Switzerland - Forgotten Weapons

RIA: Prototype W+F Bern AK44 Copy of the SVT

August 22, 2016 Ian McCollum 45

The Swiss factories of SIG and W+F Bern both produced a remarkable number and variety of experimental self-loading rifles in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Nothing would be adopted by the Swiss military until […]

Transitional Swiss Sniper K31 Rifles (Video)

June 27, 2016 Ian McCollum 12

During World War II, the Swiss military experimented with two models of K31 carbine with integral optics (the K31/42 and K31/43). These were found to be not sufficient for military service, and after more experimentation […]

RIA – Swiss Model 1893: A Mannlicher Cavalry Carbine

June 21, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

The Swiss were the first country to adopt a bolt action repeating rifle with their Vetterli, and followed this by changing to a straight-pull design in the 1880s. The straight-pull Schmidt-Rubin system was quite good, […]

Swiss SK-46 Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

March 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The SK-46 was one of several post-WWII experimental self-loading rifle designs developed for testing by the Swiss military, or for commercial export. It was manufactured by SIG at Neuhausen in both 7.5mm Swiss and 8mm […]

SIG KE-9 & M29A Prototype Rifles (Video)

January 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 18

The SIG KE-9 and M29A were several in a series of developmental rifles made by SIG in Switzerland and designed by Pal Kiraly. These ultimately found no commercial or military sales, although the related KE-7 […]

Mondragon 1908 Semiauto Rifles – 4 Different Examples (Video)

January 7, 2016 Ian McCollum 17

Best known as the first semiautomatic service rifle adopted by a mainstream military force, the 1908 Mondragon was designed by Mexican native Manuel Mondragon, manufactured by SIG in Switzerland, and adopted by the Mexican Army […]

Mondragon 1894 Bolt Action Rifle (Video)

December 31, 2015 Ian McCollum 22

Manuel Mondragon was a talented lifelong gun designer born in Mexico. He worked extensively at the Swiss SIG factory, and was the man behind the first military-issue semiautomatic rifle. Before that, though, he designed this […]

Swiss Prototype: N33 (Video)

December 24, 2015 Ian McCollum 19

The N33 is one of a series of Swiss prototype semiautomatic rifles developed between WWI and WWII (the “33” refers to 1933). This particular design is interesting because it fires from an open bolt, a […]

SIG Prototype 1924/1925 Semiauto Rifles (Video)

December 10, 2015 Ian McCollum 15

The Swiss SIG factory was one of the earliest producers of semiautomatic military rifles, having produced the M1908 Mondragon rifles for Mexico. They continued to experiment with self-loading rifle designs, and in the mid 1920s […]

Swiss ZfK-55 Sniper at RIA

November 26, 2015 Ian McCollum 40

The Swiss military began experimenting with scoped sniper rifle during WWII, with the K31/42 and K31/43. These use periscopic optics permanently mounted to the side of the receiver, and were both found less than ideal. […]