Owen machine carbine / submachine gun (Australia)

Owen machine carbine / submachine gun (Australia)

Owen 32ACP prototype submachine gun (1940)

Owen .45ACP prototype submachine gun (1941)

Owen Mk.1-43 submachine gun in camouflage paint

Owen Mk.1-42 submachine gun, field stripped

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 4.22 kg unloaded
Length: 813 mm
Barrel length: 247 mm
Rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds
Effective range: 100-200 meters

Evelyn Owen, an Australian, developed his first automatic weapon, chambered for .22LR cartridge, by 1939, and offered it to Australian army. This weapon was a strange-looking revolver-type contraption with fixed "cylinder" instead of magazine, and thumb-operated trigger. However, by 1940 Owen produced its next design, in somewhat more potent (but still relatively mild) .32ACP / 7.65x17 Browning cartridge. This was more "usual" weapon, with traditional trigger, dual pistol grips and detachable box magazine, inserted under the receiver and inclined rearward and to the left. By 1941, Owen produced several more prototypes, chambered in .45ACP, 9mm Luger and even .38 Special revolver cartridges; this work was done at Lysaghts Newcastle Works in New South Wales, Australia. 9mm prototype, made by Lysaghts, was tested against Thompson and Sten submachine guns, and found superior to both. Adopted in 1942, this gun was manufactured until 1945 in three basic versions, Mark 1-42, Mark 1-43 (or Mark 1 Wood butt), and Mark 2. About 45 000 Owen SMGs were made by Lysaghts, and these remained in service with Australian forces until 1960s, through World War 2, Korean and Vietnam wars. In general, these weapons were well liked by soldiers due to their robustness, reliability and simplicity. The only downside of Owen SMG was its somewhat heavy weight.

Owen submachine guns are blowback operated, top-fed weapons that fired from open bolt. Receiver is of tubular shape, with the bolt body separated from the cocking handle by the small bulkhead inside. This precluded the dirt to enter the receiver area through the cocking handle slot, but also required the barrel to be made removable, as the bolt and return spring were pulled forward out of receiver. Barrel was held in place by simple latch, located at the front of the receiver, ahead of the magazine housing. Muzzle was equipped with recoil compensator. Pistol grips were made from wood, detachable buttstock was made of steel wire on Mk.1-42 Owens and from wood on later models. Due to the top mounted magazine, fixed sights were offset to the left.

AUSTEN submachine gun (Australia)

AUSTEN submachine gun (Australia)

AUSTEN submachine gun

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum
Weight	3.98 kg
Length (stock closed/open)	552 / 732 mm
Barrel length	198 mm
Rate of fire	500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	30 rounds

AUSTEN submachine gun (machine carbine in contemporary terminology) was an urgent development, carried in Australia during earlier stages of World War 2 in the anticipation of possible Japanese invasion. It was based on British STEN submachine gun (the AUSTEN means Australian STEN), although some features (i.e. return spring guide, pistol grip and underfolding stock) were copied from the German MP40. About 20 thousands of AUSTEN Mk.1 submachine guns were manufactured during the WW2, but it was unable to achieve popularity of its main domestic rival, the Owen submachine gun, as the Owen was much more reliable, especially under the extreme environmental conditions of jungle warfare.

The AUSTEN submachine gun is a simple blowback weapon, firing from open bolt in semi-automatic or full automatic modes. The return spring is located insite the telescoping tubular guide, as in the German MP40. The fire mode selector is located on the right side of the trigger housing, above the trigger guard. The STEN-type box magazine is inserted horizontally from the left, ejection is to the right. AUSTEN submachine gun is equipped with two pistol grips and an underfolding metallic buttstock. The struts of the buttstock are hollow and hold inside a small screwdriver and a cleaning rod. The sights are of simple design, and not adjustable for range.

K6-92 / Borz submachine gun (Armenia / Russia)

K6-92 / Borz submachine gun (Armenia / Russia)

K6-92 / Borz submachine gun

Caliber	9x18 Makarov PM
Weight	1.96 kg
Length (stock closed/open)	370 / 700 mm
Barrel length	150 mm
Rate of fire	? rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	17, 25 or 30 rounds

The K6-92 submachine gun was developed during early 1990s in the republic of Armenia, which gained its independence in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. At the time Armenia was engaged in the local conflict with Azerbaijan (another ex-USSR republic), and was in desperate need for small arms. The submachine gun is one of the simplest automatic arms to design and manufacture, so Armenian engineers quickly developed a straightforward weapon, which can be easily manufactured by almost any mechanical workshop.
Later on, more than few K6-92 submachine guns made its way through the borders into the Chechen republic, the most turbulent part of the Russia. During mid-1990s Chechnya was heavily infested with separatists, Islamic extremists and other kinds of bandits, which found submachine guns to be convenient weapons for urban fighting. Separatist Chechen government attempted to produce a "local" copy of the K6-92 at one of machine-building factories in the city of Groznyj, but very few were made there due to production problems and quality issues. Chechen-made copies of the K6-92 submachine gun are usually referred to as "Borz" (which means "wolf" in Chechen language). It also must be noted, however, that underground workshops, run by separatist forces, also made some "generic" crudely made submachine guns, generally known under the same name (Borz). These "homemade" submachine guns can be distinguished by tubular receiver and extremely poor fit and finish. Overall, the K6-92 submachine guns are reported as crude arms, suitable mostly for close combat. Over last two decades, plenty of these submachine guns turned up in Russia and other former USSR states during various crimes of violence and illegal arms trafficking.

The K6-92 submachine gun is a simple blowback operated weapon  that fires from open bolt. Receiver is made from steel stampings, welded together. Cocking handle is located at the top, safety / fire mode selector is located at the left side of the gun, above the trigger guard. Gun can be fired in single shots or in full automatic. It is fitted with plastic pistol grip and a top-folding metallic buttstock.

Halcon ML-63 submachine gun (Argentine)

Halcon ML-63 submachine gun (Argentine)

Halcon ML-63 submachine gun

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum
Weight	3.6 kg
Length (stock closed/open)	500 / 690 mm
Barrel length	170 mm
Rate of fire	600 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	20 or 42 rounds

Halcon ML-63 submachine gun (Pistola ametralladora Halcón, Modelo Liviano 1963) was developed in 1963 by Argentinean arms-making company Fabrica de Armas Halcon. This weapon saw extensive use by Argentinean armed forces during conflict with Great Britain over Falkland islands. It was also used by Argentinean police until early 1990s.

Halcon ML-63 submachine gun is a simple blowback weapon that fires from closed bolt.It has a sliding "hammer' or striker, which is cocked when bolt closes, and is released when trigger is pressed. It has dual trigger setup, which allows to fire either single shots (front trigger) or full automatic (rear trigger). Charging handle is located on the right side and moves along with the bolt. Weapon is manufactured mostly from steel stampings, and fitted with plain barrel that has a massive muzzle compensator. Magazine housing is extended to provide comfortable forward grip for non-firing hand.  Halcon ML-63 submachine gun was usually equipped with simple telescoping buttstock, made of steel wire, although it can be replaced with detachable fixed wooden butt. Standard iron sights feature L-shaped flip-up rear sight with settings for 50 and 100 meters range.

Halcon M/943 submachine gun (Argentine)

Halcon M/943 submachine gun (Argentine)

Halcon M/943 submachine gun

Caliber	.45ACP
Weight	4.05 kg
Length	850 mm
Barrel length	292 mm
Rate of fire	700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	17 or 30 rounds

Halcon M/943 submachine gun (Pistola ametralladora Halcón, modelo 1943) was developed by Argentinean arms-making company Fabrica de Armas Halcon. It was manufactured for Argentinean army and police; lighter and more compact variant of the same weapon was manufactured as Halcon M/946 for Argentinean Air Forces (Carabina ametralladora Halcón, modelo Aeronáutica Argentina 1946). This weapon is rarely encountered outside of South America.

The Halcon M/943 submachine gun is a simple blowback weapon that fires from open bolt. Weapon can fire single shots and full automatic, thanks to the fire mode selector, located on the left side above the trigger. Charging handle is also located on the left side and does not move when gun is fired. Halcon M/943 submachine gun is fitted with heavily finned barrel and a massive muzzle compensator, and has a wooden pistol grip / buttstock of peculiar shape. The Halcon M/946 submachine gun wass similar in design except that it had a shorter barrel and a MP40-type underfolding buttstock

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History of military helmets

History of military helmets

A "Brodie helmet" used by British Commonwealth officers in both World Wars and by US forces mainly in the First.

Helmets are known to have been worn by Ancient Greeks and Romans, throughout the middle Ages, and up to the end of the 1600s by many combatants. At that time, they were purely military equipment, protecting the head from blows, swords, arrows, (low-velocity) musket fire and similar risks. Some helmets had a sort of extension made of leather strips called pteruges to protect the neck, particularly common in the Middle East.

Helmets were first made of boar's tusk and leather, then bronze and iron during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but soon came to be made entirely from forged steel in many societies after about 950A.D. Military use of helmets declined after 1670, and rifled firearms ended their use by foot soldiers after 1700. By the 18th century cavalry units, who protected their bodies with steel cuirasses, frequently wore metal skull protectors under their hats, called "secrets".

The Napoleonic era saw ornate cavalry helmets reintroduced for cuirassiers and dragoons in some armies; they continued to be used by French forces during World War I as late as 1915, when they were replaced by the new French Adrian helmet. Ornate helmets were soon replaced by functional steel helmets by warring nations.

The Prussian Pickelhaube spiked helmet offered almost no protection from the heavy artillery used during World War I, and in 1916 was replaced by the German steel helmet, or Stahlhelm. World War I and its increased use of heavy artillery had renewed the need for steel helmets, which were quickly introduced by all the combatant nations for their foot soldiers. In the 20th century steel helmets offered protection for the head from shrapnel and spent, or glancing, bullets.

Today's armed services often use high-quality helmets made of ballistic materials such as Kevlar, which have excellent bullet and fragment stopping power. Some helmets also have good non-ballistic protective qualities to protect the wearer from non-ballistic injuries, such as concussive shock waves from explosions, motor vehicle incidents, and falls. Military helmets can be worn with radio earmuffs, and other equipment such as night vision goggles can be added. Military helmets are often worn with a removable cotton-polyester helmet cover, which allows the user to change the pattern of the camouflage (e.g., from dark green forest camouflage to tan-coloured desert camouflage).

 

Smoke grenadeSmoke grenade

Smoke grenadeSmoke grenade

Smoke grenades are canister-type grenades used as ground-to-ground or ground-to-air signaling devices, target or landing zone marking devices, or a screening devices for unit movements. Smoke grenades are normally considered non lethal, although incorrect use may cause injury or fatality. The body consists of a sheet steel cylinder with a few emission holes on top and at the bottom to allow smoke release when the grenade is ignited. The filler consists of 250 to 350 grams of colored (red, green, orange, gray, yellow, blue, white, black, or violet) smoke composition (mostly potassium chlorate, lactose and a dye). The reaction is exothermic and grenade casings often will remain scalding hot for some time even after the grenade is no longer emitting smoke.

Another type of smoke grenades are the bursting kind. These are filled with white phosphorus (WP), which is spread by explosive action. White phosphorus catches fire in the presence of air, and burns with a brilliant yellow flame, while producing copious amounts of white smoke (phosphorus pent oxide). These double as incendiary grenades, and a variant of these are also launched from infantry-portable or armored fighting vehicle-mounted grenade launchers. Users must also be wary of wind direction when using smoke grenades.

Smoke grenades should not be confused with smoke bombs, which are typically started with an external fuse rather than a pin. Smoke grenades often cost much more at around $40 USD compared to smoke bombs, which can often cost just a few cents. Smoke grenades generally emit a far larger amount of smoke than smoke bombs that are sold as fireworks.

Diagram and cross section of an M18 smoke grenade.

A violet smoke grenade being used during a military training exercise.

 

Hand grenadeHand grenade

Hand grenade

"Grenade" redirects here. For other uses, see Grenade (disambiguation

A hand grenade is an anti-personnel weapon that explodes a short time after release. The French military term grenade probably comes from the shape of the pomegranate fruit, which is also called grenade in French.

Grenadiers were originally soldiers who specialized in throwing grenades. Today, some grenades are fired from rifles or from purpose-designed grenade launchers.

Russian F1 grenade

An M67 grenade, used primarily by the U.S. and Canadian military

36M Mills bomb dating from 1942

 

For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation).

Top: A Baker rifle, a 19th century rifle
Middle: A Springfield rifle, an early 20th century bolt-action rifle
Bottom: A SG 550 rifle, a modern assault rifle

Latest rifles of year 1905

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling") cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile (for small arms usage, called a bullet), imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the orientation of the weapon. When the projectile leaves the barrel, the conservation of angular momentum improves accuracy and range, in the same way that a properly thrown American football or rugby ball behaves. The word "rifle" originally referred to the grooving, and a rifle was called a "rifled gun." Rifles are used in warfare, hunting and shooting sports.

Typically, a bullet is propelled by the contained deflagration of an explosive compound (originally black powder, later cordite, and now nitrocellulose), although other means such as compressed air are used in air rifles, which are popular for vermin control, hunting small game, formal target shooting and casual shooting ("plinking").

In most armed forces the term "gun" is incorrect when referring to small arms; in the military, the word "gun" means an artillery piece or crew-served machine gun. Furthermore, in many works of fiction a rifle refers to any weapon that has a stock and is shouldered before firing, even if the weapon is not rifled or does not fire solid projectiles. (E.g. a "laser rifle")

Rifles traditionally fired a single projectile with each pull of the trigger. Modern assault rifles are capable of firing in bursts or fully automatic modes, and thus overlap somewhat with machine guns. In fact, many light machine guns (such as the Russian RPK) are adaptations of existing assault rifle designs. Generally, the difference between an automatic rifle and a machine gun comes down to weight and feed system; rifles, with their relatively light components (which overheat quickly) and small magazines, are incapable of sustained automatic fire in the way that machine guns are. While machine guns may require more than one operator, the rifle is an individual weapon.

 

For other uses, see Machine gun (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Machine gun (disambiguation).

A .50 caliber M2 machine gun: John Browning's design has been one of the longest serving and most successful machine gun designs

A machine gun is a full automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute. The first design/invention of the machine gun was by Leonardo Da Vinci who produced a diagram of an eight barreled, hand cranked machine gun. This weapon was designed to be fired from a fixed mount and would probably not have been personnel portable under battle conditions.

In United States gun law, machine gun is a term of art for any full automatic firearm, and also for any component or part that will modify an existing firearm into a full automatic firearm.

Machine guns are generally categorized as sub-machine guns, machine guns, or auto cannons. Sub-machine guns are designed to be portable automatic weapons for personal defense or short range combat, and are intended to be fired while being hand held. Submachine guns use small pistol caliber rounds. A proper machine gun is often portable to a certain degree, but is generally used when mounted on a stand or fired from the ground on a bipod. Light machine guns can be fired hand held like a rifle, but the gun is more effective when fired from a prone position. Proper machine guns use larger caliber rifle rounds. The difference between machine guns and auto cannons is based on caliber, with auto cannons using calibers larger than 16 mm.

Another factor is whether the gun fires conventional rounds or explosive rounds. Guns firing large-caliber explosive rounds are generally considered either auto cannons or automatic grenade launchers ("grenade machine guns"). By contrast to the other two categories (sub-machine guns and auto cannons), machine guns (like rifles) tend to share a very high ratio of barrel length to caliber (a long barrel for a small caliber); indeed, a true machine gun is essentially a full automatic rifle, and the boundaries between the two are often blurred. Often, the criterion for a machine gun as opposed to an automatic rifle is considered to be the presence of a quick change barrel or other cooling system (see below).