Light MGs
M1922 BAR Cavalry Light Machine Gun
After World War One, there was a lot of tinkering with the BAR by the US military. It was recognized as being a very good platform, but the original M1918 configuration left a lot to […]
Light MGs
Light MGs
Praga I-23: Prototype Belt-Fed Predecessor of the ZB26
Vaclav Holek’s first machine gun design for the Czech military was the Praga I, built in 1922 and based heavily on the Vickers/Maxim system. However, it became clear that the military wanted something lighter and […]
Light MGs
Degtyarev Upgrades: DP27 vs DPM
Enter to win this awesome Semiauto DPM! https://www.fanathem.com/forgottenweapons DEADLINE to ENTER is 10/25/2024 at 11:59 PM PST The full version of this video, including range footage and no giveaway segments, and in 4K resolution, is […]
Light MGs
The FAL in Cuba: Left Arm of the Communist World?
In 1958, Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista ordered some 35,000 FAL rifles from FN, including both regular infantry rifles have heavy-barreled FALO light machine guns. Before any of them could arrive, however, Batista fled the country […]
Light MGs
Samostril Netsch: Bizarre Prototype Czech Automatic Rifle
When Czechoslovakia began looking for new small arms in the early 1920s, one of the things they were interested in was a “samostřil” – something akin to the automatic rifle in English. A select-fire weapon […]
Light MGs
Steyr-Solothurn S2-200: the Austrian MG30 and Hungarian 31M
The S2-200 was developed by Louis Stange at the Rheinmetall company in Germany in the late 1920s. Because Germany was not allowed to be doing this sort of arms development at the time, Rheinmetall bought […]
Light MGs
HK21 or Portuguese m/968: The H&K G3 Grows into a Light Machine Gun
When Heckler & Koch produced the iconic G3 rifle, it was intended to be a parts of a complete small arms package. The G3 was the infantry rifle, and it was paired with the MP% […]
Commentary
History of SAW Use in the US Army
THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO WIN! https://go.getenteredtowin.com/forgottenweapons DEADLINE to ENTER is TONIGHT 07/26/24 @ 11:59pm (PST). The first squad automatic weapon used by the US Army was the French Mle 1915 Chauchat, which was […]
Light MGs
.30-06 M1918 American Chauchat – Doughboys Go to France
When the US entered World War One, the country had a grand total of 1,453 machine guns, split between 4 different models. This was not a useful inventory to equip even a single division headed […]
Light MGs
Colt Automatic Machine Rifle Model 1919: the First Commercial BAR
Several patents were taken out on the BAR during World War One, but they were all kept unpublished and secret during the war. Just days after the Armistice, Colt patent attorney CJ Ehbets wrote to […]