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

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.