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From killing an enemy at almost 2 and a half kilometres away, to getting 505 confirmed
kills we countdown the 10 Deadliest Snipers in History.
#10 We start off with Craig Harrison, a Corporal of Horse in the British Military. In November
of 2009, Harrison was part of a convoy travelling through Helmand Province in Afghanistan when
he noticed an enemy machine gun crew setting up their position. He got out of the jeep
he was riding in and set up his long range sniper rifle. Harrison was able to successfully
take out not 1, but 2 taliban at over 8000 feet away. After killing the enemy combatants,
he fired a 3rd shot at the machine gun which completely disabled it. Harrison currently
holds the record for longest confirmed sniper kill in combat.
#9 Carlos Hathcock - A Unites States Marine Corp Sniper, Hathcock served in the Vietnam
War. Credited with 93 confirmed kills of North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong, Hathcock was
feared among the enemy who put a $30,000 bounty on his head. In an almost impossible shot,
Hathcock was able to successfully kill an enemy sniper by putting a bullet down the
enemy’s own rifle scope hitting him in the eye. Hathcock has estimated that he has actually
killed 300 to 400 enemy personnel but the kills were not confirmed by a third party.
#8 Charles Mawhinny - Another United States Marine Corp Sniper, Mawhinny served in the
Vietnam war during a 16 month Tour. During that time, he is credited with 103 confirmed
kills and 216 probable kills. During one day in 1969, Mawhinney encountered a platoon of
North Vietnamese Army crossing a stream, killing 16 of them with headshots from an M-14.
#7 Adelbert Waldron - Serving in the 9th Infantry division of the United States Army, Waldron
was credited with 109 kills during the vietnam war . At the end of his tour Waldron was recognized
as having the highest confirmed kills out of all of the US servicemen during the conflict.
After his tour ended, Waldron taught at the US army Marksmanship Unit, and received the
silver star, bronze star and two distinguished service crosses.
#6 Chris Kyle - The Focus of the movie “American Sniper”, Kyle was a United States Navy Seal.
Named the most Lethal Sniper in US Military history, Kyle has 160 confirmed kills and
255 probable Kills. During his time in Iraq, he became known among the enemy, who gave
him the nickname The Devil of Ramadi and put an $80,000 bounty on his head. Kyle left the
Military in 2009 and went on to write a book about his experiences. On Feb 2nd, 2013 Kyle
was shot and killed with friend Chad Littlefield by US marine Corps veteran Eddie Routh, who
was later convicted of their deaths.
#5 Unnamed - There is currently a British Royal Marine who has 173 confirmed kills on
taliban targets. Currently, the identity of the sniper is unknown, The Royal Marines refuse
to identify him for fear that he will become targets of revenge attacks. The soldier has
done tours in Afghanistan and has said to of killed 90 enemy combatants in one day.
#4 Vasily Zaytsev - A hero of the soviet union, Zaytsev killed 225 soldiers, including 11
enemy snipers during the Battle of Stalingrad. Using the standard issue Mosin-Nagant, Zaytsev
would regularly get kills at over 1000 meters away even though the effective range of the
rifle was 900 metres.One of Zaytsev’s encountes with an enemy Nazi sniper was depicted in
the film “Enemy at the gates” Zaytsev eventually went on to teach at a soviet sniper
school , and his students were credited with more than 6,000 kills during World War 2.
#3. LyudMila Pavlichenko - The only female on our list, Pavlyuchenko was a soviet sniper
during world war 2. Before joining the military, Pavlychenko was a member of a shooting club
in Kiev, where she developed her skills. When the German Army began its invasion, she volunteered
to join the infantry where she was assigned to the Red Army’s 25th Rifle Division. Pavlychenko
was credited with 309 kills between the battle of Odessa and the battle of Sevastopol and
is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history.
#2 Francis Pegamagabow was a first nations soldier in the Canadian Military. Credited
with killing 378 Germans and capturing another 300, Pegamagabow is one of the most highly
decorated soldiers in Canadian Military history. Serving almost the entire length of World
War 1, he became well known for his expert scouting and marksman skills. Pegamagabow
is only one of 38 Canadians to receive a second bar on his Military medal.
#1 Simo Hayha - Also known as white death, Hayha is credited with killing at least 505
enemy soldiers, the highest amount of confirmed kills in any major war. A Finnish marksman,
Hayha would lie in the snow wearing white camouflage making him almost invisible. The
Soviet troops, not issued white camo were easy targets. The Soviets, frustrated by the
amount of men lost, tried to use counter snipers, and artillery strikes to take out the skilled
marksman. On March 6th, 1940 Hayha was hit by an explosive bullet and lost his lower
left cheek. During his recovery peace was declared and the Winter war was over.