The Book of Gun Trivia: Essential Firepower Facts
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About this ebook
Gordon L. Rottman
Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969–70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments before retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.
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Reviews for The Book of Gun Trivia
4 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/53.5 StarsA very informative gun trivia book, more for beginners or readers with intermediate knowledge of guns. The film mistakes section is interesting, but could have included more. The glossary is very helpful. Recommended for anyone interested in the history of weapons.Net Galley Feedback
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nice trivia on weapons myths and facts - liked it and would recommend it.
Book preview
The Book of Gun Trivia - Gordon L. Rottman
As with any other area of research, weapons have their own histories and stories. Many of these are admittedly esoteric, obscure, and certainly fall in the category of trivia, but are nonetheless interesting and often provide further insight into the development, history, and employment of weapons. Understanding the evolution and development of weapons and how they were employed enhances the understanding of military history and how tactics and combat techniques evolve. If a soldier or Marine has an understanding of the history of weapons and their employment, he can better adapt the use of his weapons to his current circumstances, which seldom fit the tactical environment envisioned by manuals. This chapter provides some interesting historical insight and answers questions regarding weapons history.
WHICH WEAPONS IN THE US ARMY AND MARINE CORPS INVENTORY HAVE BEEN IN USE THE LONGEST?
The longest-serving US weapons are listed below. All of these have had some form of modification even if the designation has remained the same. Most of the weapons are being phased out, but will still be found in use in National Guard and Reserve units, and sometimes in Active Army and Marine units.
WHAT ARE THE LONGEST-SERVING MODERN MILITARY RIFLES IN THE WORLD?
British-designed and Indian-made .303 Lee Enfield No. 1 Mk III rifles, the SMLE (Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield rifle), designated the Mk III prior to 1926, are still in service in India and Nepal, and, regardless of the proliferation of AK-47s, they still turn up in Afghanistan. The design was adopted in 1907, and these particular rifles were made at Ishapore Arsenal between 1939 and 1955. They are also still in use in Papua New Guinea, these having been produced at Lithgow Arsenal, Australia prior to 1955.
Adopted in 1931 and refined for mass production in 1939, the British .303 Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk 1 served as the standard British and Canadian service rifle until replaced by the 7.62mm L1A1 self-loading rifle (FN FAL – Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique Legere – light automatic rifle) in 1957. They remained in frontline use into the 1960s and No. 4 Mk I* Enfields are still in use with the Canadian Rangers (a volunteer, part-time northern coastal patrol organization – modern-day Coastwatchers), due to the rifle’s reliability in arctic conditions; plus they are cheap to produce. It is also used by Canadian Search and Rescue Program and Mapping and Charting Establishment personnel as a self-defense weapon against polar, brown, and black bears. No. 4 Mk I rifles are still found in use in various African countries by reserve forces, constabulary, police, and game wardens. As of 2008 it appeared that Lee Enfields were in use with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The .30-caliber M1 Garand rifle, while a mainstay piece through two wars, only saw about 25 years of general service. While adopted in 1936 by the Army – 1941 by the Marines – it did not see a wide issue until 1942. Production ceased in 1957 and the M1 began to be replaced by the M14 in 1959. Over 40,000 National Match M1s were built or rebuilt between 1953 and 1963. The M1 remained in some active units’ hands until the early 1970s and was still in use by National Guard and Reserve units.
Two of the longest-serving rifles in US service are the .30-caliber M1903 Springfield and the 7.62mm M14. The M1903, issued in 1906, continued in use as a sniper rifle after the Korean War until at least 1954. It was rated as a standard rifle throughout World War II even though the M1 Garand had replaced it in frontline service. The M14, standardized in 1957, first issued in 1959, is still in use today as a much-modified designated marksman rifle (DMR) and competitive match rifle. It is presently carried by US Military Academy, West Point cadets and will be for quite some time, and is also used as a ceremonial weapon. The Navy’s much-modified Mk 14 Mod 0 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) was fielded from 2004 for use by special operations forces and the Army’s designated marksmen. Produced only from 1959 to 1963, the M14 has over 50 years of service, although not continuously on the frontline. There is no telling how long it will soldier on in some capacity, although the M16/M4-series rifles will eventually surpass it for length of time in service.
German 1898 Mausers, license-built in numerous variants by many countries, come in third place in terms of length of service of bolt-action rifles. Modernized versions of the ’98 Mauser, the upgraded designs being developed in the 1930s, are still in limited use in a few armies. These are based on the 7.9mm Kar.98k Carbine of 1933, the standard shoulder arm of the Wehrmacht. Mausers are still in service in some armies as traditional ceremonial pieces and are issued to secondary units. Mexico and Brazil, for instance, still issue .30-06 M1954 Mausers to service and reserve units. The Danish Royal Navy’s elite Slædepatruljen Sirius (Sirius Sledge Patrol) are armed with 7.9x57mm Kar.98k Mauser carbines for polar bear protection as they patrol northern and eastern Greenland.
AK-47
Caliber: 7.62x39mm
Operation: gas
Cyclical rate: 600rpm
Length (stock extended): 34.25in (870mm)
Barrel length: 16.37in (416mm)
Weight (empty): 8.59lb (3.90kg)
Muzzle velocity: 2,300ft/sec (710m/sec)
Magazine: 30 rounds
The Soviet-made 7.62mm Mosin-Nagant M1891/30 rifle and M1944 carbine were retired from standby service by former Warsaw Pact states in 1998 – some units had been armed with them into the 1960s – and likely sold on the commercial market as a source of income for the cash-strapped countries. These were produced both during and immediately after World War II and since held in reserve stocks. The Mosin-Nagant (known as the M-N
to collectors), and several of its variants, is considered to be the most numerous bolt-action rifle ever produced without including those produced in China, Finland, Poland, and the US (for Russia during World War I).
The Soviet 7.62mm AK-47 assault rifle is another extremely long-serving weapon. Although adopted in 1949 (not 1947 as suggested by the name) and not widely available to the Soviet Army until 1956, it is still going strong and will be for many vintages. The modernized AKM was adopted in 1959 – and, in fact, most AK-47s
seen since the mid-1960s are actually this updated version – while the revised 5.45mm AK-74 was introduced in 1978. In all, the AK’s many variants have been produced in over 20 countries throughout the years and used by more than 80 national armed forces, plus police and security forces, and scores of insurgents, guerrillas, militias, crime gangs and cartels, and other non-state groups. It is the most prolific of modern weapons with an estimated 75 million AK assault rifle variants produced along with 25-million other variants including light machine guns and submachine guns. AKs can be expected to be around for many years to come.
WHAT WAS THE LONGEST-SERVING PRE-MODERN MILITARY RIFLE?
Turning to pre-modern weapons (pre-1880s when breech-loading, repeating, smokeless powder cartridges came into use), the longest-serving shoulder arm of all time was probably the British .75-caliber Long and Short Land Pattern Muskets, popularly known as the Brown Bess.
It soldiered in regular British frontline service from 1722 to 1836 – a total of 114 years – in upgraded versions, and some were still in use during the Crimean War (1853–56) and Indian Mutiny (1857–58). It was used across the Empire by regular, colonial, and militia troops, as well as by American revolutionaries (1775–83) and even the Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution (1835–36) and the Mexican–American War (1846–48). Small numbers of late-pattern Brown Bess muskets, converted from flintlocks to percussion cap, were used by the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–65). These were converted at the Tower of London Royal Armouries in 1839 and referred to as Tower muskets.
There is no telling how long Brown Besses remained in use in some capacity, probably at least into the 1870s – over 150 years.
FACT
How did the Brown Bess get its name?
Brown Bess appears not to have been picked up as the weapon’s nickname until late in the 1700s. There is no substantiated explanation as to the origin of Brown Bess
; the Brown
is variously said to refer to the brown walnut stock, the brown russeting
metal treatment, or the brown varnish applied to protect metal and wooden parts. Bess
is said to refer Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603), colloquially known as Good Queen Bess,
who was known as being a hard and demanding woman, but she died over 100 years before the musket’s adoption. Another theory is that it was derived from the German brawn Büchse or braun