Of all the specialized officers in the military, there are few more fascinating and mysterious
than the sniper.
The image of a lone soldier, perched above the action, picking off enemies one by one
with their precise shots is iconic.
These expert marksmen are specially trained to be effective and deadly while hiding out
of the enemy’s sight, sometimes literally miles away.
They’re highly disciplined and incredibly dangerous, and an exceptional sniper can make
all the difference in a military conflict.
This video is all about 10 of the most impressive, famous, and lethal snipers in military history.
From record-breaking kill counts to incredible marksmanship, get ready to learn all about
the Top 10 Best Snipers in The History of Mankind.
Is your country on the list?
Stay tuned and find out!
10.
Zhang Taofang – The Lethal Learner
Zhang Taofang was a Chinese sniper who fought in the Korean war.
Despite not using a magnifying scope, binoculars, or any other equipment that would allow him
to spot targets from far away, he made approximately 214 confirmed kills in just 32 days of combat.
It has also been suggested that he made those confirmed kills with only 442 bullets, working
out to around two bullets a kill.
If you don’t understand why that’s so impressive, just know that reports estimate
that up to 250,000 rounds were fired per dead insurgent in the modern Iraq and Afghanistan
Wars.
Taofang was able to achieve this surgical sniping success by analyzing his early failures
and rigorously improving upon them.
When he first attempted to fire on an enemy, he fired 12 shots and missed all of them.
He was almost killed in the ensuing enemy fire.
This terrifying near-death experience led him to analyze why he failed and develop a
new shooting technique using the iron sights of his trusty service rifle.
After this, he was able to refine his shooting and achieve the impressive kill count that
was later reported.
It also gives us a heartwarming message about staying humble and learning from your mistakes.
Next we move from the frozen kills of North Korea to the Jungles of Vietnam.
9.
Adelbert Waldron – The Terror of Vietnam
Adelbert Waldron was a United States sniper during the Vietnam war, and is regarded as
the most accomplished American sniper during that time.
After a successful stint in the U.S. Navy, Waldron joined the Army in 1968 as a Sergeant.
That same year, he was placed with the 9th Infantry Division in South Vietnam.
Known as an expert marksman, he was selected to study with the 9th Infantry’s sniper
school, where he honed his skills.
As a sniper, he worked in the Mekong Delta in the brown water Tango Boats and PBRs, operating
alongside the Navy.
He was credited by US General Ewell with a confirmed kill, achieved in a single shot,
from 900 yards away on a moving Tango Boat.
In the first half of 1969, he achieved a kill count of 109 confirmed kills, which made him
the deadliest sniper in United States Military History until 2011.
Waldron ended his time in Vietnam with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Presidential Unit Citation,
and two Distinguished Service Crosses.
He then taught at the US Army Marksmanship Unit as a senior instructor until 1970.
Now it’s time to head for the land down under.
8.
William “Billy” Sing – The Queensland Sharpshooter
Billy Sing began his life as a farm boy from rural Queensland, Australia, but he eventually
became one of the most respected snipers of World War I. Sing was a great shot from a
young age, and his brother-in-law once said that he could “shoot the tail off a piglet
as far aways as 25 paces.”
Sing became a competitive target shooter for a time, before World War I broke out and he
enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force.
He was stationed in the Gallipoli peninsula of what is now Turkey, and quickly developed
a reputation as a deadly sniper.
His estimated kill count of 200 men earned him the nicknames “The Assassin” “The
Murderer” and “The Angel of Death.”
The Turkish army brought in an equally notorious sniper, Abdul the Terrible, to face off against
Sing, in hopes that they could put a stop to the devastating blows to their army.
However, before Abdul could fire a single bullet at him, Sing caught him in his sights
and killed him.
Shooting your competition in the head is definitely one way to defend your title.
Now we head to the snowy fields of World War II.
7.
Matthäus Hetzenauer – The Wehrmacht Wunderkind
Matthäus Hetzenauer was a German sniper on the Eastern Front in World War II from 1943
to 1945.
Though he was just 20 years old when he started, he was incredibly successful in the art of
long-range death, and killed 345 men before he was captured.
Through hunting, he learned the skills of marksmanship and camouflage from a young age.
At age 17, he was drafted into the German army.
He was sent to the Eastern Front to face off against the Soviet Soldiers there, and this
is where he began to earn his reputation as a terrifying sniper.
Matthäus was a patient man, often sitting in the snow for hours before firing even a
single shot.
He made all of his 345 kills over the course of 10 months, and once made a kill from 1,200
yards away.
For context, that’s the length of over 10 football fields.
He was captured by Soviet forces in 1945, but before his capture he certainly made his
mark on military history.
Now we move to a country best known for its friendliness, but with a deadly military history.
6.
Francis Pegahmagabow – The Canadian Crack-Shot
Francis Pegahmagabow was an Ojibwa man, born on the Parry Island Indian Reserve – now
known as the Wasauksing First Nation – who would go on to become one of the deadliest
snipers of World War I.
Like many of the snipers on this list, he grew up learning how to hunt, and this made
him an excellent shot before he even dreamed of going up against targets who shot back.
When war was declared in Europe, Pegahmagabow enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force
at the age of 25.
Francis worked as a scout and as a sniper, two of the most dangerous jobs in this bloody
and arduous war.
But he proved himself as a sniper with a combination of patience and nearly perfect aim, and made
378 confirmed kills during his time in combat.
After he was discharged in 1919, he became the most decorated First Nations soldier in
Canadian history.
After leaving the military, he advocated for Indigenous rights until his death in 1952.
Now it’s back to World War II, where it’s time for the Red Army to strike back.
5.
Fyodor Okhlopkov – The Soviet Sniping Savant
Fyodor Okhlopkov was a member of the Red Army, and a professional Soviet sniper during World
War II.
He joined the army in 1941 as a machine gunner, then, in 1942, he found his true military
calling as a sniper.
Fyodor fought with a Soviet Mosin-Nagant 1891/30 sniper rifle with a PU Scope, a rifle he proved
himself to have a terrifying level of expertise with.
How terrifying, you ask?
Well…
His reported kill count is 429, and he was decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union on
the 20th anniversary of the war’s end.
He also received the Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Patriotic
War, Order of the Red Star, Medal for Merit in Combat, and Victory over Germany Medal.
He was lucky that sniping was a largely stationary role, or the sheer weight of all his medals
would probably have held him back.
World War II bred many deadly Soviet snipers, and our next one is a world-renowned legend.
4.
Vasily Zaytsev – Stalingrad Super-Sniper
Vasily Zaytsev was a soldier of the Red Army during World War II, and a prominent figure
at the Battle of Stalingrad.
He received his first rifle at age 12 as a gift, and was trained in hunting by his grandfather.
While he worked as a chief of finance in the Pacific Fleet for several years, he applied
five times to be moved to the front lines.
His request was finally granted and he was sent to the 284th rifle division.
He became a sniper after proving his skills as a soldier, hitting an enemy that was 800
feet away.
As a sniper, he was prone to hide in many different locations, from water pipes to underneath
rubble.
Every few kills he would change position in order to avoid detection.
During the Battle of Stalingrad he killed more than 300 Nazi soldiers.
In his memoirs, Zaystev wrote about facing off against a Nazi sniper known as the “Supersniper”,
who he supposedly killed during the Battle of Stalingrad.
The story of this conflict inspired the film “Enemy at the Gates.”, although many believe
that the account of his duel with a German sniper was nothing but propaganda and it was
never proven.
He received many awards for his time in battle, including the Order of the Red Banner, Order
of the Patriotic War, Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad, and the Medal for the Victory
Over Germany.
Once more to the killing fields of World War II’s eastern front, and another hero of
the Soviet Union.
3.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko – Lady Death
Lyudmila Pavlichenko is regarded as the deadliest female sniper in recorded history.
She fought for the Red Army against the Germans during World War II, and earned a massive,
deadly reputation among the German army, who referred to her as “Lady Death.”
As a young girl, she once heard a boy bragging about his shooting achievements, and, she
wrote “That was enough to send me running to the range.”
After she began shooting, she developed a love of it and joined a shooting club, earning
a sharpshooter badge and a marksman certificate.
She advanced her education by enrolling in a sniper school.
When Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Pavlichenko enlisted in the Red Army,
despite insistence from the recruitment officer that she become a nurse instead.
She joined the 25th Rifle Division as a sniper, taking out 36 German snipers.
On a publicity tour in Chicago meant to drum up support for the US joining the war, she
addressed the men in the audience by saying “Gentlemen.
I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist occupants by now.
Don’t you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?”
She earned this kill count in only a few months, and is not only one of the greatest female
snipers of all time, but one of the greatest snipers of all time, period.
Next is a controversial American figure.
2.
Chris Kyle – The Real American Sniper
Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL who served four tours during the Iraq War over the course
of 10 years.
During his time in Iraq he became regarded as the most lethal sniper in American Military
History.
He had 160 confirmed kills according to the Department of Defense, and wrote about his
experiences in a memoir, American Sniper, which was later adapted into the feature film
starring Bradley Cooper in the role of Kyle.
This kill count broke the record for most kills by an American Sniper, previously held
by Adelbert Waldron, mentioned earlier in this list.
In his own words, Kyle described his time as a sniper in these words: “I don’t have
to psyche myself up, or do something special mentally – I look through the scope, get
my target in the cross hairs, and kill my enemy before he kills one of my people”
He was given two awards of the Silver Star and five awards of the Bronze Star.
There has, however, been some debate surrounding his military record, including claims that
his kill count has not been officially substantiated.
Regardless, Kyle left his mark on American military history before his murder in 2013,
and will likely be remembered for a very long time.
Now it’s time to discover who our top sniper of all time is.
1.
Simo Hayha – The White Death
Simo Hayha is regarded as one of the deadliest snipers in all of history, and perhaps the
deadliest sniper who has ever lived.
During the Winter War of 1939-1940, where Finland battled against the Soviet Union,
Hayha had at least 505 confirmed kills.
This is more confirmed kills than any sniper on record.
Hayha was only five feet tall, and not considered to be an especially intimidating man in day
to day life.
It is likely this ability to be unnoticed and underestimated is part of what made him
such an effective sniper.
Hayha was an excellent shot, a skill he developed by hunting as a young man.
Additionally, his father had trained him to precisely estimate distances, a vital skill
for a sniper.
The war lasted for 105 days.
And Hayha fought for 98 of them, leaving combat only when he became injured.
While he was active in combat, he made a massive mark on the Soviet army.
Like the rest of the Finnish soldiers, he wore all-white camouflage.
However, he took this camouflage an extra mile and would surround himself with snow
drifts that provided extra cover as well as cushion for his rifle.
He was meticulous about his preparations, and would visit his favorite firing positions
during the night to keep himself sharp.
His ability to pick off Soviet soldiers while remaining unseen and undetected earned him
his nickname, “The White Death.”
Though he was injured during the war, he survived, and returned to his farm to retire after the
fighting was done.
He finally passed away in 2002 at the ripe old age of 96.
Check out “Surviving Actual Military Combat (True Story)” and “Top 10 Most Powerful
Militaries - Military / Army Comparison.”