Today I am joined by Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the British Royal Armouries for a Q&A session, with questions provided by the fine folks who support Forgotten Weapons on Patreon…
1:02 – Would the L85A1 have been better if Enfield wasn’t being privatized while it was in production?
3:22 – How does the Armouries obtain modern small arms?
7:22 – Distinction between Pattern Room and Royal Armouries
10:39 – Best water-cooled machine gun?
11:01 – Silent telescoping-piston rounds like 7.62mm SP4
13:50 – How did the L4 Bren fare in the world of GPMGs?
17:21 – Differences between first and last L1A1 rifles?
20:38 – How did you get started with GameSpot, and did video games get you interested in firearms?
23:38 – Thoughts on old guns being used in Ukraine?
27:28 – WHY NO METAL GEAR SOLID?
29:53 – If you were John Wick’s sommelier, would you make different recommendations for him?
34:46 – History of breech-loading artillery
38:23 – Information about NATO PDWs?
39:50 – What specific influence has the UK had on firearms development and evolution?
44:17 – What are your responsibilities at the Royal Armouries?
47:20 – If you could have one British cap & ball revolver made as a reproduction, which would it be?
“(…)specific influence has the UK had on firearms development(…)”
I would point at polygonal rifling introduced by Joseph Whitworth in half of 19th century, which was used in both smallarms https://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.php?smallarms_id=525 and artillery https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.php?armor_id=1109 and was later used in Arisaka rifles.
Also various hunting rifle and shotgun actions come to mind. e.g. sidelocks for break actions. The percussion muzzle loader was invented by a scotsman for hunting in thr rain. Reverend Alexander John Forsyth received his patent in 1807. Probably thr biggest contribution coming from Britain as it made muzzle loaders from little tiny pocket derringers to big artillery pieces much more reliable and pretty much all firearms were manufactured with a caplock until the introduction of the unified cartridge and rear loading firearms.
Great video. For the postcard to Jonathan on UK influences on firearms development and evolution I’d have to add in the percussion cap as invented and developed by a Scotsman, Revd. Alexander Forsyth
For silent cartridges also see the AAI DBCATA grenade.
A U.S. silent telescoping-piston round in rifle caliber was the .30 XM 76, firing a 82 gr bullet with a plastic driving band from an ordinary M1.
Alas, report ADA955686 on a test is not among those which can be downloaded from archive.org.
I think the fancy double barrel shotgun or rifle is an iconic British thing- that end of firearms production is a definite British contribution to firearms history.
While Britain is known for fine hunting implements, all around Europe there are lots of manufacturers making fine hunting weapons. Itlay is known for its shotguns e.g. But admittedly with offerings like the Range Rover Holland & Holland special model you get a complete package from GB.