United Kingdom - Forgotten Weapons

Thorneycroft: A Victorian Bullpup Rifle with Volley Sights

December 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 19

The Thorneycroft was the first military bullpup rifle, developed in the United Kingdom in response to combat experiences in the second Boer War showing the British infantry rifles to be overly long and cumbersome. Scotsman […]

PIAT: Britain’s Answer to the Anti-Tank Rifle Problem

November 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 81

The British began World War Two with the Boys antitank rifle, but like all antitank rifles it rather quickly became obsolete. The replacement for it was adopted in 1942 as the PIAT – Projector, Infantry, […]

Wilson’s Lorenzoni Repeating Flintlock Musket

November 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

The Wilson family was a gunmaking dynasty in London that began in 1730 when Richard Wilson was accepted as a Master Gunmaker by the Gunmakers’ Company. Wilson’s eldest son William Wilson would receive the same […]

The Greene Carbine: Too Tricky for the Cavalry

November 8, 2017 Ian McCollum 18

James Greene patented this unusual breechloading carbine design in 1854, and arranged to have it manufactured by the Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls. He managed to sell 300 of them to the US military, […]

Correction: Whitworth Accuracy and Figure of Merit vs MOA

November 2, 2017 Ian McCollum 23

In my recent video on the Whitworth rifle, I made a rather embarrassing mistake, interpreting “figure of merit” accuracy measurements as complete group sizes. This was incorrect, and caused me to seriously overestimate the accuracy […]

The Vickers Heavy Machine Gun: Queen of the Battlefield

October 17, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

https://youtu.be/wOqftB9fBIQ For the record, I never have any financial interest in any of the guns that I film at auction houses – with the exception of this one. This is actually my Vickers HMG, being […]

Oversized 8-Barrel British Pepperbox Revolver

October 16, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

The typical pepperbox revolver is a sleek and small .31 caliber double action pocket gun, like the Allen & Thurber standard type. This one, however, is anything but typical. This London-made gun is a far […]

Confederate Whitworth Sniper: Hexagonal Bullets in 1860

October 12, 2017 Ian McCollum 55

Sir Joseph Whitworth is quite the famous name in engineering circles, credited with the development of such things as Whitworth threading (the first standardized thread pattern) and engineer’s blue. When he decided to make a […]

British “Life Buoy” WWII Flamethrower

October 3, 2017 Ian McCollum 11

One of the the flamethrower design styles to come out of experimentation late in World War One was the toroid type, with a donut-shaped fuel tank and a central spherical pressure bottle. The British continued […]

Prarie Gun Works Timberwolf: British Trials Sniper Rifle

September 26, 2017 Ian McCollum 17

Armament Research Services (ARES) is a specialist technical intelligence consultancy, offering expertise and analysis to a range of government and non-government entities in the arms and munitions field. For detailed photos of the guns in […]