German Panzerschreck: Allied Tank’s Bane The German Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 or “Rocket Anti-armor Rifle Model 54” was abbreviated to RPzB 54. German troops called it the Panzerschreck. This literally translates to “tank scream,” “tank fright,” or “tank’s bane.” The RPzB 54 was essentially a copy of the American bazooka tweaked in places and scaled up to better…
Category: Know Your Weapons
Know Your Weapons: The M79 Grenade Launcher
The M79 Grenade Launcher The M79 was a large-bore, single-barrel, single-shot weapon that was breech loaded and fired from the shoulder. It launched a 40mm by 46mm grenade in a round that resembled a huge bullet. The close-support infantry weapon reportedly was nicknamed “Thumper, Blooper, Thump Gun, or Bloop Tube” by some soldiers due…
Know Your WWII History: The True Story that Inspired ‘Fury’
The True Story that Inspired ‘Fury’ Is Fury a true story? Was the Fury tank an actual Sherman? It sure seems to be. In this article, the renowned and redoubtable Red2Alpha73 (Mike Durand) reviews Belton Y. Cooper’s 1998 memoir: Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II.
Shotgun Basics: Buckshot (Part 1)
Shotgun Basics: Buckshot (Part 1) I have been reloading for most of my adult life and have used just about ever flavor of shotgun load there is and for my money a good 00 Low-Recoil and #4 Buckshot are my “GO TO” loads for 2 legged critters.
Irish Shotgun
Minimalist 101: Sometimes a piece of pipe, a nail, some shotgun shells and a whole lot of Attitude is all you need.
Know Your Weapons: The Cap and Ball Revolvers Prior to the Peacemaker
Prior to the Peacemaker The Revolvers that ‘Really’ Won the West Before the Colt Peacemaker? Before the Colt Peacemaker there was a whole boatload of other Colt single action revolvers. And in truth they had a lot more influence in the Old West than did the Peacemaker because the wildest and woolliest times had passed by…
Know Your WW1 Weapon’s History: The Flammenwerfer
Flammenwefer — World War I German Flamethrowers It appears the first flamethrower of modern design was patented in Germany by Richard Fiedler in 1901. During the same year, the German army funded his continued work on flamethrower designs. Fiedler, a private citizen, designed several flamethrowers models and presented a working product to the German…
Know Your Rifles: The “Krag” aka Springfield Model 1892 Infantry Rifle
Story of the Krag: The Springfield Model 1892 Infantry Rifle The formal appellation Springfield Model 1892-1899 describes the several subvariants of the Krag-Jorgensen bolt-action repeating rifle developed in the late 19th century. U.S. troops affectionately referred to the weapon as a “Krag.” The rifle was actually a collaborative effort of Norwegian gun designers Ole Herman…
Know Your WW2 Weapons: The German K43 Rifle, Deutschland’s DMR
GERMAN K43 RIFLE: DEUTSCHLAND’S DMR K43 is German shorthand for Karabiner 43. The same weapon was also known as the Gewehr 43. A relatively simple gas-operated design, the K43 was the German answer to our M1 Garand. However, manufacturing pressures and a suboptimal design conspired to keep the K43 from reaching its full potential….
Know Your Firearms History: The Blunderbuss and Thanksgiving
The Blunderbuss and Thanksgiving This is one of those instances where it pays to know your History! The Blunderbuss and Plymouth Rock were separated by a span of more than 30 years!