Valkyrie is the modern telling of the plot to kill Hitler. The main character is decorated war hero and senior German army officer Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise). The plot to place a bomb underneath the table where Hitler is meeting his generals is a well known historical story. What is not often known is that it is estimated there were anything from 17 to 41 other plots against Hitler by his own military. Apparently more than a few Germans saw the evil that was their leader. On July 20th 1944 two 1kg charges of "Plastit W" were used in the bomb plot. The brand name "Plastit W" which is mentioned by von Quirnheim in the movie refers to the chemical manufactured by "W"ASAG AG, who produced the explosive codenamed W-Salz ("w-salt"), which today has evolved into "Semtex" C-4 and all those similar derivatives. Since only one charge was primed and detonated, Hitler survived again with perforated eardrum and underpants torn to pieces, while 4 others in the room died, including Col. Brandt (actor Tom Hollander), who shoved Stauffenberg's briefcase beside the table support thus unwittingly prolonged Hitlers life by 9 months. A Walther PPK eventually solved that problem (Hitler's life at 56) below the earth-level of the Berlin city center.
The following guns were used in the film Valkyrie:
Seen in many of the massing army sequences, in Berlin and in North Africa, the Karabiner 98k is the most commonly seen firearm in the film, and is (accurately) used by many of the German soldiers.
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), as well as most of the German officers use Walther PPKs as their sidearms, most notably General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp) and Major Otto Ernst Remer (Thomas Kretschmann).
Note: In reality, von Stauffenberg used an Belgian Browning Hi-Power, called "P-35" by the German Wehrmacht. It is also known that von Stauffenberg used a fixed hand prosthesis to chamber the pistol (other than depicted in the movie).
An MG42 is seen briefly when the Home Guard is mobilized during Operation Valkyrie. One is also carried by a D.A.K. (Afrika Korps) soldier in North Africa.
FlaK 38 20mm cannons are used by the D.A.K. (Deutsches Afrika Korps) in North Africa to fire on British fighter planes. They are also used by the Home Guard Reserve troops to guard the streets of Berlin. In reality Stauffenberg lost his eye and hand during an attack by British fighter-bombers.
A German Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz.) 222 armoured car is seen in one scene in Africa, with a turret-mounted KWK 30 L/55 20mm autocannon; the vehicle also mounts a coaxial MG34, not visible in this screenshot. Another is seen later in Berlin, also with the MG34 obscured in the screenshot.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingKWK 30 L/55 20mm autocannon mounted on a SdKfz. 222 armoured car; the vehicle is facing away from the camera.Error creating thumbnail: File missingA second SdKfz. 222 is seen in Berlin, also armed with a KWK 30 L/55 autocannon. This vehicle is facing towards the camera, with the MG34 hidden by the elbow of the soldier to the right.
