Ian McCollum

3 days ago | forgottenweapons.com | Ian McCollum

The Dutch Navy first acquired Luger pistols in 1918 specifically for its aviators. They has 12 German P04 Lugers taken from a German submarine stranded in the (neutral) Netherlands, and 28 more were purchased from DWM in 1918 to round out the 40 guns needed to equip the Naval Air Service. The pistol was formally adopted as Automatische Pistool Nr.1. In 1928, the Dutch Army adopted the 1906 New Model Luger for its own service, and the Navy decided to update its revolvers at the same time.

5 days ago | forgottenweapons.com | Ian McCollum

The Fenian Brotherhood was formed in the US in 1858, a partner organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The groups were militant organizations looking to procure Irish independence from the British, and they found significant support among the Irish-American immigrant community. In November 1865 they purchased some 7500 1861 and 1863 pattern muskets left over from Civil War production, and used them to invade Canada in April 1866.

1 week ago | forgottenweapons.com | Ian McCollum

The P38K is both a fantasy WWII concept and also a real pistol made in small numbers by Walther in the 1970s. The idea is simple; just cut down the barrel on a P38 to barely in front of the slide (2.8 inches on the real ones). This does make for a shorter gun, although it retains the large frame and limited capacity of the standard P38, and it’s not really much more concealable than the original.

1 week ago | forgottenweapons.com | Ian McCollum

This is a very rare style of Japanese matchlock, with three separate barrels on a revolving axis. It has all the design and decorative elements of a tanegashima musket, but built more as a self-defense piece for home or perhaps when traveling by palanquin. Think of it like the Edo-period Japanese equivalent of a Howdah pistol or coach gun. The barrels are approximately .40 caliber (~1.5 monme) and smoothbore. Each one has its own set of sights and priming pan and cover.

1 week ago | forgottenweapons.com | Ian McCollum

On July 14th, 1914 the 50 foot pleasure yacht “Asgard” sailed into Howth harbor in Dublin with its cabin completely filled with arms. It has 900 Mauser 1871 rifles and 29,000 rounds of ammunition for the Irish Volunteers, and there is a crowd of a thousand people turned out to unload them – just daring the British authorities to try a crackdown. These rifles would ultimately become some of the most iconic weapons used in the 1916 Easter Rising. Video on Ulster gunrunning: