Machine Guns - Forgotten Weapons

Negev 7: Israeli Scales up to a 7.62 NATO Machine Gun

March 31, 2025 Ian McCollum 11

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 […]

Erma EMP36: External Form Factor of the MP40

March 26, 2025 Ian McCollum 24

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 […]

Schmeisser MK-36,II – The Mechanics of the MP40

March 24, 2025 Ian McCollum 9

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 […]

The Swiss Suomi: MP43/44 (With Bayonet)

March 19, 2025 Ian McCollum 48

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 […]

ZB37: Czechoslovakia’s Super-Heavy Machine Gun

March 12, 2025 Ian McCollum 45

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 […]

Praga I-23: Prototype Belt-Fed Predecessor of the ZB26

February 3, 2025 Ian McCollum 52

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 […]

Praga I: A Blow-Forward Bullpup Semi-Auto-Selectable Vickers Gun

January 15, 2025 Ian McCollum 19

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 […]

Development of the Uzi Family: Standard, Mini, and Micro

January 4, 2025 Ian McCollum 22

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, […]

ZB47: A Truly Weird Czech SMG

December 23, 2024 Ian McCollum 35

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; […]

Sten MkII vs Ingram M10/9 (w/ John Keene)

December 11, 2024 Ian McCollum 20

If you had to pick one, would you take a Sten MkII or an Ingram M10/9? This applies specifically to the guns in their original factory configurations; no Lage products allowed! It’s hard to come […]