In the early 1970s, Poland wanted to replace their 7.62x39mm Kalashnikov rifles. The Soviet Union was developing the 5.45mm AK-74, but the Poles wanted to make a more ambitious advance in small arms systems. They launched Project Lantan... The plan was to create a modular system similar in concept to the Stoner 63 – a single...
One of the very last, most common, and best looking of the Austrian manually operated pistols is the Bittner. Designed by Gustav Bittner in 1893 and going into production in 1896 (the known examples were proofed in 1897 and 1898)... Several hundred were made; possibly as many as 500. They were produced for the civilian market...
British made and Birmingham proofed percussion key pistol. Approx. .45 cal. Made 1850 – 1860....
In 1978, the KGB used an umbrella like this—modified to fire a tiny pellet filled with poison—to assassinate dissident Georgi Markov on the streets of London....
The MP5 PIP has some interesting features, including a weaver-style top rail, a “chute” type magazine well, a centrally located button that appears to be a bolt catch/release, and a round magazine catch. Also, the MP5 PIP appears to be the origin for the distinctive “flipper” charging handle of eventually used in the...
A barrel release mechanism slid into the mag well and allowed you to open the gun’s barrel and load a single rifle round into place....
The 40mm M79 Grenade Launcher used by the US famously in Vietnam, and in conflicts after that, had a radar system made by the Radio Corporation of America that would give an audio que to denote target range and speed. Almost like a mix of a policeman's speedometer and a range finder, on a grenade launcher. It apparently worked...
For the non-Americans, the Lewis & Clark Expedition was ordered by President Jefferson in 1804 to explore the land acquired in the Louisiana purchase and beyond....
Sorry it's in French / Grâce à moi c'est en français. The French version I found was higher quality. Here's and English one:...
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e8a44d15-b87d-4e96-b30f-770e63d5c450.jpeg...
Psst now they're all gone check this out....
From a great article on the hunga munga:...
During World War I, the United States developed several types of body armor, including the chrome nickel steel Brewster Body Shield, which consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece and could withstand .303 British bullets at 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s), but was clumsy and heavy at 40 lb (18 kg). A scaled waistcoat of overlapping steel...
The official SOE catalog referred to this as a “short length, silent, murder weapon”. The sleeve gun was a variant of the better-known Welrod pistol; it was a simple suppressor tube with a single .32 ACP caliber round loaded into the breech before concealing up the user’s sleeve. A hole at the rear of the gun allowed a...
This gun had a 6 round capacity of .25 ACP to be shot across three trigger pulls. It is the predecessor to the S333 Thunderstruck....
This clandestine pistol is modified to:...
Iver Johnson revolvers were massively popular around end of the 1800s and the start of the 1900s they were marketed as a safe option for the working class person....
Capone, the boss of the Chicago Outfit, obtained the gun in 1928 while he was living part time in a palatial estate in Miami Beach. While there, Capone decided he needed some extra firepower for protection. He had a friend, hotel manager Parker Henderson Jr., purchase six revolvers and six shotguns from a Miami pawn shop, which...
Here's a smaller version for muskets and rifles:...
The Valmara series of mines (Valmara, Valmara 59, and Valmara 69) are Italian produced anti-personnel ("APERS") landmines. The are what are known as bounding mines, which is to say that when they are tripped, the main charge of the mine is projected upwards before exploding. The airburst of the mine is designed to allow the...
The gap between the chamber and the barrel prevents most revolvers from being silenced....
Lion Fish are an invasive species in the waters off of Florida that have no predators and out compete local fish....
This Sharps rifle bears no maker’s mark; it was made especially for John Brown. Brown carried this weapon on his Kansas campaign in 1856 and later presented it to Charles Blair of Collinsville, Connecticut. In 1857, Brown contracted Blair to forge pikes for the clandestine slave insurrection he was planning for Harpers Ferry....
Video demonstrating how it works:...
Moral of the Story: The client isn't always right....
