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Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is the 1990 sequel to 1988's Die Hard. Bruce Willis returns as Lt. John McClane, who this time finds himself trapped in Washington D.C.'s Dulles International Airport during Christmas week when mercenaries take over the airport's instrument landing system and threaten to crash incoming passenger jets (one of which is carrying McClane's wife) unless an deposed military dictator on his way to the United States is allowed to land and be freed. The film encountered some controversy at the time of its release due to its depiction of an airline disaster as well as its (unrealistic) depiction of a firearm that would be able to pass through an airport metal detector. The film was released in some video formats under the title Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
The following weapons were used in the film Die Hard 2:
Handguns
Beretta 92FS
Instead of the Beretta 92F carried in the original Die Hard, Lt. John McClane (Bruce Willis) carries the Beretta 92FS as his sidearm in this film. The Dulles Airport Police, along with Captain Carmine Lorenzo (Dennis Franz) and Major Grant (John Amos) also carry the 92FS.
Glock 17
Colonel Stuart (William Sadler) and the mercenaries under his command use Glock pistols as their sidearms. This is one of the earliest appearances of the Glock in a major Hollywood film (it had just been featured in 1989's Johnny Handsome). While the handguns seen in the film appear to be the Glock 17 model, in a now-notorious scene early in the film, McClane (Bruce Willis) identifies the handgun to Chief Lorenzo (Dennis Franz) as a "Glock 7," (no such model exists) and recites a string of inaccuracies, describing it as "a porcelain gun made in Germany that doesn't show up on your airport metal detectors and costs more than you make in a month."
The most glaring misconception is that the weapon is undetectable to the X-Ray machines at the airport, while in reality, Glock never produced such a handgun. In fact, 83.7% (by weight) of the Glock pistol is normal ordnance steel and the "plastic" parts are a dense polymer known as "Polymer 2", which is radio-opaque and is therefore visible to X-ray security equipment. In addition, virtually all of these "plastic" parts contain embedded steel not to make the firearms "detectable", but to increase functionality and shooting accuracy. Contrary to popular movies like Die Hard 2, neither Glock nor any other gun maker has ever produced a "porcelain", "ceramic" or "plastic" firearm which is undetectable by ordinary security screening devices. Even if a pistol that was completely undetectable by either X-ray machines or metal detectors were to be developed, the ammunition inside would still be detectable. Another mistake is the claim the Glocks are made in Germany when in reality, they are manufactured in Austria.
When Glock pistols were first introduced to the U.S. market, they were promoted as being because of their extensive use of non-metallic components. This generated controversy from people fearing that this would make them easier to conceal from metal detectors and X-ray devices - hence the scene in the movie. However, as described, the scenario shown in the film is pure Hollywood fiction. Armorer Mike Papac, whose company Cinema Weaponry supplied all of the firearms used in Die Hard 2, has commented, "I remember when we did that scene, I tried to talk them out of it. There's no such thing as a gun invisible to metal detectors, and there shouldn't be, but they wouldn't budge. They had it written into the script and that was that."
M1911A1
General Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero) is seen with a M1911A1 while onboard the military plane transporting him to the United States. He then is seen using it to fire at McClane.
Smith & Wesson Model 19
Several airport police officers throughout the film carry Smith & Wesson Model 19 revolvers as their sidearms.
Smith & Wesson Model 15
An unknown Smith & Wesson revolver is seen in Al Powell's (Reginald VelJohnson) holster while on the phone. This is likely the Smith & Wesson Model 15 he used in Die Hard, or a Smith & Wesson Model 19 that could be passing off for the Model 15.
Submachine Guns
Heckler & Koch MP5A5
Colonel Stuart (William Sadler) uses a Heckler & Koch MP5A5 as his main weapon throughout the movie. Note: IMFDB previously misidentified this weapon as an MP5A3, but Blu-Ray screen captures indicate that Stuart's MP5 has the 4-position Navy trigger group which characterizes the A5 variant.
Heckler & Koch MP5A3
Garber (Don Harvey) carries a Heckler & Koch MP5A3 fitted with a scope. Like the other MP5 variants used by Stuart's men, it also has two magazines taped together 'jungle style'. McClane later commandeers Garber's MP5A3 and uses it to fire at Lorenzo to prove that the firefight between Stuart's men and Major Grant's unit was staged. During the film, MP5 magazines filled with live ammunition are seen being switched for magazines filled with blanks. Magazines that have blanks are marked with blue adhesive tape, while magazines with live rounds have red adhesive tape.
Note: One cannot switch between blanks rounds and live rounds in an Heckler & Koch MP5A3/MP5K or an M16A1 as seen in the movie. All firearms that 'autoload', i.e. are either semiautomatic or fully automatic, must be blank adapted in order to cycle. This does not apply to revolvers or other manually operated firearms like pump shotguns or lever/bolt action rifles. If a gun, like an MP5 has been firing blanks, one cannot just switch magazines and start firing live rounds. The blank adapter (which restricts the barrel down to anywhere from 50% to 75% of the original barrel interior) would have to be removed or else the first live round would blow up the firearm.
Heckler & Koch MP5K
The other weapon used by Stuart's men is the Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun. Many of them have two mags taped together 'jungle style' with blank & live ammo, just like the MP5A3's. While not commonly seen in productions during the time period (1989-1990), it's possible that these are not converted Heckler & Koch SP89's (judging from the paddle release seen).
Shotguns
Ithaca 37
During the shootout on the Annex Skywalk, one of the SWAT officers can be seen carrying an Ithaca 37 shotgun with shell holder on the stock.
Rifles
M16A1
The M16A1 is used by the Dulles Airport SWAT team and as well as the Special Forces unit sent to deal with the situation. Some of the M16A1s used by the Special Forces unit also appear to have M16A2-style handguards.
Machine Guns
Browning M2HB Heavy Machine Gun
When Baker and Thompson show up at the church and are knocking on the door, the church's custodian is watching a news broadcast of Esperanza's extradition, and a Browning M2HB heavy machine gun can be briefly seen on the TV.
Other
M26 Hand Grenade
In attempt to kill McClane after securing Esperanza, Colonel Stuart (William Sadler) and his men throw M26 hand grenades into the cockpit of the plane McClane is in, but luckily for McClane, he manages to escape the cockpit using the pilot's ejector seat before the grenades detonate. The grenades seen in the film (especially in closeup) are in reality dummy training grenades meant to represent the M26 style grenade (as evidenced by the obviously 'rough' cast iron and no MFG markings). In typical Hollywood fashion, the hand grenades create explosions far in excess of their power (mockingly called nuclear hand grenades by some prop masters). Also noteworthy, the M26, at maximum, has a seven second fuse delay, and it takes over half a minute for McClane to eject himself from the time the first grenade enters the cockpit.
