American military technology during World War II US cruisers and battleships had their guns directed using information gathered from the ship's radar. American military technology during World War II American military technologies developed during World War II became more advanced and specialized as the war progressed. The technologies produced ranged in complexity from relatively simple items such as small arms and armored vehicles, including tanks, to more complex items such as the atomic bomb. The latter, produced under the secretive Manhattan Project, proved to be an incredibly powerful weapon that revolutionized warfare and was used to end the war. Other technologies, such as the M4 Sherman tank,
American women in World War II and Vichy French codebooks. Virginia Hall, who was labeled by the Gestapo as "the most dangerous of all alien spies", disguised herself as a milkmaid in France in order to spy on German forces. In 2017, Sadie O. Horton, who spent World War II working aboard a U.S. Merchant Marine barge, posthumously received official veteran’s status for her wartime service, becoming the first recorded female Merchant Marine veteran of World War II. U.S. women also performed many kinds of non-military service in organizations such as the American Red Cross and the United Service Organizations (USO). Nineteen million American women filled