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HomePrototype

Prototype

Light MGs

Samostril Netsch: Bizarre Prototype Czech Automatic Rifle

October 2, 2024 Ian McCollum 0

When Czechoslovakia began looking for new small arms in the early 1920s, one of the things they were interested in was a “samostřil” – something akin to the automatic rifle in English. A select-fire weapon […]

Prototype

WF-54: The Swiss FG-42 Scaled up to 7.5×55

August 19, 2024 Ian McCollum 20

After World War Two the Swiss needed a new self-loading military rifle to replace their K-31 bolt actions. Two major design tracks followed; one being a roller-delayed system based on the G3 at SIG and […]

Manual Repeater

The Experimental SOE Welrod MkI Prototype

August 12, 2024 Ian McCollum 17

The Welrod was a program to develop a silent assassination pistol for British SOE (Special Operations Executive) late in 1942. It needed to be chambered in the .32 ACP cartridge, be effective to a range […]

Prototype

WF-51: A Swiss Intermediate-Cartridge Copy of the FG-42

August 5, 2024 Ian McCollum 19

After World War Two the Swiss needed a new self-loading military rifle to replace their K-31 bolt actions. Two major design tracks followed; one being a roller-delayed system based on the G3 at SIG and […]

Prototype

Colt 608: The AR15 as a Pilot’s Survival Rifle

July 29, 2024 Ian McCollum 18

As part of its effort to build out the AR-15 family of small arms, Colt introduced the Model 608 in 1965. This was intended to be an aircraft survival rifle, able to pack disassembled into […]

Prototype

Landstad 1900: A True Semiautomatic Revolver

July 3, 2024 Ian McCollum 16

The Landstad Model 1900 is a magazine-fed, semiautomatic revolver designed by Norwegian Halvard Folkestad Landstad, who lived in Kristiana (now called Oslo). He designed the gun on his own dime, and presented it to military […]

General Purpose MGs

Finland’s Prototype Belt-Fed GPMG: L41 Sampo

May 13, 2024 Ian McCollum 25

During the 1930s, there was interest in Finland in replacing the Maxim heavy machine gun with something handier and more mobile. There were experiments with large drum magazines for the LS-26 light machine gun, but […]

Prototype

The Rarest 1911: North American Arms Co

April 22, 2024 Ian McCollum 0

In the summer of 1918, the US government wanted to increase production of M1911 pistols, but all current manufacturers were working at capacity. So they looked to issue new contracts, and someone realized that the […]

Conversion

Electrolux Charlton: Washing Machine Company Converts Bolt Action to Semiauto

March 25, 2024 Ian McCollum 17

The Charlton was a conversion of a bolt action Lee rifle into a light machine gun, designed by New Zealander Phillip Charlton. Some 1500 were made in New Zealand, but a bit later it appears […]

Prototype

Early Development of the MAC 1950 Pistol

March 15, 2024 Ian McCollum 10

Today we have a short look at two of the predecessors of the French MAC 1950 service pistol. The first is the Type SE MAS 1948, which retains many of the characteristics of the previous […]

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