France - Forgotten Weapons

Forgotten History: A German Bunker at Montfaucon

October 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 10

When one visits the Montfaucon American Monument (to the soldiers in the Meuse-Argonne offensive), one finds the road in flanked by a pair of (mostly) surviving German bunkers. These standing artifacts of 20th-century warfare are […]

Forgotten History: Glade of the Armistice

September 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 1

Here at a forested railroad crossing outside Compiègne in Picardy, France, two rail cars met in November of 1918 – one with members of the Allied/Entente high commend and ones with representatives of Imperial Germany. […]

M1918 Chauchat: Testing a New Magazine

September 23, 2018 Ian McCollum 12

Today I am testing out a new .30-06 Chauchat magazine converted from a Johnson M1941 machine gun magazine. The workmanship on this new mag is excellent, and much more extensive than I had initially realized […]

Shooting the MAS-38 Submachine Gun: Second Try

September 20, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

Take 2! I have some ammunition loaded up for me by awesome viewer Cameron, and we’re going to try it out in the MAS-38 submachine gun. This is loaded hot enough to properly cycle Mle […]

Q&A 21: French Edition

September 13, 2018 Ian McCollum 14

Today’s Q&A is all about French guns, because I am getting close to being finished writing a book on French military rifles – the first book to cover this subject in English from the Chassepot […]

Forgotten History: The Americans Take Blanc Mont Ridge, October 1918

September 11, 2018 Ian McCollum 10

The German army captured Blanc Mont Ridge in the early months of World War One and occupied it throughout the years of fighting, fending off repeated French assaults throughout 1915 and 1916. While the ridge […]

Swiss Reibel M31 Tank & Fortress Machine Gun

September 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 7

The Reibel Modele M31 was the variation of the French Chatellerault M24/29 light machine gun made for use in vehicles and fortifications. In accordance with that role, it lacked a buttstock or sights (these were […]

8mm M1915 Chauchat Fixing and Range Testing

September 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

Well, my 8mm French Chauchat finally cleared transfer, as did my application to reactivate it. This was a “dewat”, or “Deactivated War Trophy” – a machine gun put on the NFA registry but modified to […]

France’s Super-Light 50mm Modele 37 Grenade Launcher

September 1, 2018 Ian McCollum 18

RIA’s catalog page on this mortar A new very light and portable mortar to replace the V-B rifle grenade was one of the facets of the French plan for rearmament and modernization after World War […]

Maltese Flintlocks: Girard Mle 1733 Pistols of the Order of St. John

August 10, 2018 Ian McCollum 19

The Order of St John – the Knights of Malta – began as an order to protect Christian pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem, but transformed into an organization dedicated to corsairing in the Mediterranean […]