Valkyrie is a 2008 World War II film depicting the 20 July plot by high ranking German officers to kill Adolf Hitler. The film was directed by Bryan Singer and stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a decorated disabled war hero and senior German officer who was a key architect in the plot.
The following weapons were used in the film Valkyrie:
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) as well as most of German officers carry 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 a 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 film).
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) carried by many of the German soldiers.
An MG42 is briefly seen when Home Guard troops are mobilized during Operation Valkyrie. Another one is also carried by a D.A.K. (Deutsches Afrika Korps) soldier in North Africa.
British RAF P-40E Kittyhawk fighters are seen attacking German troops in North Africa, strafing with their six Browning M2 Aircraft heavy machine guns in the wings. The strafe attack results in Stauffenberg losing his eye and hand, which is what had happened in reality. A single real P-40E Mk. I Kittyhawk, registration N94466, appears in the film: this aircraft is formerly of the Royal Canadian Air Force (AK933) and now belongs to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho, and also appeared in Pearl Harbor.
Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) uses a Gewehr-Panzergranate 30 rifle grenade to commit suicide at the end of the film.
2 cm Flak 38
2 cm Flak 38 cannons are used by D.A.K. (Deutsches Afrika Korps) soldiers in North Africa to fire at British planes. They are also prepared by Home Guard Reserve troops to guard the streets of Berlin.
A German Sonderkraftfahrzeug (SdKfz.) 222 armoured car is seen in one scene in North Africa, with a turret-mounted KWK 30 L/55 20mm autocannon; the vehicle also mounts a coaxial MG34, not visible in this screenshot. Another one is seen later in Berlin, also with the MG34 obscured in the screenshot.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe KWK 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 on the right.
Historical Information
While the plot to place a bomb underneath the table where Hitler was 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 film 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 an perforated eardrum and underpants torn to pieces, while 4 others in the room died, including Colonel Heinz Brandt (portrayed by actor Tom Hollander in the film), who shoved Stauffenberg's briefcase beside the table support thus unwittingly prolonged Hitler's life by 9 months. A Walther PPK in his hand eventually solved that problem below the earth-level of the Berlin city center.
