Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

Major Fosbery’s Breechloading Prototype Rifle

August 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 6

George Fosbery was the British officer (Major, at the time of this particular design) responsible for the quite famous Webley-Fosbery self-cocking revolver, as well as the Paradox system for shotgun slugs and many other lesser […]

W+F Bern P47 Experimental Gas-Delay Pistol

July 29, 2017 Ian McCollum 26

The Swiss were the first country to adopt a self-loading service pistol; the Luger in 1900. They would keep those in service clear through World War 2, at which point they began seriously looking for […]

W+F Bern P43: A Swiss Take on the Browning High Power

July 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 41

In 1940, Switzerland began a series of trials to replace their Luger service pistols with something equally high quality, but more economical. They had squeezed as much simplification out of the Luger as they could […]

Thorpe EM-1: A Bullpup Take on the Roller Locked Gerat 06

July 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 51

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Lewis Short Recoil .45ACP Prototype Pistol

June 28, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Isaac Newton Lewis is best known for the Lewis light machine gun, but that was not his only foray into firearms design. He also patented two different types of handguns – one gas operated and […]

The Korsac EM1 – a British/Polish Bullpup FG-42

June 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 22

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

SA80 History: L22A2 and Experimental L85 Carbines

May 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 24

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

Laumann 1891 and Schonberger-Laumann 1894 Semiauto Pistols

May 22, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

Josef Laumann was an Austrian designer of early ring-trigger manually repeating pistols, and was one of the first to develop that type of handgun into a semiautomatic. He took an 1891 pattern ring trigger gun […]

SA80 Series: The Pre-Production XL85 and XL86

May 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]

1891 Salvatore-Dormus: The First Automatic Pistol

May 15, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

The Salvatore-Dormus has the distinction of being the world’s first semiauto pistol, being patented in 1891. It is chambered for the 8mm Dormus cartridge, and holds 5 rounds in a Mannlicher type clip. Only about […]