Small Arms
Pistola Automatica Beretta modello 1934
Beretta automatics were amongst the most sought after of war trophies. Although of excellent design, they were really too light to be effective service pistols, but as personal weapons to officers they were highly prized. The little Pistola Automatica Beretta modello 1934 is one of the joys of the pistol collector’s world, for it is one of those pistols that…
Most Recent
PLUG BAYONET
The late 17th century saw the final demise of the pike, and its replacement by the bayonet. The plug bayonet, which blocked the muzzle of the musket and needed to be removed for firing, did not catch on. The earliest military use of bayonets was by the French Army in…
Walther PPK
Modern PPK variants are finished in a traditional deep blue or stainless steel. The Compact Pistol That Shook, Not Stirred Produced: 1930–Present Pocket pistols first appeared in Walther’s product line in 1908, making them one of the very first firearm companies to manufacture small, compact pistols. That DNA has always…
Late 19th Century Infantry Firepower
A French officer, Colonel Ardant du Picq, more than most, perceived that the high rates of fire and long range of modern weapons meant that close-order battle was no longer possible: Ancient combat was fought in groups close together, within a small space, in open ground, in full view of…
ZB37 Medium Machine-Gun
An interesting photograph showing a Waffen-SS machine-gun crew with a Czech ZB37 machine gun mounted on a tripod. It was a simple, reliable and robust weapon with a quick-change capability for overheated barrels; it was widely exported and was used in British armoured vehicles as the BESA. It was also…
M-16 Fiasco in Vietnam or Not?!
In January, the South Vietnamese army, equipped with M-14s, was defeated at Ap Bac by Vietcong carrying AKs. The reports of this automatic weapon’s devastating effects worried U.S. commanders. It was becoming clear that an automatic weapon was crucial for winning in Vietnam because of a new pattern of warfare…
THE MINIÉ BALL
Martini-Henry. Lubricated miniĂ© balls. The percussion cap was a dramatic step forward, but within a short time after its development an even greater invention made the musket into a much more deadly weapon with greater range and accuracy, and it doomed the smoothbore musket forever. The new development began in…