Video - Forgotten Weapons

M3 and M3A1 Grease Guns

April 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 68

The US began looking for a cost-effective replacement for the Thompson submachine gun in 1942, and the “Grease Gun” was the result. Designed by George Hyde (a noted firearms designer at the time) and Frederick […]

Four Fun Facts about the Oerlikon 20mm Antiaircraft Cannon!

April 13, 2017 Ian McCollum 57

The 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannon was a mainstay of United States naval air defense during World War 2, and today we will look at a few of the characteristics and questions that apply to this […]

Rocket Surgery: Inside the Russian Nikonov AN94 (Video)

April 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 75

https://youtu.be/gtMssTSnRHU 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 […]

Springfield .22 Rimfire 1911 Conversions at James D Julia

April 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Unnumbered Slide Slide #24 Almost immediately after adopting the Colt/Browning Model 1911 pistol, the US military requested a .22LR conversion for training purposes. In 1913 Springfield Arsenal developed a conversion, but it was woefully inadequate. […]

A Connoisseur’s Pistol: Devel’s Full House S&W 59 Conversion at James D Julia

April 9, 2017 Ian McCollum 21

Produced by gunsmith Charles Kelsey, the Devel “Full House” package was a conversion of the Smith & Wesson Model 39 or Model 59 pistol (the 39 was a single stack and the 59 a double […]

Massive Wheellock Hand Mortars at James D Julia

April 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

These wheellock hand mortars, or katzenkopf, are an example of a weapon made and used for everything from front line military application to civilian parades to simple decoration. The pair we are looking at today […]

Czech M14: The ZK-420S Battle Rifle at James D Julia

April 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 44

The ZK-420S is an experimental Czech rifle that is virtually unknown today, but which was remarkably influential, bearing significant elements of the Garand and several other Czech designs, and influencing the M14 and Kalashnikov rifles. […]

White-Merrill Experimental Model 1911 Pistol at James D Julia

April 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

In the aftermath of their rejection in the US 1907 pistol trials, Joseph White and Samuel Merrill continued working on handgun designs. In 1911, Merrill wrote to the Ordnance Department to inquire about whether they […]

High Standard T3 Prototype: An American Blowback at James D Julia

April 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 53

In 1947, the US Army Air Corps (it had not yet become the Air Force) was assessing its pilot survival equipment, and decided that it wanted a smaller and lighter handgun than the Colt 1911. […]

The Very First Troop Trials SMLE Rifles at James D Julia

April 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

One of the British lessons form the Boer War was that the distinction between infantry rifles and cavalry carbines was becoming obsolete. In 1902, they would initiate troop trials on a new short rifle pattern, […]