Germany - Forgotten Weapons

Shooting the ZB-26: A Jewel of an Interwar Light Machine Gun

October 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

Today we have a chance to do some shooting with a ZB-26, a German-occupation 8mm light machine gun made at Brno in Czechoslovakia. The ZB-26 does not get nearly as much attention as LMGs made […]

ZB26: The Best of the Light Machine Guns

October 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

The ZB-26 stands as one of the best magazine-fed light machine guns developed during the 1920s and 30s – it was a very popular gun for small military forces and many countries which did not […]

Evolution of the Sturmgewehr: MP43/1, MP43, MP44, and StG44

October 18, 2017 Ian McCollum 41

MP43/1: https://jamesdjulia.com/item/52359-1-397/ MP44: https://jamesdjulia.com/item/52520-5-397/ StG44: https://jamesdjulia.com/item/52725-1-397/ Today we are going to look at the evolution of the Sturmgewehr – from the MP43/I and MP43 to the MP44 and StG44, what actually changed and why?

Klienen Waffenwerkzeugatz – A German Armorer’s Tool Kit

October 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

This is a “Klienen Waffenwerkzeugatz” – a small armorer’s tool kit used by a German Waffenmeister. It is a really neat little set of handy and essential tools for working on small arms, which folds […]

MG-34: The Universal Machine Gun Concept

October 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 59

The MG34 was the first German implementation of the universal machine gun concept – and really the first such fielded by any army. The idea was to have a single weapon which could be used […]

Prototype Gustloff MKb-42(G) aka Model 206

September 27, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

This is a reposting of a video from September 2016 with a new introduction. The recent publication of the new and expanded edition of Hans-Dieter Handrich’s book “Sturmgewehr!” has revealed new information about the history […]

MP-40/I: The Dual-Magazine Experimental MP-40

September 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

The MP40/I was an experimental modification of the MP-40 submachine gun developed by the Erma company (we think) in late 1942. It was presumably developed in response to complaints of Soviet fire superiority with […]

Book Review: Sturmgewehr! From Firepower to Striking Power (New Expanded Edition)

September 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 39

Collector Grade is known for being a premiere publisher of technical firearms reference books, and I would be willing to argue that “Sturmgewehr!” by Hans-Dieter Handrich is the best book they have yet printed. The […]

Book Review: Training Rifles of Third Reich Germany

September 10, 2017 Ian McCollum 13

Robert Simpson’s massive project of studying and documenting German training rifles has resulted in this much-anticipated reference tome. At 700 pages and full color, it a tremendous resource for understanding the chronology and features of […]

Stendebach Model 1936: Rotary Mag Toggle Delayed Experiment

September 7, 2017 Ian McCollum 12

There is very little documentation existing to explain the history of this rifle – all we really know is that per the receiver markings it is a Model 1936 Stendebach, and that it was brought […]