipped with bolt-action Springfields long after the Garand became standard-issue to the Army, and includes oft-overlooked weapons like the .45 ACP M1917 revolver - even modelling the half-moon clips used to load it - and the [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns infamous]] M55 Reising. The console exclusive ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorRisingSun Rising Sun]]'', while having a less diverse lineup of guns, actually bothered to include the Type 11 light machine gun as one of two Japanese machine guns in-game, alongside the more numerous Type 99 LMG. With regards to handguns, the Welrod is shown being used by the OSS, rather than the High Standard HDM shown in previous titles.
48	** ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorVanguard Vanguard]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne Airborne]]'' both have a very bizarre case. The first levels of both, respectively "Off Target" and "Infinite Mischief", each have you fighting Italian Blackshirts. However, they're armed with the German Karabiner 98k and MP 40 instead of Italian-made Carcano rifles and Beretta Model 38 submachine guns. In ''Vanguard''[='=]s case the Italian soldiers do not appear again after the first level and are replaced with German soldiers for the rest of the game - even in the second level, which still takes place in Sicily. In ''Airborne''[='=]s case, you're only ''halfway'' through that level before the Blackshirts give way entirely for the Wehrmacht for the entire rest of the game, although this part is justified in that the second level onwards take place following the Italian surrender and subsequent German occupation of the country.
49	* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver as a cheaper but more fiddly alternative to the M1911, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (Europeans saw shotguns exclusively as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was essentially treating those soldiers like animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was even on the drawing board]], such as Crete. Similarly, while the [=M1A1=] Carbine is usually only available on maps where U.S. Airborne divisions were present, it is unavailable on Foy, despite that the 101st Airborne are available there.
50	* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous MP 40, with the [=Kar98k=] being rarer, with only roughly 1 in 10 mooks packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with [=FG42s=], which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified\|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on guns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the Luger P08, which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope is real, but was only introduced in the Korean War). M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, Browning Automatic Rifles, Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45- and .30-caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].
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53	[[folder:WWII Stealth Based Games ]]
54	* ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}''
55	** ''Commandos 2: Men of Courage'' features British commandos whose standard weaponry is made of Lee-Enfield rifles (British), M1911 handguns (American), M1903 Springfield sniper rifles (American), [=PIATs=] (British) and Mills bombs (British). The German weapons available are [=K98K=] Mauser rifles (both scoped and non-scoped version), [=MP40=] submachine guns and P08 Luger handguns. The Japanese get the Type 94 pistol and the Arisaka Type 38 (Standard) and Type 97 (Sniper) rifles. All good and acceptable, but several other common weapons like the Sten, Thompson, M3, Webley, and Walther P38 don't appear at all.
56	** The original game, ''Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines'', gave the [=M3=] Grease Gun to the team's sole American, the Driver, as a limited ammunition weapon and in the standalone expansion pack, ''Beyond The Call Of Duty'', a Lee-Enfield rifle is added to his arsenal. The rest of team carry a "[[AKA47 Smith & Wesson W9]]", which best resembles a Smith & Wesson 4506, which was [[AnachronismStew not produced until 1988]].
57	** The third game adds the [=StG44=] to the German side about two years prior to its adoption in real life.
58	* ''VideoGame/HiddenAndDangerous'':
59	** The first game had Panzerfausts but no Panzershrecks, and your SAS troops could outfit themselves with Bazookas, but not with [=PIATs=]. There were also some other odd absences, like the Colt 1911 being the only handgun available, and nearly all rifles only being available with scopes mounted. The expansion pack introduced a better selection of rifles with iron sights and the Luger P-08... but not its replacement, the Walther P38. Also, the player can meet some Soviet soldiers in the last mission of the first game, who carry American carbines, which are the standard SAS rifle.
60	** ''Hidden & Dangerous 2'' was a bit better in this regard. It had a reasonable selection of British, American, Japanese and even Soviet firearms, but there were no Italian weapons modeled, even though you fought them in a couple of scenarios. Anti-tank equipment was still limited to Bazookas and Panzerfausts. The absence of the PIAT could be justified on the grounds that it was considerably more difficult and time-consuming to reload than the other two; Special Forces could, and did, requisition something rather better.
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63	[[folder:WWII Strategy Games ]]
64	* ''VideoGame/CloseCombat II'' contains no jeeps or universal carriers, despite these being quite common in the historical operation. There was a mod that made the armed Jeeps used by the British paratroopers at Arnhem available. They turned out to be a GameBreaker for the Allies.
65	** Come to think of it, the [[http://www.wwiiequipment.com/carriers.aspx Universal Carrier]] (better known as the Bren carrier and best described as a cross between a Jeep and an APC) rarely if ever gets a look-in, despite being made in huge numbers for a variety of roles.
66	* ''Battlestations: Midway'' (set during the period between Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway), features PT-109, the PT boat famously commanded by UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, as a special unit during the Battle of the Philippines in 1941, despite the fact that PT-109 wasn't even built until mid-1942.
67	* Averted [[ShownTheirWork all the way]] in the ''VideoGame/SteelPanthers'' series (and its improved {{Game Mod}}s), since these titles try to be a realistic turn-based simulation of WWII combat.
68	** Ditto for ''VideoGame/PanzerGeneral'' successor ''Panzer Corps''. In fact, they go out of their way to be extra historically accurate: for instance, during the Battle of Modlin there is a unique unit for the armored train 'Smierc' that participated in the battle, and since the anti-air battery in the area was the most effective in all of the Polish campaign, its stats are buffed.
69	* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'' depicts the Nazi Ostwind IV Flakpanzer (only 44 were ever built) and Allied "Hobart's Funnies" (specialized tanks made by equipping Churchill and Sherman tanks with strange secondary weapons) as readily available. The Crab (a tank-mounted EpicFlail used to sweep mines) can be readily built from the Tank Depot, despite Major-General Hobart only asking for 25. The Crocodile (hull-mounted flamethrower) and A.V.R.E. (Petard light mortar replacing the main gun) at least have the decency to be deployed via a SupportPower that cost 600 and 800 Manpower each, respectively. The T34 Calliope missile launcher (a [[MacrossMissileMassacre 72-round multiple-missile launch assault system]]) is also semi-regularly available, despite most of them only being used at Normandy on D-Day. The rocket launcher's interference with the main gun made it pretty unpopular, since once the Calliope was installed, the crew had to make ''field modifications to use it again!'' This is represented by making it a smoke bomb launcher. The nearly-ubiquitous Bren Carrier actually ''does'' get its time in the sun, as the Brits field it as their APC.
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72	[[folder:Present Day First Person Shooters ]]
73	* ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' makes this a natural part of weapon choice, and the sequel did it even more deliberately. A player could use the M1 Garand rifle, M1911 pistol and Thompson submachine gun, all explicitly having the label "WWII" in front of the gun's name.
74	* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] by ''VideoGame/FarCry2'', where the assault rifles include the FAL and G3 (though both technically being ''battle'' rifles) next to the AK. The shotguns on the other hand go from generic pump action to the SPAS-12 and USAS-12. One [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality unrealistic]] and "gamey" thing is that, due to the need to "progress" and gradually get better gear, the G3 [[ArbitraryGunPower does less damage]] than the FAL despite using the same ammunition and overall quite similar construction, simply because the G3 is one of the first weapons made available to you while the FAL is held over until the second half.
75	** Rather than an M16, ''Far Cry 2'' includes a mockup of the AR-16. The AR-16 was a prototype version of the AR-18 Bushmaster assault rifle chambered for 7.62mm NATO rounds. The idea seems to have been to have all four automatic rifles be 7.62mm rifles to justify UniversalAmmunition, but [[VoodooShark that ignores that the AK's 7.62mm round isn't anything like the one used by the other three anyway, or that none of the other weapon slots have such consideration to justify sharing ammo]].
76	* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'', where we see more than one AK variant, the G3[[note]]Interestingly, just like ''Far Cry 2'' above, the G3 deals less damage than it should in multiplayer (only on par with the smaller, full-auto assault rifles) so as not to completely outclass the M14, which deals the proper higher damage for a 7.62mm battle rifle but is unlocked much later[[/note]], and several variations on the M4 carbine. However, even the Russian Loyalists use archaic [=AKs=] (which, predictably, [[MisidentifiedWeapons they call "AK-47s"]]) instead of the AK-74, which should be their standard rifle but instead is only present in its AKS-74U form. The Russians ''are'' going back to the older 7.62x39mm round for some roles, after discovering that its 5.45mm replacement had a distressing tendency to veer off-course if it passed through thick foliage, but they're using newly-manufactured weapons with various modern improvements instead of pulling fifty-year-old guns out of mothballs.
77	** There's also none of the far more common AKM or Type 56 (except in ''Remastered'', which changes the AK's model to an AKM), and the 'AK-74u' is actually modeled on an airsoft gun based on the famous but never officially produced AKMSU. On the other hand, the [=M16A4=] being almost entirely eschewed in favor of the [=M4A1=] makes sense, since the Marines involved are Force Recon personnel, who use the [=M4A1=] as their standard rifle unlike the regular Marines - less justifiably, however, is that, like the above G3, both are modeled after civilian semi-auto-only weapons.
78	** Also played straight with a number of other questionable weapon/user pairings. For example, alongside their obsolete [=AKs=] the Russians on both sides use the H&K [=MP5=] and [=G36C=], while the U.S. military-issue Beretta M9 ([[MisidentifiedWeapons actually the earlier, extremely rare 92SB]]) is the standard sidearm for ''all'' factions save the SAS, where Price carries a 1911 and the player gets a USP on several occasions. To be fair, the Beretta 92 is a very common gun worldwide, but you'd think at least one of the Russian Ultranationalists would have gotten his hands on a Makarov.
79	* ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2 Modern Warfare 2]]'' takes the odd weapon selections to the extreme, with the Brazilian militia using everything from [[SawedOffShotgun sawed-down]] Winchester 1887s, Sears Rangers, and locally produced FN [=FALs=], to updated [=AKs=] with fancy optics and retractable stocks, and the Russians using many foreign weapon designs, some of which originated from countries they would traditionally have nothing to do with, as is the case with the Israeli Tavor TAR-21, Belgian FN F2000, and French FAMAS. Basically, they use everything ''but'' what you'd expect.
80	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' has [[AnachronismStew a remarkable amount of anachronistic weaponry]] for the 1960s time period. AKS-74U, SPAS-12, CZ 75 (with even more anachronistic full-auto conversion), MAC-11, FAMAS F1 (again with even more anachronistic FELIN upgrades) - and even the weapons that normally would be appropriate for the time period are presented in versions that weren't available until several decades later, like the [=M60E3=], RPK-74, and [=HK21E=]. Almost nothing present in the game was actually developed before 1974 ''at best''.
81	** [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII The sequel]] goes the other way, using nearly exactly the same armory for missions set nearly two decades afterwards when the weapons should have been replaced by newer ones - Woods takes an original-model M16 (mislabeled as the improved A1) along for Operation Just Cause, for instance, at a point where in the real world all branches had switched to the [=M16A2=] (and where, given the close-range urban combat of the level, he probably would have been using a shorter-barreled CAR-15 derivative like the previous game's "Commando" instead), while Soviet troops [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan in Afghanistan]] use the RPD machine gun - with an anachronistic Picatinny rail atop the feed tray, since the model was [[PropRecycling recycled from]] ''Modern Warfare 2'' - years after the previous game's RPK-74 should have replaced it for frontline service. The player can also deliberately invoke this by taking a flashback weapon into one of the normal missions set in 2025 (taking that M16 into missions where a burst-firing XM8 and an [=HK416=] are standard among the [=SEALs=]), or, after beating the game once, invoke the anachronisms of the previous game by taking a 2025 weapon into a flashback mission (fight the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War with the [[SwissArmyWeapon combined explosive-flechette-launcher/automatic shotgun]] that is the "Titus-6" and the still-not-officially-produced LSAT machine gun).
82	* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' has several weapons that wouldn't have been in production in 1974, such as the Steyr AUG and the H&K CAWS, while weapons that should have been or were just becoming available at that time are absent, like the AK-74. This can be handwaved as the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' verse being essentially an AlternateHistory and the MSF, staffed with several highly-skilled and intelligent people, designing and producing these weapons themselves. Part of it as well is that, like the more modern ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4\|GunsOfThePatriots}}'', the weapon selection is more geared towards {{Mythology Gag}}s towards [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater its predecessor]] than accuracy for the time period - for instance, no AK-74 since that didn't exist at the time ''Snake Eater'' took place, instead settling for the old AK-47 Snake could get his hands on in ''Snake Eater'', with the AMD-65 used by the Ocelot unit presented as an upgraded version of it.
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84
85	[[folder:Other Games ]]
86	* This trope is unbelievably averted, of all places, in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}''. Mobsters in New Reno usually carry either Tommy Guns or Grease Guns, and only those two weapons use (quite heavy) .45 caliber bullets. There's even a blurb about how these guns ended up in National Guard armories after the Army switched to better weapons in its information screen. On the other hand, the P90 is stated to have just come into service just before the war, despite said war having started in 2077 - almost a full century after the P90 started development in reality. And was apparently made by H&K instead of FN. And somehow can use [[UniversalAmmunition either 9mm or 10mm ammo interchangeably]].
87	* While ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' gets away by mixing the usual {{Zeerust}} fifties setting with the NewOldWest, you can find exactly ''one'' "battle rifle" (M1 Garand) in the whole game pre-DLC. The NCR army uses a "service rifle" (an AR-15 with wooden parts instead of plastic ones) as their main gun.
88	* ''VideoGame/DarkestOfDays'' has this with its armory, such as Confederate troops in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar using Union muskets and Union snipers using Confederate sniper rifles (though this [[RealityIsUnrealistic wasn't exactly unheard of in real life]]). Meanwhile, the UsefulNotes/WorldWarI levels have you fighting alongside the Russians against the Germans, and yet the Mosin-Nagant is the ''only'' Russian weapon available.
89	* ''VideoGame/Battlefield1'' is set in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI and has its various kits able to use a very wide variety of weapons - many of them terribly rare, or [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns also poorly suited]], for the time - entirely independent of the current nation the player is of. Bolt-action rifles, the real standard weapon of the war, are limited to the Scout kit of the four kits. The game does have some options to allow for more historical accuracy, from a "Standard Issue Rifles" option for servers that simply allows all four kits to use their respective faction's bolt-action rifles, to a "Back to Basics" game mode that ''only'' allows the use of weapons that are appropriate for their faction.
90	** The "Standard Issue Rifles" option still has some examples, though: The Italians use a Winchester Model 1895 as opposed to the Carcano rifle they used in reality. Originally, the Ottomans used the Martini-Henry, but it was later changed to the more plausible Gewehr 98.
91	* ''[[VideoGame/AnnoDomini Anno 1701]]'', despite being set at the zenith of the Age of Colonialism, features practically no firearms. The only in-game units to wield them as a matter of course are militiamen (melee units that carry a SwordAndGun) and Indian sepoys (an Indian native-only unit).
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Context Main / SelectiveHistoricalArmoury