With at least 505 confirmed kills during the
Known as the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, Navy Seal Chris Kyle, who served during the Iraq War, has become renowned as the American Sniper. Chris Kyle was born in 1974 in Odessa, Texas.
A $20,000 bounty was issued for his death and soon increased to $80,000. Kyle's reputation as the deadliest sniper in American military history currently is uncontested. Out of 255 claimed kills, 160 were confirmed. His farthest confirmed kill took place in 2008 near Sadr City at 2,100 yards away.
Nicknamed "White Death," Simo Häyhä tallied 505 kills, far and away the highest count from any major war. All of Häyhä's kills of Red Army combatants were accomplished in fewer than 100 days – an average of just over five kills per day – at a time of year with very few daylight hours.
Snipers from Greece's Special Paratroopers Section, known as the ETA for its Greek initials, came in first. Teams from Latvia and Italy were second and third, while another Greek special-operations team from the Z'MAK amphibious special missions unit was fourth. A Slovenian team rounded out the top five.
Soldiers from the U.S. Army National Guard are the best snipers in the world. Four National Guard sniper teams emerged as best contenders in the 2023 International Sniper Competition, and all finished in the top 10, with team 7 placing first.
There are few "safe" jobs in armed conflict, but certainly one of the toughest and most dangerous is that of a sniper. They must sneak forward in groups of two to spy on the enemy, knowing that an adversary who spots them first may be lethal.
The M107 Semi-Automatic Long Range Sniper Rifle (LRSR) fires . 50-caliber ammunition, and is capable of delivering precise, rapid fire on targets out to 2,000 meters. This greatly exceeds the terminal effect capability of the M2010, M110 or M24 sniper rifles.
950 in (24.1 mm) bullet.
The Alligator, developed by Snipex, is a highly specialized weapon, and a big one at that. The rifle, fully assembled, is six feet, six inches long (longer than the average sniper is tall) and weighs 50 pounds. Each 14.5mm round weighs 2.2 ounces, compared to a 1.5 ounces for the .
Charles Benjamin "Chuck" Mawhinney (born 1949) is a former United States Marine who holds the Corps' record for the most confirmed sniper kills, having recorded 103 confirmed kills and 216 probable kills in 16 months during the Vietnam War.
It was 2006 and he served alongside Chris Kyle as one of the infamous “Punishers” of Cadillac Platoon, Task Unit Bruiser, in the Battle of Ramadi. Kyle, whose teammates in SEAL Team 3 dubbed him “The Legend,” holds the record for most confirmed kills in US military history with at least 150.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko wanted to be a teacher. Instead, she became the most successful female sniper in history. Born in what is now Ukraine, Lyudmila and her family moved to Kiev when she was fourteen.
In the time she spent fighting, Pavlichenko had obtained a record of 309 confirmed kills. By the time Pavlichenko was withdrawn from front line combat, her reputation as a sniper earned her the nickname “Lady Death.” The German Army knew of her well.
Simo Häyhä born. Simo Häyhä was arguably the most prolific sniper of all time, earning the nickname “White Death” following up to 505 kills in the Finnish Winter War. Although seriously wounded just before the war ended, he went on to become a hunter and lived to the age of 96.
Gustav was destroyed by the Germans near the end of the war in 1945 to avoid capture by the Soviet Red Army. Schwerer Gustav was the largest-calibre rifled weapon ever used in combat, and in terms of overall weight, the heaviest mobile artillery piece ever built. It fired the heaviest shells of any artillery piece.
The world record for the longest confirmed kill was set in 2017 by a Canadian sniper operating in Iraq and stands at 3,450 meters (2.14 miles), according to the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian sniper was using a McMillan TAC-50 sniper rifle with .
Ammunition For the 4.4-Mile Shot
416's muzzle velocity was 3,300 fps and by the time the bullets reached the target (which took more than 24.5 seconds), they had dropped to 689 fps. For the shot that made the impact, Austin gave the shooter a correction of 1,092 MOA of elevation and 17 MOA left hold.
The M16 had a higher rate of fire, 700-950 rpm compared to the 600 rpm of the AK-47, and most shooters — including those that have used the weapons in combat — have tended to agree that the M16 is the more accurate.
They don't work by themselves.
Snipers usually work with a spotter in teams of two – they're rarely in the field alone. The role of the spotter is often left out of movies, but it's actually the more important of the two. The spotter is the team leader.
Fire support: If the sniper's general position can be determined by other means, the area can be bombarded by mortars, artillery, or close air support. Rockets, guided missiles, anti-armor/anti-fortification weapons and other direct fire options may also be used by the forces in contact, as well.
Snipers are defined, at least in part, by their unique ability to eliminate targets at a distance, taking out threats without letting the enemy know that they are coming. It's a difficult job. Snipers typically operate at ranges between 600 and 1,200 meters, and occasionally take an enemy out from much farther away.