2018 - Forgotten Weapons

Forgotten History: The Underground Hell of Fort Vaux

July 24, 2018 Ian McCollum 8

With the surprise capture of Fort Douaumont in February 1916, the French reinforced all the remaining forts around the city of Verdun, and would hold them all successfully for many months. In fact, the only […]

Argentina’s Open-Bolt Pocket .22s: the Hafdasa HA and the Zonda

July 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 18

Originally made by Hafdasa (Hispano-Argentina Fábrica de Automóviles S.A.), the HA pistol is a .22 Long Rifle caliber, semiauto only, open bolt pocket pistol. It was produced in the 1950s, right at the end of […]

Book Review: The Makarov Pistol Part 2 (China, Bulgaria, Khyber Pass)

July 22, 2018 Ian McCollum 4

Henry Brown and Cameron White have released the second part of their work on the Makarov pistol, this time with additional assistance from Edwin Lowe. This second volume covers Chinese, Bulgarian, and craft-made (“Khyber Pass”) […]

Cobray Terminator at the Range: The Worst Shotgun Ever

July 21, 2018 Ian McCollum 34

Most of the guns made by Cobray are pretty awful, but one can at least understand the market they were made for. The Terminator is different, because it really is rather incomprehensible who would have […]

WW2 Mauser Becomes Heckler & Koch: the StG-45(M), or Gerat 06H

July 20, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

After the Mp44/StG44 Sturmgewehr was starting to see substantial production and field use, the German military and the Mauser company began working on a way to simplify production of the weapon. The design for the […]

Ken Hackathorn on the Thompson and the MP5

July 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 44

Today I am speaking with Ken Hackathorn about submachine guns – specifically the Thompson and the MP5. Mr Hackathorn has an extensive resume that he is quite humble about, but I will point out that […]

Kaiserliche Schutztruppen G98 – for the German Camel Corps

July 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 14

Germany established their colony of German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika, now Namibia) in 1884, as part of its late attempt to become a colonial power to rival the United Kingdom. The soldiers deployed to protect […]

FESAC and the Rights of European Arms Collectors

July 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 52

Today I am joined by Mr. Stephen Petroni, chairman of FESAC – the Foundation for European Societies of Arms Collectors. FESAC is an organization set up to advocate for and protect the rights of European […]

OSS “Stinger” Covert Cigarette Guns

July 16, 2018 Ian McCollum 18

During World War Two, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was the primary US clandestine operations organization. It was responsible for making all sorts of unique weapons, including these “Stinger” cigarette guns. They were single […]

Virtual Tour of the Excavation at DigHill80

July 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

DigHill80 was an archaeological project funded in large part by you, the viewers of Forgotten Weapons. Hill 80 was a German fortified position in World War One outside the Belgian town of Wijtschate. In 2015 […]