Uncategorized - Forgotten Weapons

Announcing my Upcoming Book – and Art Contest!

September 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

http://www.FrenchRifleBook.com I have mentioned this before, but this is the first time I have formally announced it – I am writing a reference book on French military rifles, to be titled “Chassepot to FAMAS: French […]

Overview of French Gun Laws

August 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 32

Today I am joined by my friend Edouard for a discussion of French gun laws, as part of our continuing series on how firearms laws vary across the world. The French system is, shall we […]

Forgotten History: Vercors – the Climactic Battle of the French Resistance

July 31, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

The imposing heights of the Vercors Massif form a very impressive natural defensive position in the southeastern corner of France. It was here that the French Resistance had its largest set piece battle against German […]

Forgotten History: The Underground Hell of Fort Vaux

July 24, 2018 Ian McCollum 8

With the surprise capture of Fort Douaumont in February 1916, the French reinforced all the remaining forts around the city of Verdun, and would hold them all successfully for many months. In fact, the only […]

FESAC and the Rights of European Arms Collectors

July 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 52

Today I am joined by Mr. Stephen Petroni, chairman of FESAC – the Foundation for European Societies of Arms Collectors. FESAC is an organization set up to advocate for and protect the rights of European […]

Virtual Tour of the Excavation at DigHill80

July 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

DigHill80 was an archaeological project funded in large part by you, the viewers of Forgotten Weapons. Hill 80 was a German fortified position in World War One outside the Belgian town of Wijtschate. In 2015 […]

Military Historical Tours

July 3, 2018 Ian McCollum 5

Military Historical Tours is a company specializing in guided tours of battlefields and war memorials, for the historical enthusiast and veteran alike. I spent about 10 days with them visiting WW1 American battlefields in France […]

Forgotten History: The Capture of Fort Douaumont

June 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 24

Welcome to out first episode of Forgotten History! This will be an occasional series looking at interesting events and places in military history. We will begin with the capture of Fort Douaumont on February 25, […]

Serbian 1908 Carbine – Light, Handy, and Chambered for 7×57

June 5, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

The carbine in this video is available at auction here. The DWM order placed in 1899 had not provided Serbia with as many rifles as it had wanted, but it would take until 1906 for […]

UK vz.59 Czech Universal Machine Gun: History and Mechanics

March 21, 2018 Ian McCollum 30

In 1952, Czechoslovakia adopted a whole new family of small arms, including the vz.52 pistol, vz.52 rifle, and vz.52 light machine gun. The rifle and LMG were both chambered in the Czech 7.62x45mm cartridge, […]