Gerät 920: Licensed Production of AK-74 Rifles in East Germany

The available published research regarding the implementation of the AK-74 rifle production programme in East Germany is very limited. The majority of what is available on the topic has only been published in German. In this short research article, the author seeks to gather together the available facts to highlight the political, industrial, and technological aspects surrounding the adoption of the AK-74 by Eastern Germany. The author also aims to highlight the challenges that resulted from this massive military acquisition programme, which placed a significant burden on the already crumbling economy of East Germany during the final years of that nation’s existence.

Ruger’s ‘Old Model’ Single-action Revolvers: A Cautionary Tale of Reproducing Historical Firearms in a Litigious Age

In 1953, Ruger released a single-action revolver—patterned after the original Colt Single Action Army. Whilst some changes had been made, this firearm possessed, for all intents and purposes, the handling characteristics of the original Colt design. As a result, the safety precaution was as per the original: the revolver should be loaded with five rounds, rather than six, and the hammer positioned such that it rested over an empty chamber. Despite outlining the recommended carry methods in their instruction manual, Ruger became the subject of product liability lawsuits from purchasers who incorrectly loaded and carried the firearm, resulting in negligent discharges. This article explores the history of Colt-type single-action revolvers in the post-World War II period, analyses the availability of historic mechanical safety mechanisms for double-action revolvers in the 19th and 20th centuries, and summarises the patents on single-action safeties that Ruger had received by 1973. That year, the company discontinued their initial line of Single Action Army-style revolvers—known as ‘Old Models’—for a visibly similar, but mechanically different, ‘New Model’ line of single-action revolvers featuring newly developed safety mechanisms.

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company’s Exports to Foreign Powers During the First World War

During the First World War, the Winchester Repeating Arms Company was one of a number of American small arms manufacturers that played a key role in the Entente’s war effort. Winchester provided not only rifles, but also ammunition and munitions materials to all three of the major Allied nations—Britain, France, and Russia. This article was written following a fresh survey of the available documentation from the period which survives in the Winchester archives, now held by the McCracken Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, in Cody, Wyoming. As may be expected, the available documentation is incomplete and thus the conclusions contained herein are necessarily limited. Nonetheless, it is clear from the magnitude of Winchester’s work—both before and after the United States’ entry into the war—that the company played a significant role in arming the Entente powers during a period when European industrial capacity was at its limits. This article explores the scope of the company’s work and identifies several of the key items supplied to their European customers. The author also sheds new light on some of the difficulties and challenges Winchester faced in carrying out their wartime production.

The Dutch Uzi: Service Variants of the Army, Navy & Air Force, 1957–1997

The well-known Israeli Uzi sub-machine gun saw service with the Dutch Armed Forces between 1957 and 1997. Other than the Israel Defense Forces, the Netherlands were the first nation to adopt this weapon for their conventional military forces—and also the first to use the Uzi in combat. The Dutch Navy, Air Force, and Army all adopted the Israeli sub-machine gun, although each service selected a slightly different configuration, including variants with different stocks and modes of fire. This article presents a brief history of the Uzi in Dutch service, tracing the primary variants in service with all three branches of the armed forces and examining how this variety highlights a recurring small arms acquisition trend within the Dutch military.

Back Matter

In Memoriam: Claude Gaier; Notes for Authors.

Report: The 2019 Kurt Swanson Bucholz Arsenals of History Symposium

In 2019, the third annual Kurt Swanson Bucholz Arsenals of History Symposium brought together firearms researchers from around the world in Cody, Wyoming. While the first two symposia had been developed specifically for academic scholars, public historians, and museum professionals, this third symposium set out to include one more group of stakeholders in the conversation: non-traditional researchers. Fittingly, the theme for the 2019 symposium was “Firearms, History & Museums in a Digital Era”.

Book Reviews

A History of the Small Arms Made by the Sterling Armament Company: Excellence in Adversity Reviewed by: Jack Shanley Peter Laidler, James Edmiston & David Howroyd. Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2020. ISBN 978-15-26773-30-2. xv + 352 pp., 32 col. illus., 350 b. & w. illus. £40. Winchester Model 1895: Last of the Classic Lever Actions Reviewed by: Danny Michael Rob Kassab & Brad Dunbar. Boca Raton: Buffalo Cove Publishing, 2019. ISBN 978-0-578-46655-2. 432 pp., numerous col. illus. $89.99. Firearms of the Texas Rangers: From the Frontier Era to the Modern Age Reviewed by: Patrick Senft Doug Dukes. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2020. ISBN 978-1-574-41810-1. 640 pp., 182 b. & w. illus. $45.

The MBAssociates M1 Silent Pistol & Javette Projectiles: Chemical & Biological Warfare at the Individual Level

Small arms delivering chemical or biological payloads have been developed by a number of states in the modern era. As the war in Vietnam was intensifying in the mid-1960s, the U. S. Army became aware of one such weapon system being developed by MBAssociates of San Ramon, California. This could silently and covertly deliver non-lethal tranquilisers to military guard dogs or lethal toxins to enemy personnel by projecting a tiny, dartlike ‘Javette’—capable of striking a target unnoticed. The Army’s Special Operations Division, Army Biological Warfare Laboratories, and the CIA subsequently acquired the new weapon, operationalising it by treating Javettes with deadly toxins such as saxitoxin. When, in 1969–1970, President Richard Nixon renounced the United States’ use of toxins and ordered stockpiles destroyed, the MBAssociates weapon was catapulted into the limelight through the actions of an unscrupulous CIA employee. This article traces the full arc of Javette development, from the predecessor experiments conducted by Robert Mainhardt and his colleagues beginning in 1960, through the Senate hearings conducted by the Church Committee in 1975, to Mainhardt’s final attempts to generate government sales in the 1990s. The author focuses on the little-known Javette projectiles themselves, but also addresses delivery devices (handguns), toxins, and the broader historical context.

Front Matter

Table of contents; Editor's Preface (N.R. Jenzen-Jones); From the CFM Curator (Danny Michael).

Operational Trials of the E.M. 2 Automatic Rifle in Malaya, 1952–1953

This article outlines the little-known field trials carried out with the British E.M. 2 advanced prototype assault rifle during the Malayan Emergency. It introduces the E.M. 2 rifle (accepted for service in 1951 as Rifle, 7 mm, No. 9, Mk. I) and the ‘Operational Trial’ as a part of the period British small arms procurement process. It then outlines the different trials carried out during the period in question and the military units involved, as well introducing some of the key personnel. Surviving examples of the E.M. 2 rifles used in these trials—today held in the Royal Armouries collection—are also identified and their known history elucidated. The implications for the ongoing development of the E.M. 2 after the trials period are then explored.