Special Forces in movies are specialists. The most special of the specials are the weapons, and you've probably already noticed the difference between the guns the men are issued in the military and the ones you see in the movies.
In fact, Special Forces equipment is often more advanced because it has to be used in special warfare situations.
For example, in January 2011, there was an operation called Operation Dawn, and there was a lot of interest in the guns used by the UDT soldiers who pulled off the real-life operation.
It's interesting to learn about the history of firearms in history because they are completely different in shape and use from regular military firearms.
What guns did World War I special forces use?
The Gew 98, Germany's flagship rifle
As the feverish weapons that had driven out the cold warriors began to take center stage on the battlefield, infantrymen's personal firearms evolved from muskets, which were too cumbersome to use, to rifles that used cartridges. By the late 19th century, bolt-action, five-shot rifles were slowly becoming the core of infantry firepower.
The idea of a five-shot musket must have been revolutionary in a time when the concept of multiple shots hadn't existed.
The French Army's Chauchat light machine gun
The first machine guns, barbed wire, and trenches of World War I led to the deaths of many infantrymen. In the absence of tanks, infantrymen charging into enemy trenches would often pause in front of barbed wire.
At this point, machine guns hidden in the trenches would start firing and it would be a massacre.
German MP-18 submachine gun
The mainstay of the German army in World War I, the Gew 98. The five-shot bolt-action was the most successful case of the rifle model. With an overall length of 1.25 meters, it was almost as long as the height of the average German soldier.
There were also light machine guns carried by infantry in World War I, but they were often too heavy for trench warfare.
Soldiers of the Mechanized Sniper Brigade of the Soviet Army. Most armed with PPsh-41s.
A folding carbine used by US Army airborne troops in World War II.
Stg.44 (top) and AK-47 (bottom)
The Germans had a gun for artillery, the Ruger P-08, which was sometimes used with a 32-round drum magazine, but the Ruger itself was a very delicate pistol and was not well suited to the harsh conditions of the battlefield.
Even if it could fire semi-automatically, it was no match for a swarming enemy.
The French Army's Chauchat light machine gun was a bit of an oddity at the time: it was long (1.14 meters) and heavy, weighing over 9 kilograms, so it wasn't meant for trench warfare.
So the need arose for a personal firearm that was larger than a pistol, lighter than a rifle, shorter, and more lethal.
But the technology at the time didn't allow for a firearm that could automatically fire rifle rounds and still be compact,
a compromise was made. Instead of using a high-powered but recoiling and unwieldy rifle round, Germany would come up with a weapon that could automatically fire a recoilless and relatively easy-to-build pistol round. This is the Bergmann MP-18 Sub Machine Gun (SMG).
The MP-18 was the first practical submachine gun and would have a profound impact on submachine gun design for years to come.
Anyway, after World War I, the world became obsessed with submachine guns, and by World War II, the notion that submachine guns were for special forces naturally took hold.
If we look at the submachine guns of this period, Germany developed the MP-38, the crown jewel of World War II, and its improved version, the MP-40,
The Soviets had the PPsh-41, the British the Sten, and the Americans the Thompson, nicknamed the 'Chicago Typewriter'.
The German, British, and Soviet submachine guns were primarily used by commandos, airborne troops, or special forces such as mechanized assault units,
The first American-made Thompsons were, oddly enough, used by the Chicago mob.
The Thompson used by the American mob