AKs from Finland. Part 1: Development History The small European country of Finland always had a great reputation when it comes to arms production. For collectors, Finnish-made Mosin-Nagants are some of the most desirable Mosin rifles, but there is another rifle design that the Finnish took to a whole other level. It is called RK…
Category: Military Weapons History
AK Corner: Story of the RPK-74
Story of the RPK-74 The 5.45x39mm RPK-74 was an evolutionary development of Mikhail Kalashnikov’s original 1940’s-vintage AK-47. The earliest AK (Avtomat Kalashnikova) rifle fired the then radically new M43 7.62x39mm round and was built around a stamped steel receiver. This 35″, 7.7-lb. infantry rifle legitimately changed the world. Alas, those early stamped receivers weren’t…
The Bad Ass Files: Robert “R.J.” Thomas – The Story of a Real American Gunfighter
A REAL AMERICAN GUNFIGHTER AND HIS GUNS When those who grew up in my era hear the words “gunfight” or “gunfighter,” we immediately get a vision of something that never existed. Spending many of my Saturdays in the late 1940s at the West Theater to watch western movies with the likes of Roy Rogers,…
Know Your WW2 History: Masters of the Air Twofer
DID YOU KNOW WHY THE GERMAN PLANES ATTACKED FROM THE FRONT IN MASTERS OF THE AIR? DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THE AERIAL ROCKETS SEEN IN MASTERS OF THE AIR? Highly recommend this mini-series along with the book upon which it is based: Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War…
Last of the Cold War Gunfighters: Vought F-8 Crusader
Vought F-8 Crusader: Last of the Gunfighters The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based, high-performance jet fighter that first flew in 1955, a mere decade after the end of World War II. The Crusader was the first American fighter to break 1,000 miles per hour. The F-8 earned its testosterone-besotted moniker because…
WW1 History: A First-Hand Account
November 11, 1918 My grandfather served in France during WWI in a machine-gun unit. That, along with the somewhat cryptic “PFC 314 Machine Gun Company” marking on his headstone, was all I knew about Gramp, who died at home on the night of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords and never, ever talked about his service to…
Know Your WW2 Weapons: Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar
Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar For more than a century, American troops have given a wide variety of nicknames to their own weapons, and also those of their enemies. During World War II, American troops in the Pacific Theatre created a nickname for a highly effective Japanese weapon that was a bit misleading. The…
Marine Corps: Optics vs. Iron Sights
Marine Corps: Optics vs. Iron Sights Chief Warrant Officer 2 Billy Shinault, Officer-in-charge of Chosin Rifle Range at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, along with Warrant Officer Bobby Yarbrough, MCRD Parris Island CommStrat, explain the advantages of training recruits to start shooting with the Rifle Combat Optic instead of using iron sights….
The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Stinger
The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Stinger Good God, do I love the United States Marine Corps. Not just because I served in the Marine Corps and because the cult brainwashing runs deep, but because of the Marine Corps attitude of improvising, overcoming, and adapting. Until recently, the Marine Corps has been famously known for…
Interview with MACV-SOG Major John L. Plaster
MACV-SOG Major John L. Plaster I have two books from Plaster in my Library that are dog eared, highlighted and just about worn out. The first is The Ultimate Sniper which I got many moons ago as a gift from a now departed friend (who was a better shot than me by a country…