Light MGs
SIG KE7 Light Machine Gun
The KE-7 was the product of two Swiss designers, Pal Kiraly and Gotthard End, and was introduced in 1929 by the Swiss manufacturer SIG. It was a recoil operated design and fired from an open […]
Switzerland
Prototype
Bern Prototype Carbine: Intermediate Cartridges in the 1920s
Designed by Adolf Furrer, this carbine represents a very early experiment with intermediate power ammunition. It is a long recoil semiautomatic carbine with an under barrel tube magazine – quite the interesting combination of 19th […]
Artillery
Four Fun Facts about the Oerlikon 20mm Antiaircraft Cannon!
The 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannon was a mainstay of United States naval air defense during World War 2, and today we will look at a few of the characteristics and questions that apply to this […]
Semiauto Rifles
SIG PE-57: Swiss Roller-Delay! (Video)
The SIG PE-57 is the civilian semiauto version of the Stgw57, Switzerland’s first self-loading service rifle. Developed from the German MG-42 but incorporating a substantial influence form the FG-42 as well, the PE-57 is a […]
Revolver
Swiss 1882 Ordnance Revolver (Shooting)
The Swiss military dabbled in revolvers with their rimfire 1872 model (about 900 made) and the followup 1878 centerfire version (5500-6000 made), but their first large-scale service revolver was the Model 1882, designed by Colonel […]
Prototype
Müller 1902 Prototype Pistol (Video)
Bernhard Müller designed this locked-breech pistol in 1902, seemingly a hybrid of the Luger and P38 (of course, the P38 did not exist at that time). It appears to use a modified Luger magazine and […]
Prototype
RIA: Müller 1895 Curved Recoil Pistol (Video)
The model 1895 Müller automatic pistol is an interesting and unusual design, despite being a simple blowback action. Where most pistols have a bolt or slide that moved directly rearward, the Müller pushes the bolt […]
Prototype
RIA: Prototype W+F Bern AK44 Copy of the SVT
The Swiss factories of SIG and W+F Bern both produced a remarkable number and variety of experimental self-loading rifles in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. Nothing would be adopted by the Swiss military until […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Transitional Swiss Sniper K31 Rifles (Video)
During World War II, the Swiss military experimented with two models of K31 carbine with integral optics (the K31/42 and K31/43). These were found to be not sufficient for military service, and after more experimentation […]
Bolt Action Rifles
RIA – Swiss Model 1893: A Mannlicher Cavalry Carbine
The Swiss were the first country to adopt a bolt action repeating rifle with their Vetterli, and followed this by changing to a straight-pull design in the 1880s. The straight-pull Schmidt-Rubin system was quite good, […]