Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

MAS SE 1935 SMG: Emblematic of French Interwar Gun Development

August 26, 2026 Ian McCollum 23

Submachine guns made their entrance into military thinking during World War One. The French military saw this and decided to adopt one in the years after the war, although they saw it in a bit […]

A WW2 German Mystery: Knorr Bremse FG42 Prototype?

August 24, 2026 Ian McCollum 38

This is really a mystery rifle, or half of a mystery rifle. It is part of the collection at Springfield Armory National Historic Site, but its exact provenance from World War Two is not recorded. […]

The Very First FAL Prototype (in 8mm Kurz)

August 22, 2026 Ian McCollum 21

Dieudonne Saive at Fabrique Nationale began developing the FAL to submit for the British post-war program to adopt new small arms. He built the first example in the German 8x33mm Kurz cartridge, as this was […]

Colt’s Vietnam Prototype AK/M16 Hybrid: the Model 703

August 17, 2026 Ian McCollum 16

“From Hartford to Vietnam” is available here for preorder: Or you can find it bundled with “Tiger Stripe: The Vietnam Camouflage Story” on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/tiger-stripe?ref=3b3v8y The Model 703 was an experimental project at Colt which […]

FNA Brescia’s Last Project: The X4 and X5 SMG and Machine Pistol

August 10, 2026 Ian McCollum 8

FNA (Fabbrica Nazionale d’Armi) Brescia was a factory in the Val Trompia in northern Italy, the same valley that is home to Beretta and many other, smaller Italian arms shops. During World War Two the […]

Aimpoint Square: An Ambitious Failed Prototype

July 24, 2026 Ian McCollum 6

Between 1990 and 1993, Aimpoint experimented with a red dot optics that was pretty ambitious on several fronts. It used a rectangular window to maximize field of view for hunting rifles and shotguns (this was […]

Prototype MAS 1925M Pistol: Cartridge Counting in 7.65 French Long

June 3, 2026 Ian McCollum 12

After World War One the French military created a plan to replace basically all of its small arms, including the array of handguns it had in use. The trials to adopt a single new replacement […]

H&R T223: In Vietnam Before the HK33

May 18, 2026 Ian McCollum 26

The very first iteration of the HK 33 roller-delayed rifle was included in early US rifle testing in Vietnam. H&K worked with Harrington & Richardson as their US representative, who did final assembly on a […]

Iver Johnson Prototype .25ACP Blow Forward Pocket Pistol

May 13, 2026 Ian McCollum 16

This is a one-of-a-kind prototype of a .25ACP blow forward pistol made by Iver Johnson. It was patented in 1916 (patent applied for in 1912) by William O. Barnes of Massachusetts, and assigned to Iver […]

TRW Low Maintenance Rifle: America’s Roller Locked Flechette Rifle

March 30, 2026 Ian McCollum 63

TRW’s Low Maintenance Rifle seems to have been the result of a program to use a blank slate and a modern space age scientific mindset to develop a rifle that would be more reliable and […]