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M1918
Fabrique National began license production of the famous M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) in 1920 and its first export mark became the KG m/21 (or "Kulsprutegevar Model 21") developed to Swedish Army specifications -
Type 11
The Type 11 was a light machine gun system utilized by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and developed and accepted into service during the interwar years just in time for World War 2. The weapon system entered operational service in 1922 and was produced from then up to 1941 . The Type 11 remained in IJA service up -
springfield
The Springfield Model 1922 (M1922) was designed with the express purpose of serving as a training instrument (live-firing) alongside the full-powered Springfield M1903 bolt-action service rifle of .30-06 caliber. -
type 92 shiki kikanju heavy machine gun
The Type 92 Shiki Kikanju Heavy Machine Gun was utilized as the standard heavy machine gun by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War 2 -
ceska zbrojovka
Beginning in the early 1920s, Czech engineers undertook a program to produce a new Mauser-based rifle - though of complete Czech origin. The system would be chambered for the 7.92x57mm cartridge and fire conventionally from a 5-round integral magazine through a manually-actuated bolt-action system. -
ML Mortar
ML Mortar, 3-inch. The weapon served throughout the conflict and provided British Army and Commonwealth personnel with the capability to lob explosive projectiles against enemy emplacements and troop concentrations -
brandt mle 27
The Brandt mle 27 mortar served various world powers (in some form or another) throughout the latter portion of the 1920s and 1930s, ultimately seeing action in World War 2 -
stevens M620
The Stevens M620 was an improved version of John Moses Browning's earlier M520 series, primarily with a more refined receiver. The firearm was available in 12-, 16- and 20-gauge and offered in 26-, 28-, 30- and 32-inch barrel lengths. -
DP LMG
The DP Light Machine Gun (DP LMG), sometimes known as the DP-27 or DP-28 and nicknamed the "Record Player" due to its unique "pan" or "film reel" magazine, was the standard light machine gun system issued to Soviet infantry squads in the decade leading up to World War 2. -
ZH-29
Emmanuel Holek designed the ZH-29 as a military-minded automatic service rifle. The rifle was born in the famous Czech Brno facility sometime in the latter part of the 1920s and gradually evolved to become a very capable automatic rifle system by the end of the decade -
Breda Modello 30
Prior to World War 1 (1914-1918), Breda Meccanica Bresciana (or simply "Breda") was a heavy industry supplier of locomotives. It was during the war that its direction changed when it joined under the FIAT label to help produce FIAT machine guns for the Italian war effort, thusly beginning the company's military ties with the Italian government -
vickers berthier
The Vickers-Berthier was a British originally introduced by a Frenchman, passed on by the Americans and adopted into service with the Indian Army. The type became the standard light machine gun of British India during the inter-war years and played a major role in the upcoming World War 2. -
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia proved itself a most capable arms developer during the interwar years between World War 1 (1914-1918) and World War 2 (1939-1945). One resultant design of the period became the Vz. 26 model light machine gun of 1924 which saw use in the grand second global conflict and inspired the famous British BREN LMG of the war as well. -
fabrique nationale FN Mle
The original John Browning M1918 BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) was introduced during World War 1 with American forces and saw more widespread during World War 2 while serving into the 1960s(it can still be found in certain places today). -
Maschinengewhr modell 15
The MG 15 machine gun served the German Luftwaffe (Air Force) heading into, and during, World War 2 (1939-1945). It was derived from a 1932 initiative and born from the existing, earlier MG 30 model that originated in Switzerland. most of the time generals only use them. -
FN M2HB
Like other John Browning gun designs, his famous Browning M2 Heavy Machine Gun ended up produced in Europe (Belgium) under the Fabrique Nationale (FN) brand label as well. This was the M2HB ("Heavy Barrel") form and was essentially faithful to the original American offering same for slight alterations in its manufacture to suit European production practices -
Mendoza
Mexico is not a nation one thinks about when they think of indigenous firearms design and development. However, engineer Raphael Mendoza and his Productos Mendoza firm began work on a light machine gun automatic weapon in 1928 to which this continued through 1933 -
Mauser Karabiner Kar 98K
With origins dating as far back as World War 1, the famous German Army Kar 98k ("Kar" the abbreviation of "karabiner" translating to "carbine") was a direct descendant of the Mauser Gew 98 rifle of 1898 - the standard-issue rifle of the Imperial German Army heading into World War 1. -
Suomi KP/-31
When World War 2 began in September of 1939, Poland was split into two halves by the victors - the Nazi Germans took the West while the allied communist Soviets settled the East -
Browning M1919 Machine Gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War -
BESAL LMG
During the critical early years of World War 2 (1939-1945), German forces held key northern French and Belgian territories which placed much of southern England within easy reach of enemy bombers -
Gewehr 43
The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 is a 7.92×57mm Mauser caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Germany during World War II. The design was based on that of the earlier G41(W), but incorporating an improved short-stroke piston gas system similar to that of the Soviet Tokarev SVT-40, and it incorporated innovative mass-production techniques. -
Tokarev svt-40
Small arms ingenuity was an area that the Soviets held something of an advantage in over their German counterpart in the decade leading up to World War 2 -
Tokarev SVT-40
Small arms ingenuity was an area that the Soviets held something of an advantage in over their German counterpart in the decade leading up to World War 2. -
Lanchester
British future was an unnerving one. Hundreds of tanks, artillery pieces, small arms and personnel had fallen to capture or destruction by the advancing Axis army. At this point in the war, the British soldier was primarily armed with his trusty service rifle and bayonet while the German military made effective use of portable automatic weapons in the form of the submachine gun -
STEN SMG
The British STEN submachine gun is one of those rare firearms in history that was born of desperation and turned into a war-winning endeavor. -
MAS 49
The MAS-49 semi-automatic rifle was produced in limited quantities (20,600 units), whereas the shorter and lighter variant, the MAS-49/56, was mass manufactured (275,240 units) and issued to all branches of the French military -
Walther Gewehr 43
The Gewehr 43 (Gew 43) became the next evolution of the Walther Gew 41(W) of 1941 - a self-loading, semi-automatic rifle that failed to see require production numbers to make a proper wartime impression -
Johnson Model 1941
The Johnson Model 1941 faced off against the M1 Garand rifle before the start of hostilities that became World War 2. The rifle was designed by Melvin Maynard Johnson, Jr. (1909 - 1965) in 1939, a Boston, Massachusetts native, weapons engineer, lawyer and US Marine -
Walther Gewehr 41
The Gewehr 41 (or "Gew 41" or "G41") series semi-automatic rifle appeared in relatively few numbers for the German Army during World War 2 (1939-1945). Up to this point in the war, the Wehrmacht relied largely on infantry issued with the standard Mauser-based bolt-action service rifles of previous decades. -
Degtyarev PTRD
The Degtyarev PTRD 1941 (or "PTRD-41", shortened from "Protivo Tankovoye Ruzhyo Degtyaryova") was the most available anti-tank, anti-material rifle to the Red Army during World War 2. The heavy 14.5mm cartridge held the capability to penetrate armor plating of enemy vehicles at ranges within 500 yards. -
Simonov PTRS
Simonov produced the PTRS-41 (or "PTRS 1941") anti-tank rifle for the Red Army during World War 2. While allied with Germany during their conquering of Poland in September of 1939, the two nations were at odds with one another after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 -
Hakim Rifle Semi-Automatic Sevice Rifle
The original Swedish Ljungman AG 42 semi-automatic rifle was a strong firearm of good quality, designed in 1941 and produced through 30,000 examples primarily for the Swedish Army. -
De Lisle Carbine Silenced Carbine
The De Lisle silenced carbine was developed during 1942 as a time when the outcome of World War 2 was still very much in doubt. William Godfrey De Lisle worked under the charge of the British Air Ministry at the time and took it upon himself to develop a silenced weapon suitable for British commandos and special operatives operating behind (or within sight of) enemy lines -
BESAL
During the critical early years of World War 2 (1939-1945), German forces held key northern French and Belgian territories which placed much of southern England within easy reach of enemy bombers. Unfortunately for the British, its storied BREN Light Machine Guns and other small arms emerged from the equally-storied Royal Small Arms Factory (RSA) of Enfield Lock -
Browming Automatic Rifle
The original Browning Automatic Rifle was developed for the US Army during World War 1 to replace the French Chauchat and Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie light machine guns. Design work under John Browning's direction began in 1917 to which the rifles were in circulation in 1918 and saw limited exposure during the war. -
Remington Model 870 pump-action shotgun
One of the most famous and popular of the Remington shotgun lines became the Remington M870 (Model 870) series. The type overtook the Remington Model 31 line in 1951 and has seen constant production since with an estimate 10,000,000 units sold - undoubtedly a commercial success for the storied concern. -
Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov AKS was an assault rifle design derived from the classic AK-47 assault rifle series with the only major difference being a folding steel butt -
Waffenfabrik Bern
Maschinengewehr 51 (MG51) General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) was developed in Switzerland in the years immediately following the end of World War 2 (1939-1945). The design was highly influenced by the excellent German Army MG42 appearing during the conflict -
Remington model 870
Remington Model 870 "Wingmaster" is a variant of the famous (and best-selling) Remington M870 series pump-action slide shotguns which traces its roots to a 1951 release. -
Fabrique Nationale
Origins of the famous FAL lay in Fabrique Nationale's previous design, the SAFN/Modele 49, a self-loading, semi-automatic rifle designed in the lead-up to World War 2 (1939-1945) though delayed in its service entry until 1949 due to the Nazi occupation -
AA-52 General Machine Gun
The weapon was similarly chambered for the 7.5x54mm French cartridge though it operated from a lever-delayed blowback system. The AA-52 was eventually chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge to conform to NATO standards and saw export to over a dozen countries as a general machine gun, aircraft-mounted machine gun -
CEtme model 58
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Springfield M14
The M14 was brought about to fulfill an American military requirement for a new standard issue service rifle due to the acceptance of the 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge by both the United States and its NATO allies -
Heckler & Koch HK G3
German engineers were working on perfecting a new breed of service rifle known as the "assault rifle". The assault rifle immediately antiquated the bolt-action service rifle as the standard-issue firearm of any modern army -
Beretta model 59
The original M1 Garand became the world's first standard-issue self-loading rifle and served in the millions with American and Allied forces throughout World War 2. During the conflict, the rifle played center stage to countless battles and was known as a robust and dependable weapon -
Beretta model
A stalwart of the Italian military inventory became the Beretta Model 1938 series submachine gun which was an interwar form of the World War 1-era Model of 1918. The Model 1938 itself was progressively evolved throughout World War 2 and a final variant was offered as late as 1949 before the Army adopted an all-new, modern submachine gun in the Model 12 during 1959 -
Valmet M60/M62
Soviet influence was seen within the Finnish military for much of its Cold War inventory was Soviet in nature including all manner of tanks, armored personnel carriers, armored cars, artillery and small arms. To that end, the famous Kalashnikov AK-47 Assault Rifle was modified locally to become the "m/60 -
rifle R1
South African government trialled the American AR-10 rifle, the West German G3 rifle and the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle and decided that the FN FAL most fit the needs of the South African Defense Force. As such, local-production facilities were set up by the mid-1950s to produce the Belgian product under license -
Rasheed Carbine
The Rasheed was a further-developed form of the Hakim though shortened into a more handy carbine form. Production numbers totaled 8,000 units and adoption occurred in 1960. -
Model K-50M
During the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the North was supplied by outside parties including communist China. China adopted the World War 2-era, Soviet-originated PPSh-41 submachine gun as the "Type 50". -
Denel MG4 Belt
Browning M1919 became a classic machine gun after its introduction following World War 1 (1914-1918). It was eventually featured as a dedicated infantry machine gun and an aircraft machine gun and went on to see combat action in a myriad of conflicts spanning the "Banana Wars" and the modern Syrian Civil War