Germany - Forgotten Weapons

Germany’s Not-So-Light 5cm Le GrW 36 Light Mortar

September 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 17

RIA’s catalog page for this mortar The 5cm 5CM Leichte Granatwerfer 36 was the standard German light infantry mortar going into World War Two. It was designed by Rheinmetall-Borsig in the mid 1930s and adopted […]

“Ideal” Holster/Stock for the Luger

August 26, 2018 Ian McCollum 9

Stock Pistol Most automatic pistols of the early 20th century were offered with shoulder stock options, and the Luger had more than most. Probably the most interesting one I am aware of is the Ideal […]

Germany’s New Light Howitzer: the 7.5cm le.IG 18

August 15, 2018 Ian McCollum 43

RIA’s catalog page on this gun In the aftermath of World War One, every military force immediately began to assess what they thought was most important to improve in their arsenals for the next war. […]

Project Ultra: Germany Wants a Stronger Compact Pistol

August 8, 2018 Ian McCollum 15

This pistol is one of just a couple surviving from a development project run by Walther in the mid to late 1930s. The goal was to produce a compact sidearm for pilots and officers using […]

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 […]

WW2 Mauser Becomes Heckler & Koch: the StG-45(M), or Gerat 06H

July 20, 2018 Ian McCollum 11

After the Mp44/StG44 Sturmgewehr was starting to see substantial production and field use, the German military and the Mauser company began working on a way to simplify production of the weapon. The design for the […]

Ken Hackathorn on the Thompson and the MP5

July 19, 2018 Ian McCollum 44

Today I am speaking with Ken Hackathorn about submachine guns – specifically the Thompson and the MP5. Mr Hackathorn has an extensive resume that he is quite humble about, but I will point out that […]

Kaiserliche Schutztruppen G98 – for the German Camel Corps

July 18, 2018 Ian McCollum 14

Germany established their colony of German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika, now Namibia) in 1884, as part of its late attempt to become a colonial power to rival the United Kingdom. The soldiers deployed to protect […]

MKb-42(W) – The Sturmgewehr That Never Was

July 6, 2018 Ian McCollum 26

When the German military first requested rifles in the new 8x33mm Kurz cartridge, there were two companies that provided designs. One was Haenel, who would eventually win the competition. The other was Walther, who submitted […]

A Well-Travelled Luger

July 2, 2018 Ian McCollum 21

This Luger has seen basically all of 20th century German history. It began as a 1917 production DWM pistol, used in World War One. After the war, it was one of the guns remarks for […]