2017 - Forgotten Weapons

The German WWII Standby: The MP38 and MP40 SMGs

August 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 41

The MP40 is an iconic piece of World War 2 weaponry, and it’s about time we took a closer look at its development… Thanks to the Institute of Military Technology for allowing me to have […]

M34: The Berthier Converted to the 7.5mm Rimless Cartridge

August 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

With the end of World War One, it was finally possible for the French military to replace the 8mm Lebel cartridge with a modern rimless cartridge, and they wasted no time in doing so. By […]

Weapons as Political Protest: P.A. Luty’s Submachine Gun

August 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 58

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Finnish militiamen being issued 7.35mm Carcano rifles

M38 TS Carcano Carbine: Brilliant or Rubbish?

August 1, 2017 Ian McCollum 76

I would like to propose that the M38 TS Carcano carbine was, despite the poor reputation of the Carcano series of rifles, one of the best thought out bolt action weapons of World War 2. […]

The Berthier After World War One

July 31, 2017 Ian McCollum 36

In the aftermath of World War One, France would face the need to replace virtually all of its small arms, because nearly everything it had been using was either a wartime stopgap (like the Ruby, […]

Book Review: Vickers Guide AR15 Volume 2

July 30, 2017 Ian McCollum 2

Larry Vickers and James Rupley have followed their first volume of AR-15s with a second one – as we should have expected when the first one was title “Volume I”. Where the first volume covered […]

W+F Bern P47 Experimental Gas-Delay Pistol

July 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The Swiss were the first country to adopt a self-loading service pistol; the Luger in 1900. They would keep those in service clear through World War 2, at which point they began seriously looking for […]

Italy’s Worst Machine Gun: The Breda Modello 30

July 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 112

The Breda Model 30 was the standard Italian light machine gun of World War II, and is a serious contender for “worst machine gun ever”. Yes, given the choice we would prefer to have a […]

Q&A #12: Small Arms in Modern Conflict Zones, with Nic Jenzen-Jones of ARES

July 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 37

This month’s Q&A features a special guest, Nic Jenzen-Jones from Armament Research Services (ARES). We have a bunch of very interesting questions for him on modern conflict zones and insurgent groups: 1:15 – Russian cartridge […]

The Berthier Gets an Upgrade: The Model 1916

July 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The “Modifié 1916” update to the Berthier system of rifles and carbines marked a major improvement in the guns combat effectiveness – really the first substantial overhaul to the design since it was developed in […]