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 […]
Machine Guns
General Purpose MGs
Negev 7: Israeli Scales up to a 7.62 NATO Machine Gun
Full video including range footage is available on the History of Weapons & War streaming app: https://forgottenweapons.vhx.tv/videos/negev-7-4k The Israeli Negev machine gun had a rather long development cycle, beginning in 1985 but not seeing final […]
Prototype
Erma EMP36: External Form Factor of the MP40
The German military began looking for a new submachine gun design in secret in the mid 1930s. There is basically no surviving documentation, but the main contenders appear to have featured: Hugo Schmeisser’s MK-36,II and […]
Prototype
Schmeisser MK-36,II – The Mechanics of the MP40
The German military began looking for a new submachine gun design in secret in the mid 1930s. There is basically no surviving documentation, but the main contenders appear to have featured: Hugo Schmeisser’s MK-36,II and […]
Submachine Guns
The Swiss Suomi: MP43/44 (With Bayonet)
During World War Two, the Swiss had adopted Adolf Furrer’s toggle-locked MP41 submachine gun, and they found it too fragile, complex, and expensive. Looking for an alternative, one easy choice was the Finnish Suomi. Used […]
Medium MGs
ZB37: Czechoslovakia’s Super-Heavy Machine Gun
The ZB37 began in 1930 as a design by none other than classic Czech arms designer Vaclav Holek. The Czechoslovakian military was still using the Schwarzlose heavy MG, and wanted something to replace it. To […]
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 […]
Heavy MGs
Praga I: A Blow-Forward Bullpup Semi-Auto-Selectable Vickers Gun
The Praga I was the first machine gun design from noted Czech arms designed Vaclav Holek. Three examples were made for Czech military testing in 1922, but they were not acceptable. Instead, this design served […]
Submachine Guns
Development of the Uzi Family: Standard, Mini, and Micro
https://youtu.be/y3EIud0KKCM Full video cut available on the History of Weapons & War app. The Uzi was originally designed in the 1950s, and it was on the technological cutting edge at the time. The stamped receiver, […]
Prototype
ZB47: A Truly Weird Czech SMG
The ZB47 was developed at Brno as a contender for Czech military submachine gun adoption in the late 1940s. The Czech Army had technically adopted a submachine gun prior to World War Two (the vz.38; […]