Fabryka Broni originally dates to 1925, when it was set up as a factory to make small arms for the Polish military. It was occupied be German forces during World War Two and on the post-war Communist years it was designated Factory 11 – it’s products are identified by an oval around the number 11. It reverted to a state-owned metalworks company in 1990, but went bankrupt in 2000 and was taken over by a private concern. It is currently under private ownership and produces the MSBS Grot for the Polish military (and export sales), as well as Beryl rifles, various handguns, and other small arms. When I visited Poland I had the chance to visit, and the factory was happy to let me film a tour of the operation. This is a really cool look at how small arms factories operate; most such factories do not allow this sort of filming. Thanks to FB for the opportunity!
Vintage photo
Vintage Saturday: Faye Schulman
Faye Schulman was born in the small Polish town of Lenin in 1919 to a large Jewish family. After the German attack on Russia, the town was occupied, and in August 1942 the town’s roughly […]
Competition
Semiauto PM-63C “Rak” at the BUG Match (It’s Technically a Backup Gun…)
I recently picked up one of the Pioneer Arms semiauto PM-63C pistols that are sporadically available here in the US. They have a pretty mediocre reputation and I wasn’t expecting much, but the gun is […]
Anti-Tank Rifles
wz.35: Poland’s Remarkably Misunderstood Antitank Rifle
Polish wz. 35 ATR by Leszek Erenfeicht In 1929 Maj. Tadeusz Felsztyn [TADEUSH FELSHTEEN], Scientific Director of the Central Shooting School in Torun (a chief firearms research and instruction institution in Poland between 1919 and […]
Really great video. I never understood the hammer forged barrel process and this explained it perfectly. Thanks Ian!
Thanks Ian for a fascinating look inside a modern rifle factory and comparing old and new technology. Is there some poor guy who has to cleaning thousands of bores after proof and reliability firing or is that somehow mechanised?
Ownership has now a rather complex structure but I believe Radom is still (mostly) owned by the state.
When one says an “Unskilled” worker used each machine to do different parts… They likely had a good eye; so a skill, in that sense… Given, well I mean I don’t know about you… But all the older guns made by “Said unskilled workers” look better, to me.
And worked better, straight out the factory as far as I can tell… Sooo, all this cnc lark is probably “progress” probably… In certain ways; in principle… Quite.