Strike Witches

Set in an alternate timeline World War II, Strike Witches focuses on Witches, elite pilots with innate magical ability, who fly Striker Units and fight against the alien Neuroi who have attacked Earth and devastated most of Europe. The existence of magic makes the world inherently different, however most events and history are largely similar until the Great War. During the World War, powerful aliens attacked humanity, interrupting the war; although they were defeated, interruption of the war had lasting effects. Nazi-ism never formed in the Empire of Karlsland (based on Germany), the Bolshevik Revolution never occurred in Orussia (based on Russia), Ostmark (based on Austria-Hungary) still exists in full; also of note is that the Italian unification never occurred, leaving the Duchy of Romagna and Duchy of Venezia both on the Apennine Peninsula. Earth's geography differs slightly as well, notably the coastline of North America, but as a whole the world can be defined as "alternate timeline Earth"; for a world map, see the Luminous Witches Talk Page.
In 1937, the Neuroi attacked the Empire of Fuso (based on Japan), but thanks largely to the next generation of striker units and the witches flying them, the Neuroi were repulsed. In 1939, several Neuroi hives formed over Europe, obliterating cities, killing thousands, and forcing humanity to retreat. Much like the real world Fall of Europe in 1939/40, humanity's last free bastion in Europe became the Commonwealth of Britannia (based on Britain), a safe haven only because Neuroi are averse to crossing bodies of water. Given this context, humanity's countries are not at war with each other, but united to defend against the Neuroi, and as such witches and other military members from all nations work and fight alongside one another.
The story of Strike Witches picks up in early 1944, when Yoshika Miyafuji, due to her extremely strong magical ability, is recruited to by Squadron Leader Mio Sakamoto of the Imperial Fuso Navy to become a witch. The first season introduces the world and setting of the series, and follows Yoshika's struggles to become a witch in the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, known as the Strike Witches. The 501st JFW's base is located in Folkestone Harbour, which in the real world was an important strategic port, especially notable for its involvement in the Dunkirk evacuation. All witches in the series are based on real world WWII fighter pilots, those details noted for each character as they come up on this page.
In chronological order, Strike Witches runs parallel to Luminous Witches and is followed by Brave Witches, both of which are set before Strike Witches 2.
Warning: Some descriptions and images are potential spoilers for the series, read at your own risk.
__TOC__
=Pistols=
==Walther PPK==
A Walther PPK is issued to Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji (inspired by Japanese ace Kaneyoshi Mutou) when she first arrives in Britannia, however she refuses the pistol, stating a dislike for guns. To explain Yoshika's mindset, Yoshika's father, Ichiro Miyafuji (inspired by Jiro Horikoshi, chief designer of many WWII Japanese aircraft) worked on and perfected the striker units the witches use, but he was killed in an accident in his lab in the late '30s, and as such Yoshika, a young civilian in Fuso away from the war, always saw the conflict as little more than a terrible, far away thing that stole her father from her. Yoshika accepts Mio's offer to come to Europe on the condition that she simply wants to help people, however Yoshika fairly quickly learns that to help the most people, one must fight the Neuroi. Although she initially turned down the PPK, official artwork shows Yoshika using a Mauser M712 machine pistol as her sidearm sometime before the end of the first season.
Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of Karlsland (inspired by German ace Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke) uses an identical PPK, which she either keeps on her person or pulled out for the occasion she is seen using it. It's possible it's issued to all new witches of the 501st, but it's not seen otherwise.
=Submachine Guns=
==Sten Mk II==
Sten Mk II submachine guns are used by Britannian troops under the command of Air Chief Marshall Trevor Maloney, ordering the 501st JFW be disbanded, intent on replacing witches with his new mechanized Warlock aircraft/mech. Maloney and his actions are directly inspired by Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, and Leigh-Mallory's similar political moves during the Battle of Britain.
=Rifles=
==Boys Mk I*==
Flight Sergeant Lynette Bishop of Britannia uses a Boys Mk I* with the bipod removed in her role as the 501st's designated marksman. Lynette, along with her older sister Wilma, are inspired by the children of WWI Canadian ace Billy Bishop, William and Margaret Bishop, both of whom served in WWII, William as a Spitfire pilot. While Lynette is purely Britannian, in a reversal of the Bishop sisters' inspiration Wilma enlisted and serves in the Faraway Land Air Force (Canada, but name inspired by Newfoundland). Wilma does not appear in the anime, but is the protagonist of the One-Winged Witches manga, which follows the Isle of Wight Detachment Group.
 
 
thumb|600px|none|Lynette scores an extremely long range hit, impressing both Yoshika and Mio; the latter is using her magic eye to actually be able to see the target. (Ep.3)
thumb|600px|none|A view down the Boys' sights... from the other end. (Ep.3)
=Machine Guns=
==Bren Mk 1 (M)==
A Bren Mk 1 (M) is carried by Flying Officer Pierrette-Henriette "Perrine" Clostermann (inspired by French ace Pierre Henri Clostermann) of Gallia (France). She would prefer to use an FM 24/29, but uses the much more common (in Britannia) Bren due to Gallia being occupied by the Neuroi. The gun's bipod has been removed due to being entirely unnecessary for an airborne witch, and its sling is attached in an unusual manner; the front end is attached to where the bipod legs used to connect, while the rear is attached to where the rear grip used to exist on the previous Mk 1 version of the Bren. This method of attaching the sling is consistently depicted this way in all later Witches series content as well.
thumb|none|400px|Bren Mk 1 (M) - .303 British
==Browning M1918A2==
The Browning Automatic Rifle, with its bipod removed (this is a trend), is the preferred weapon of Flight Lieutenant Charlotte Elwyn "Shirley" Yeager of the United States of Liberion. Naturally, Charlotte is inspired by American ace (and later test pilot) Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager, while the USL is inspired by the United States of America. Shirley, ever the mechanic and tinkerer, isn't especially impressed with her BAR, but appreciates its durability despite its other drawbacks.
==Browning M1919A6==
The Browning M1919A6 is carried by Pilot Officer Francesca Lucchini (inspired by Italian ace Franco Lucchini) of Romagna. It was given to her by Charlotte, her best friend and combat partner, after Francesca misplaced the Romagnan weapons she had brought to Britannia with her. Francesca states that she likes the gun because of its high rate of fire, durability, and high ammo capacity. To allow witches to use it while flying, the M1919A6 has been modified with a fixed ammo box, with a handle on top she sometimes uses to hold the gun in a hipfire position.
==MG 42==
The MG 42 is used by the members of the 501st from Karlsland and Suomus (Finland). While Minna and Flying Officer Erica Hartmann (inspired by German ace Erich Hartmann) use a single gun, Flight Lieutenant Gertrud Barkhorn (inspired by German ace Gerhard Barkhorn) prefers dual wielding MG 42s thanks to her increased strength ability (on top of all witches having more strength as a baseline). Flying Officer Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen (inspired by Finnish ace Eino Ilmari Juutilainen) of Suomus also uses the MG 42. Eila's magical trait of short-term precognition allows her to effortlessly dodge enemy fire, to the degree that she's never used a magic shield, the staple of every other witch's combat abilities; this trait is inspired by her namesake having never been hit by enemy fire, despite being the highest scoring non-German ace in history.
All witches' MG 42s in the series are modified to use a stylized version of the 75-round Patronentrommel 34 drum magazine from the MG 34; given the slightly different design it presumably has its own designation in-universe, perhaps "Patronentrommel 42", though that's speculation. Use of a magazine rather than a belt is likely because it's far easier for an airborne witch to simply swap a magazine than deal with replacing a belt in mid-air; this sort of fictional-but-entirely-plausible weapon design appears for several notable weapons in the World Witches universe. Additionally, along with lacking a bipod like most witch weapons, the World Witches MG 42 features only four holes in the gun's muzzle booster (as opposed to twelve), its muzzle flash reflecting this throughout the series.
==Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai==
A fictional iteration of the Type 99 aircraft cannon in its flexible mount configuration is the standard armament for Fuso Empire witches. This iconic World Witches series weapon is a fictional iteration of a real world weapon, much like the iteration of the MG 42 that can use MG 34 drum magazines, and the M1919A6's fixed ammo box, but on a more substantial scale. It is used by both Yoshika Miyafuji and Mio Sakamoto (inspired by Japanese ace Saburou Sakai).
There are two versions of the real world Type 99 cannon, the Mark 1 and the Mark 2; the Mark 1 uses a 20x72mmRB round, while the Mark 2 was the same design scaled up to use a 20x101mmRB round. To further complicate matters, these two related guns also had their own variants, resulting in designations like "Type 99 Mark 1 Model 3" or "Type 99 Mark 2 Model 5". One variant of the Type 99 Mark 1 was outfitted for use in flexible mounts, giving it AA sights, a handguard, flash suppressor, stock pad, large ejection chute on top, and (crude) pistol grip.
Back in the World Witches universe, the need for witches to have an effective primary weapon arose, and so the Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai, or Type 99 Mark 2 Model 2 Kai, was developed. Either translation is acceptable; the former is the official World Witches translation, the latter is the same designation using the established Western terms for the Type 99 family.
While the "Type 99-2" designation should mean it's based on the larger Mark 2 in 20x101mmRB, the gun's proportions and size are very clearly that of the smaller Mark 1. The Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai takes the infantry-rifle-like traits of the flexible mount Type 99 Mark 1 variant and improves them. The notable improvements from the flexible mount design are a more traditionally-shaped receiver, deletion of the top ejection chute in favour of a traditional side-mounted ejection port, and a traditional pistol grip assembly; in short, it was developed into a practical rifle-style weapon, albeit a very large and heavy one. In addition to the physical/mechanical improvements, while the original Type 99-2 Model 2 Kai prototypes were in the original 20x101mmRB cartridge (despite visually being based on the Mark 1), tests showed it was a bit too powerful to be practical, even for witches. As such, it was rechambered for the 13.2x96mm Hotchkiss cartridge, also used in the Type 3 aircraft machine gun.
Additionally, on the design sketch of the Type 99 seen below there is a line of text inside a box, pointing to the rear end of the long tube on the left side of the receiver; this text translates to "load the first bullet by pressing this button", meaning that's the charging "button". However, the charging button isn't actually used on-screen until Strike Witches: The Movie.
 
 
=Launchers=
==Fliegerhammer==
The Fliegerhammer is a fictional multi-barrel rocket launcher used by Flying Officer Aleksandra Vladimirovna "Sanya" Litvyak (inspired by Russian ace Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak) of Orussia. The Fliegerhammer, or "Flyer/Plane Hammer", was designed by Erica Hartmann's twin sister and genius engineer Ursula Hartmann (named for Erich Hartmann's wife, Ursula Paetsch), and inspired by (both in-universe and from a writing standpoint) the Fliegerfaust. Like the Fliegerfaust, the Fliegerhammer is a nine-barrel, unguided rocket launcher, though Sanya and some other witches are able to guide or partially guide the rockets with their magic. The launcher's large, boxy shape is also reminiscent of the more modern M202 FLASH.
The Fliegerhammer is capable of firing in two modes, either single rockets sequentially, in which case the rockets launch by row top-to-bottom, within rows right-to-left, or in a volley fire setting where four rockets fire in a "+" shape, followed a fraction of a second later by the remaining five in a "×" shape; the design artwork below lists the delay as "4 to 6 frames" (as it's animation reference material) which equates to a roughly 0.2 second delay before the second salvo. The fire mode is controlled by a selector switch on the pistol grip; the vertical position is volley fire, the rearward position is single fire. The rear offhand grip and shoulder rest fold flush with the body of the weapon when not in use. The Fliegerhammer is reusable, with rockets loaded by inserting them into the rear.
=Vehicle-Mounted Weapons=
==Browning .303 Mk II*==
Several Britannian Hurricane Mk Is are seen attacking a Neuroi hive in the prologue, each armed with eight Browning .303 Mk II* machine guns.
==Type 97==
The A5M4 fighters aboard Akagi are armed with a pair of Type 97 aircraft machine guns each.
==Naval Weapons==
In addition to Akagi, the Imperial Fuso Navy fleet that carries Mio and Yoshika to Britannia also consists of eight Kagerou-class destroyers. Specifically, these are the ships of 16th Destroyer Division (Yukikaze, Amatsukaze, Hatsukaze, Tokitsukaze) and 17th Destroyer Division (Urakaze, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Tanikaze). The carrier is fitted with six 20cm/50 3rd Year Type cannons in casemate mounts, six twin 12cm/45 Type 10 anti-air cannons and fourteen twin 25mm Type 96 anti-air cannons along either side of the flight deck, and a pair of single 7.7mm Type 92 machine guns fore and aft of the bridge. The destroyers are equipped with four 12.7cm/50 3rd Year Type cannons in two twin turrets as their primary armament, as well as twenty-nine 25mm Type 96 AA guns, fourteen in single mounts and fifteen in five triple mounts.
==Warlock==
The Warlock, a flying mech that Air Chief Marshall Trevor Maloney intends to replace the Strike Witches with, is armed with four autocannons in its nose, as well as Neuroi-style beam weapons.
Category:Anime
Category:War
Category:Science-Fiction
Category:Japanese Produced/Filmed