Prototype - Forgotten Weapons

RIA: Thompson T2 Submachine Gun Prototype

April 26, 2016 Ian McCollum 46

The T2 submachine gun was Auto-Ordnance’s entry into the ongoing competition to replace the classic Thompson submachine gun with something more economical to produce. It was a closed-bolt, select-fire design using a progressive trigger and […]

RIA: Japanese Army Pedersen Copy Trials Rifle

April 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 21

The Japanese military was interested in finding a new self-loading rifle to adopt in the 1930s. The development project began with a request to retired General Kijiro Nambu who designed a gas-operate,d rotating bolt rifle […]

RIA: 1929 Simson Prototype 9mm

April 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 67

In the late 1920s, German Ordnance hinted at an interest in replacing the P.08 Luger pistols with a less expensive handgun design. This prompted a number of submissions from hopeful companies, including this design from […]

RIA: Nambu 15-Shot Type A Experimental

April 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

Before the Type 14 Nambu pistol was developed to replace the “Papa” Nambu, Kijiro Nambu experimented with a high-capacity design with a 15-round magazine. This pistol was called the Type A Experimental, and was designed […]

RIA: Thompson Model 1923 Autorifle

April 19, 2016 Ian McCollum 42

One of the very early entrants into the United States Ordnance Department’s semiauto rifle trials was the Auto-Ordnance Company, makers of the Thompson submachine gun. For the rifle trials, they designed a .30-06 rifle using […]

RIA: CZ Model S Prototype (1929)

April 18, 2016 Ian McCollum 14

This CZ Model S rifle is one of many prototypes made between the world wars in Czechoslovakia in an effort to develop a military semiautomatic rifle. Similar efforts were underway in most other countries at […]

RIA: Reifgraber .38 S&W Automatic

April 17, 2016 Ian McCollum 21

Designed by Austrian immigrant Joseph Joachim Reifgraber, this is a prototype gas-assisted short recoil pistol in a .38 rimmed revolver cartridge. While this version did not see any serial production, the Union Firearms Company of […]

RIA: Walther P38 Development

April 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 52

The Walther P38 was adopted by Germany in 1938 as a replacement for the P08 Luger – not really because the Luger was a bad pistol, but because it was an expensive pistol. Walther began […]

RIA: Japanese Type 100 Paratrooper

April 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 15

The Type 100 (sometimes called the Type 0) was one of the initial Japanese experiments in paratroop rifles. Manufactured from standard Nagoya Arsenal Type 99 rifles, the Type 100 used a set of interrupted lugs […]

RIA: Walther A115 Prototype Rifle

April 7, 2016 Ian McCollum 46

The Walther A115 was one of the semiauto rifles developed in pre-WWII Germany. Apparently only three were made, and it uses a neat combination of sheet metal construction with a rotating bolt and annular gas […]