Note: The information in this article has been superseded by that published in Jonathan Ferguson’s important original research work, Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020. That book is available from the Headstamp Publishing website: https://www.headstamppublishing.com/bullpup-rifle-book This post accompanies the twentieth in a series of collaborative videos produced with ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, who also runs the Forgotten Weapons blog and YouTube
N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Michael Picard with Samuel Paunila Finnish Origins Since its inception in 1918, the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) have fielded an array of mortar systems – including 60, 81, 120, and 300 mm calibre examples – with all of the munitions for these systems manufactured domestically. While the FDF has not adopted a
ImproGuns According to reports circulating on social media and Nigerian news sites, officers of the Nigerian Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) recovered craft-produced firearms from the bodies of two suspected robbers shot along a highway connecting Kano to Zaria state. One of the weapons seized appears to be a fairly typical craft-produced open bolt sub-machine
Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones Images shared to social media channels in early November show the remnants of a precision guided artillery projectile documented in Warshafana, Libya. According to the Libya Times, these projectiles were fired against Warshafana by forces of Zintan Military Council which is led by Osama Ajwaily – commander of the Western
Miles Vining Elements of the Nigerian 223rd Infantry Battalion, 1st Nigerian Army Division based out of Kaduna recently responded to an attack by criminal elements in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara Sate (northwestern Nigeria). The incident was characterised as an attack targeting members of the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Corps, one of whom was killed before the
Ian McCollum The Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) employ a number of different craft-produced anti-materiel rifles (AMRs), and ARES has obtained a number of photographs and details of these rifles. These photographs and contextual information came from a confidential source who served in a sniper tabor (platoon) of the YPG from June 2015 through August 2016.
Miles Vining A seizure of arms from the Islamic-state aligned Maute Group (AKA Islamic State of Lanao) in the Filipino city of Marawi, earlier this year, included an Indonesian Pindad SS1-V1 5.56 x 45 mm self-loading rifle. Captured alongside a range of commercial and military AR type self-loading rifles, the Pindad rifle stands out as it is uncommon outside of
The ARES Team On 27 September 2017, the Spanish Guardia Civil launched key raids under Operation RUGER, executed in conjunction with EUROPOL and law enforcement and customs/border agencies from Cyprus, Germany, the UK, and the US. Operation RUGER was initiated in March after the detection by Spanish postal services of various parcels destined for foreign addresses
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Images and information first shared to Facebook (following a Tweet from the Kalbarri Police) by Ross Williamson, a lawyer specialising in firearms law, show a pair of firearms apparently recovered from a cache near Kalbarri, Western Australia (WA). According to Williamson, the guns were recovered by “some adventurous children on a family holiday at Murchison
This post accompanies the nineteenth in a series of collaborative videos produced with ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, who also runs the Forgotten Weapons blog and YouTube channel. Using access to unique collections facilitated by ARES, this series of videos will examine a range of interesting weapons over the coming months. Each video will be accompanied by a blog post,
