Denmark - Forgotten Weapons

Madsen M1896 Flaadens Rekylgevær: The First Military Semiauto

May 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 8

After losing out in the 1888 trials, Madsen and Rasmussen continued to refine their rifle. They reduced the overall length and weight, and replaced the feeding clip with a more modern enclosed magazine (although it […]

Madsen M1888 Forsøgsrekylgevær: The Strangest Semiauto

May 11, 2018 Ian McCollum 13

Development of the weapon that would eventually become the very successful 1902 Madsen light machine gun began many years earlier, in 1883. Two Danes, Madsen and Rasmussen, began working on a recoil-operated self loading rifle […]

Danish Gevaer m/50 – An American Gun Made in Italy

April 4, 2018 Ian McCollum 23

Dozens of countries around the world received M1 Garand rifles from the United States in the decades after World War Two, and Denmark was one of those that not only got some rifle but went […]

Madsen LAR: An AK for NATO!

December 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

The Madsen LAR (light automatic rifle) was an attempt by the main Danish arms manufacturer to get into the military rifle market after World War Two (they also released a bolt action rifle around the […]

Shooting the Madsen LMG – The First True LMG

October 20, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

We have looked at a couple different Madsen light machine guns previously, but until today I have not had the chance to do any shooting with a fully automatic example of one. So I am […]

Book Review: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Damien Lewis

September 24, 2017 Ian McCollum 21

I ordered a copy of Damien Lewis’ book on the exploits of British SOE in WWII expecting to find an overview of, well, what SOE had done during the war. That’s not quite what this […]

Danish m/49 Service Pistol by SIG

August 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 14

When Denmark decided to replace its M1910/21 Bergmann service pistols, it did not have to look far for a very high-quality option. The Swiss military was just concluding several years of handgun trials that had […]

Schultz & Larsen RPLT-42: Danish Occupation Rifle

February 11, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

When the Danish Coastal Police was formed under German occupation to patrol the Danish shores, they needed rifles. Rather than use valuable military arms, the government turned to the noted sporting and target rifle manufacturer […]

Bergmann 1908, 1910, and 1910/21 Pistols

January 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 20

By the time Bergmann found a production subcontractor in AEP for the Spanish order of 1903 Bergmann pistol, the Spanish had added a few new changes to their order, which became known as the Model […]

Schwarzlose machine gun in the Schutz & Larsen factory, 1941

Vintage Saturday: Machine Tools

January 14, 2017 Ian McCollum 15

Schwarzlose machine gun in the Danish Schutz & Larsen factory, 1941. Known for sporting rifles, S&L also subcontracted for Bergmann making submachine gun and light machine gun parts. This photo suggests that they repaired other […]