Asniper is a trainedsharpshooter who operates alone,in a pair, or with asniper team to maintain close visual contact with a target and engage the targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the detection capabilities of enemy personnel.
Somenotable military snipers include:
| Name | Lived | Active | Notes | Confirmed sniper kills | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Adamia | 1919–1942 | 1938–1942 | A Soviet Georgian naval infantryman who is credited with over 200 kills and several tanks knocked out.[1] Trained another 80 snipers within a couple of months during the Second World War.[2] | 200+ |  Soviet Union |
| Herman Davis | 1888–1923 | 1918 | An American sniper of the First World War, awarded theDistinguished Service Cross, the Croix de Guerre with palm, theCroix de Guerre with Gilt Star and theMédaille Militaire awards from the American andFrench governments.[3][4] | 60 |  United States |
| Fedir Dyachenko | 1917–1995 | 1932–1946 | ASoviet Ukrainian sniper duringWorld War II, credited with as many as 425 kills and awarded with theHero of the Soviet Union.[5][6][7] | 425 | Soviet Union |
| Rob Furlong | 1976– | 1996–2003 | A Canadian Army sniper who held the record for the kill from the greatest distance duringOperation Anaconda,War in Afghanistan.[8] | 1+ |  Canada |
| Lucky Bisht | 1988– | 2003–2024 | An IndianSecret service, nicknameLima[9][10] who has a record of shooting the heads of two gangsters with a single bullet, killing both but till date no agency has been able to prove how he did this.[11] He is also alleged to be a contract killer.[12][13][14][15][16] A book has been written on Bisht's life,R.A.W. Hitman: The Real Story of Agent Lima according to which he is. Hitman ofResearch and Analysis Wing.[17][18][19] Bisht is the first Indian whose life has been written about in the sequel toR.A.W Hitman 2: The Assassinations[20] This book was published by the American companySimon & Schuster.[21][22][23] | 139 |  India |
| Gary Gordon | 1960–1993 | 1978–1993 | ADelta Force sniper who was posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor for protecting the injured crew of a downed helicopter during theBattle of Mogadishu.[24] | N/A | United States |
| Craig Harrison | 1974- | 1990–2014 | A British Army sniper who achieved the fourth longest confirmed kill shot in history (2,475 m) using the Accuracy InternationalL115A3 Long Range Rifle.[25] | N/A |  United Kingdom |
| Carlos Hathcock | 1942–1999 | 1959–1979 | A renowned United States Marine Corps sniper who is credited with 93 confirmed kills.[26][27] | 93 | United States |
| Dejan Berić | 1974- | 2014–present | Simply known asDeki (Деки) is a Serbian volunteer in theforces of theDonetsk People's Republic with the rank ofMajor, who is fighting as a sniper in the ongoingRusso-Ukrainian War.[28][29] | N/A |  Serbia |
| Simo Häyhä | 1905–2002 | 1939–1940 | A Finnish sniper during the 1939–40Winter War known as the "White Death" from his habit of lying in the snow wearingsnow camouflage and a white face mask, waiting for a target to appear.Antti Rantamaa, who served as afield chaplain in Häyhä's regiment, credited him with 259 confirmed kills by sniper rifle and equal number of kills by light machine gun and submachine gun during the war.[30] All of Häyhä's kills were made over the course of fewer than 100 days, before he was seriously wounded—an average of just over 5 per day, with the highest daily count numbering 45 kills—at a time of year with few daylight hours.[31][32] | ~542 |  Finland |
| Musa Herdem [ku;pt] | 1987–2015 | 2006–2015 | AYPG sniper known as 'Musa' with allegedly more than 120 confirmed kills, mainly during the fighting forKobani during the Syrian Civil War.[33] |  Rojava PJAK PKK | |
| Matthäus Hetzenauer | 1924–2004 | 1943–1945 | An Austrian sniper on the Eastern Front during World War II who was credited with 345 kills between 1943 and 1945.[34] | 345 |  Nazi Germany |
| Abukhadzhi Idrisov | 1918–1983 | 1939–1944 | A SovietChechen sniper credited with 349+ kills during World War II. He was reported to have killed 100 soldiers in only 10 days of fighting. Awarded multiple of the highest state orders of the Soviet Union.[35] | 349+ | Soviet Union |
| Nikolai Ilyin | 1925–1943 | 1941–1943 | A Soviet sniper with 494 kills, who fought in the50th Guards Rifle Division during theBattle of Stalingrad,World War II.[36] | 494 | Soviet Union |
| Nicholas Irving | 1986– | 2004–2010 | A sniper nicknamed "The Reaper" with the3rd Ranger Battalion deployed in Afghanistan in 2009, with 33 confirmed kills.[37] | 33 | United States |
| Juba | N/A | 2005–2007 | Juba (Arabic: جوبا) (also called "Joba") is the pseudonym of an alleged sniper involved in the Iraq War's insurgency. He participated inIraqi Civil War as well as the2003 Invasion of Iraq.[38][39][40][41] | 700+ (alleged) 63 (confirmed) |  Iraq |
| Tatang Koswara | 1947–2015 | 1975–1976 | A sniper credited with at least 41 confirmed kills in only a single mission during theIndonesian invasion of East Timor in the 1970s. Other story said he killed 49 in a single mission, because he saved one bullet for himself out of 50 bullets he brought[42] | 41+ |  Indonesia |
| Ivan Kulbertinov | 1917–1993 | 1941–1945 | A Russian Soviet sniper credited with 252, or alternatively 487 kills using aMosin-Nagant 1891 rifle during the Second World War.[43][44] | 252 | Soviet Union |
| Vasilij Kvachantiradze | 1907–1950 | 1941–1945 | A Soviet Georgian sniper who is credited with 534 kills during World War II, one of the highest Soviet kill counts.[45] Known for almost single-handedly thwarting a German assault onShumilino in Belarus.[46] | 500+ | Soviet Union |
| Chris Kyle | 1974–2013 | 1999–2009 | A US Navy SEAL credited with 160 confirmed kills by the Pentagon, but who allegedly killed 255.[47] | 160 | United States |
| Marie Ljalková | 1920–2011 | 1942–1953 | A Czech sniper fighting in the Soviet Army during World War II who was credited with at least 30 confirmed kills.[48] | 30+ |  Czechoslovakia |
| Charles Marlowe | 1968– | 1987–1990 | A United States Marine Corps sniper who holds the record for most solo missions completed (27).[49] | 46 | United States |
| Chuck Mawhinney | 1949–2024 | 1967–1970 | A United States Marine Corps sniper who holds the record for most confirmed kills by a US Marine (103 kills), with an additional 216 "probable kills".[50] | 103 - 319 | United States |
| Herbert W. McBride | 1873–1933 | 1914–1918 | A US citizen who serves as a captain in the21st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, during World War One.[51] | 100+ | United States |
| Philip McDonald | 1886–1916 | 1914–1916 | Part of8th Battalion (90th Winnipeg Rifles), CEF, 42 confirmed kills during the First World War. Killed in action 3 January 1916.[52] | 42 | Canada |
| Timothy Murphy | 1751–1818 | 1775–1780 | AnAmerican Revolutionary War sniper credited with killing British GeneralSimon Fraser during theBattle of Saratoga.[53] | 1+ | United States |
| Semyon Nomokonov | 1900–1973 | 1941–1945 | A Soviet Russian World War II sniper with 367 logged kills.[54] | 367 | Soviet Union |
| Henry Norwest | 1884–1918 | 1915–1918 | A sniper in the 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion during the First World War. He had 115 confirmed kills and was killed by a German sniper on 18 August 1918.[55] | 115 | Canada |
| Fyodor Okhlopkov | 1908–1968 | 1941–1945 | A Russian Soviet sniper credited with 423 confirmed kills during World War II.[56] | 423 | Soviet Union |
| Johnson Paudash | 1875–1959 | 1914–1918 | A member of the21st Battalion (Eastern Ontario), CEF during World War One who made 88 confirmed kills.[57] | 88 | Canada |
| Lyudmila Pavlichenko | 1916–1974 | 1941–1953 | The most successful female sniper duringWorld War II. She served in the Soviet army and had 309 confirmed kills. Pavlichenko was called "Lady Death" for her ability with a sniper rifle. She served in the Red Army during the siege of Odesa and the siege of Sevastopol. She was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union[56] | 309 | Soviet Union |
| Vladimir Pchelintsev | 1919–2001 | 1941–1945 | A Soviet sniper Credited with 152 kills using aMosin-Nagant 1891 rifle during theSecond World War.[58] | 152 | Soviet Union |
| Francis Pegahmagabow | 1891–1952 | 1914–1919 | AnOjibwe sniper inWorld War I who is credited with 378 kills, and an unknown number of unconfirmed kills.[59] | 378 | Canada |
| Friedrich Pein | 1915–1975 | 1943–1945 | An Austrian fighting in the German Army credited with over 200 kills on the Eastern Front between 1943 and 1945 during the Second World War.[60] | 200+ | Nazi Germany |
| Arron Perry | 1972– | 1999–2005 | A Canadian Army sniper who briefly held the record for the longest-ever recorded and confirmed sniper kill in 2002.[8] | 1+ | Canada |
| Stepan Petrenko | 1922–1984 | 1941–1945 | A Soviet sniper during the Second World War with 422 confirmed kills, awarded the HSU (Hero of the Soviet Union).[36] | 422 | Soviet Union |
| Ranjith Premasiri Madalana (Nero) | 1969–2009 | 2000–2009 | A sniper in theSri Lanka Army during thecountry's civil war alias "Nero".[61] The Sri Lankan LTTE war ended on 18 May 2009 just 20 days after Corporal Premasiri's death. At the time of his death, he had served 18 years in the Sri Lanka Army and 9 years of it as a sniper with 217 confirmed kills ofTamil Tigers.[62][63] | 217 |  Sri Lanka |
| Graham Ragsdale | 1969– | 1988–2003 | A former Canadian Army sniper who fought in Afghanistan in 2002[8] and 2005–2014 as a designated defensive marksman withprivate military companies. | 56 | Canada |
| Patrick Riel | 1876–1916 | 1914–1916 | AMétis Canadian attached to the8th Battalion (90th Winnipeg Rifles), CEF during the First World War with 30 confirmed kills. Killed in action by shell fire on 14 January 1916.[64] | 30 | Canada |
| Ben Roberts-Smith | 1978– | 1996–2015 | A sniper with the AustralianSpecial Air Service Regiment who was awarded theMedal of Gallantry for his actions in 2006 duringOperation Perth in the Chora Valley of Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.[65] Subsequently, awarded theVictoria Cross for Australia in 2011. | N/A |  Australia |
| Ian Robertson | 1927–2014 | 1945–1953 | A sniper with the3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment after the Second World War, becoming one of the most effective snipers of theKorean War. In a single morning, Robertson killed 30 enemy soldiers.[66] | 30+ | Australia |
| Roza Shanina | 1924–1945 | 1943–1945 | A Russian Soviet sniper during the Second World War, credited with 60 kills, including 12 soldiers during theBattle of Vilnius in 1944.[67] | 60 | Soviet Union |
| Justin Dygert | 1986- | 2005–2011 | JSOC A Scout Sniper who was awarded for protecting the injured crew of a downed helicopter during a firefight in Somalia.[24] | 41 | United States |
| Ivan Sidorenko | 1919–1994 | 1939–1945 | A Soviet sniper credited with over 500 kills during the Second World War.[68][69] | 500+ | Soviet Union |
| Billy Sing | 1886–1943 | 1914–1918 | An Australian First World War sniper credited with over 150 confirmed kills. Contemporary evidence puts his tally at close to 300 kills.[70] | 150+ | Australia |
| Mikhail Surkov | 1921–1953 | 1941–1945 | A Soviet sniper in World War II. Official documents indicate a tally around 236 kills, although newspapers inflated his tally to over 700 kills.[71][72] | 236 | Soviet Union |
| Bruno Sutkus | 1924–2003 | 1944–1945 | ALithuanian sniper fighting in the German Army during the Second World War. He was credited with 209 kills on the Eastern Front between 1944 and 1945.[73] | 209 | Nazi Germany |
| Abu Tahsin al-Salhi | 1953–2017 | 1973–2017 | A sniper who fought in theYom Kippur War,Iran–Iraq War,invasion of Kuwait,Gulf War, as well as the2003 Invasion of Iraq.[74][75][76] However, his kills in other wars other than against ISIS are unaccounted for and unknown. | 341+ (against ISIS only) (Alleged) | Iraq |
| Henry Jones III | 1994– | 2012-2022 | A United States Army sniper who holds the record for the most confirmed kills by a US military sniper (109).[77] | 109 | United States |
| Alvin York | 1887–1964 | 1917–1918 | An expert sharpshooter with the82nd Infantry Division who used anM1917 Enfield rifle during theMeuse–Argonne offensive near Chatel-Chéhéry, France, 1918 inWorld War I.Medal of Honor recipient for leading an assault on machine gun positions.[78][79] | 28 | United States |
| Vasily Zaytsev | 1915–1991 | 1937–1945 | A Soviet sniper who fought at the Battle of Stalingrad. Zaytsev is credited with 242 kills (including 11 snipers).[56] | 242 | Soviet Union |
| Zhang Taofang | 1931–2007 | 1953–1985 | A Chinese sniper who fought in the Korean War with 214 confirmed kills over 32 days.[80] | 214 |  China |
| Abdorrasul Zarrin | 1941–1984 | 1979–1984 | An Iranian sniper in theIran–Iraq War. He had 700 kills during the war. According to Seyyed Ahmad Mousavi, his friend and Intelligence Commander of the Younis Diver Battalion of Imam Hussein army asked Zarrin how many kills he had, and he said more than 3,000 kills. The Jamejam newspaper agreed on this number.[81][82][83] | 700+ |  Iran |
| Zhou Xixiang | 1931– | 1950–??? | A Chinese sniper who fought in the Korean War with 203 confirmed kills with 206 bullets.[84] | 203 | China |
| Ibragim Suleymanov | 1911 – 1943 | 1941–1943 | A Kazakh sniper in the Red Army during World War II who killed an estimated 289 enemy soldiers. He was nominated for the titleHero of the Soviet Union on 9 July 1943, but was initially awarded only theOrder of Lenin. In 2022 he was posthumously awarded the titleHero of Kazakhstan, the highest state honor of Kazakhstan.[85] | 289 | Soviet Union |
Not all snipers are highly trained professional soldiers. The term is sometimes ambiguously used to describecriminals firing from cover at long range with a rifle, as well as police sharpshooters. Some non-military snipers include:
| Name | Lived | Notes | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Carter | 1881–1927 | A notorious murderer inOmaha, Nebraska, who claimed to have murdered 43 victims.[86] | United States |
| Michael Andrew Clark | 1949–1965 | A teenage sniper who killed three and wounded six inHighway 101 shooting spree on 25 April 1965.[87] | United States |
| Byron De La Beckwith | 1920–2001 | An ex-US Marine andwhite supremacist, assassinatedNAACP field secretaryMedgar Evers after the civil rights activist arrived home in Jackson, Mississippi on 12 June 1963.[88][89][90] | United States |
| William "Billy" Dixon | 1850–1913 | Defended theAdobe Walls settlement against Native American attack with his legendarybuffalo rifle, and was one of eight civilians in United States history to receive theMedal of Honor.[91][92][93] | United States |
| Tha'ir Kayid Hamad | 1980– | APalestinian sniper who was responsible for theWadi al-Haramiya sniper attack with a WWII-eraM1 Garand rifle during theSecond Intifada in 2002. Israeli sources claim he killed 10 soldiers and settlers and injured 6 others, while Palestinian sources claim he killed 11 soldiers and injured 9 others. He would be arrested two years later and sentenced to life imprisonment.[94][95] |  Palestine |
| Jack Hinson | 1807–1874 | A farmer who engaged Union troops at long range during theAmerican Civil War and recorded 36 officer "kills" on his custom-made .50 caliberKentucky long rifle with iron sights.[96] | United States |
| Lon Horiuchi | 1954– | A Federal Bureau of Investigation sniper who shotRandy Weaver and shot and killed Vicki Weaver atRuby Ridge.[97] | United States |
| Thomas "Tom" Horn Jr. | 1860–1903 | An American Old West lawman, scout, and hired gunman, known for shooting cattle rustlers and sheepherders at long range with aSharps rifle.[98] | United States |
| John Allen Muhammad andLee Boyd Malvo | 1960–2009 1985– | Perpetrators of theBeltway sniper attacks, a series of coordinated shootings that took place over three weeks in October 2002 in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Ten people were killed and three other victims were critically injured in several locations throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and alongInterstate 95 in Virginia.[99][100][101][102] | United States |
| Lee Harvey Oswald | 1939–1963 | A former US Marine who assassinated PresidentJohn F. Kennedy and shot GovernorJohn Connally in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963, and shot at GeneralEdwin Walker on 10 April 1963.[103] | United States |
| Stephen Paddock | 1953–2017 | Perpetrator of the2017 Las Vegas shooting using multiple high-powered modified rifles from the 32nd floor of a high-rise hotel, killing 60 people and wounding over 800 others on 1 October 2017.[104][105] | United States |
| Charles Whitman | 1941–1966 | A college student and former US Marine who fired from a clock tower on theUniversity of Texas Austin campus, killing 14 and wounding 32 on 1 August 1966.[106] | United States |
Founded in 1977,the school's first staff NCOIC was the famed sniper, Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock II, who was credited with 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam.
It is 'Juba' the sniper who causes havoc in Iraq and it was Corporal W.I. Ranjith Premasiri alias 'Nero' of SLA who was responsible for the deaths of more than 217 Tiger cadres, before his demise on 28 April 2009.
During the war, "Frontovaya Illustratsiya" wrote: "Sniper Sergeant Mikhail Surkov shoots at the enemy confidently and accurately. – He does not wound – he hits the spot. After killing over 700 Fascists, he went on to the next hunt"
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)Exclusive of the five Marines who earned double awards of the Medal, Lt.Samuel Parker was the most highly decorated soldier of WWI.