United Kingdom - Forgotten Weapons

Collier Flintlock Revolvers (Video)

November 9, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

Elisha Collier is probably the best-known name in flintlock revolvers – to the extent that any flintlock revolvers are well known. Because of the great cost and required skill to manufacture a functional repeating flintlock […]

Tolkien’s Service Revolver

November 6, 2016 Ian McCollum 31

From The Guardian: The Webley Mk VI was the standard issue gun for British servicemen at the outbreak of the war. In 1996, Tolkien’s family gave the gun to the Imperial War Museum during a […]

French and British troops on the Somme, 1918

Vintage Saturday: Lined up on the Somme

October 15, 2016 Ian McCollum 86

Actions of the Somme Crossings. Men of the 20th British Division and the 22nd French Division in hastily dug rifle pits covering a road, Nesle sector, 25th March 1918. the Frenchman in the foreground […]

Early Pistol Cartridges – What, When & Why?

October 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 38

In a recent discussion with a friend the topic of early automatic pistol cartridges came up. Specifically, looking at the context of which cartridges were actually available at which times, and how this might provide […]

Hagen Prototype Semiauto Rifle (Video)

October 8, 2016 Ian McCollum 33

The Hagen (more information here) is an early semiauto rifle designed by a Norwegian, manufactured in the UK, and tested by several different militaries – but adopted by none. It uses a long stroke gas […]

Maxim PomPom 37mm Machine Gun

September 13, 2016 Ian McCollum 49

“Pom-Pom” was the name given to the 37mm Maxim gun by the Boers of South Africa, based on the gun’s sound. It was a Maxim machine gun scaled up to the quite impressive 37mm caliber, […]

British women sort through guns donated by Americans for the Home Guard.

Vintage Saturday: Send a Gun to Defend a British Home!

July 30, 2016 Ian McCollum 75

“When the ships from America approached our shores with their priceless arms special trains were waiting in all the ports to receive their cargoes,” Churchill recalled. “The Home Guard in every county, in every town, […]

British Pistol Use During WWI

July 28, 2016 Ian McCollum 43

Here’s an interesting piece of research, done in 2010 by one David Thomas as part of a degree in British First World War Studies: The Pistol in British Military Service During the Great War (pdf) This […]

British troops in Northern Ireland, 1971

Vintage Saturday: Sniper Troubles

July 23, 2016 Ian McCollum 49

Hard to use those face shields and still get a sight picture…

Book Review: SOE Equipment Air Dropped in Europe 1940-1945

July 14, 2016 Ian McCollum 23

A while back I posted a review of a great little paperback account of Winston Churchill’s Toyshop – the development of clandestine warfare gear for use by saboteurs and resistance movements in occupied Europe during […]