Post Your WWI and WWII Firearms

[LVSteve]

Switzerland was not a combatant in either World War, but they were ready to defend their country if necessary. Their service rifle in WW II was the K 31 in the 7.5 X 55 caliber, a little shorter and a little fatter than our 30-06. Here is their K 31 rifle, also a picture with the straight-pull action partly open. The cartridges came in a unique card and metal stripper; the magazine held six rounds. Also shown is a front sight adjuster, possibly the most complex gadget for this one could imagine, and a cartridge belt.

I have one fitted with a scope. Crazy accurate.

 

[Cyrano]

Mine wears a scope, too. As you say: crazy accurate. I haven't tried GP 11 in it but have handloaded the 168 gr Sierra MatchKing, and it's more accurate than I can hold off a bench. It came with a set of detachable target sights, and is loads of fun shooting with them.

 

[Andyd]

They used to be so cheap that I stored the Mausers and the Hakim with MG 08/15 mag in the basement.

 

[Peter S]

Here's one of my WW2 German .22 trainers. It was made by Gustloff and was issued to an SA school.

 

[Cyrano]

Austria-Hungary adopted a sraight pull rifle in 1895. It was the culmination of a long series of straight pulls and remained the Austrian service weapon until after World War I when Austria was rearmed with other weapons. The most common version of the M 95 now is the stutzen: a short rifle with sling swivels and fitted for a bayonet. Bulgaria also liked the M 95 and contracted with Austria-Hungary for them. They were made both at Steyr and Budapest; the Budapest ones are considerably scarcer. Here's a Bulgarian contract made by Steyr:

The rifle with bayonet.

Receiver marking.

Side rail marking showing maker and date.

Ammo was in clips that fell out of a hole in the magazine when emptied.

Clips were carried in right and left pouches.

 

[Cyrano]

More on Austrian rifles; the original caliber was 8X50R, the left hand round in the picture. It used a 244 gr round nosed bullet. Despite the '8mm' designation, the bore diameter was around .329". Around 1935 Hungary developed a larger capacity 8X56R round firing a 208 gr spitzer bullet at a higher velocity and giving a much flatter trajectory. Other users of the M 95 followed suit. That's the round on the right. The recoil of the 8X56 in the short, light rifles is 'noticable'.

 

[Cyrano]

Still more on Austrian rifles. The treaty with Austria-Hungary at the end of WW I was the Treaty of St Germain des Près. It disarmed Austria as Germany had been disarmed. Huge quantities of M 95 rifles went in all directions. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia, recieved a large number. Yugoslavia, however, transformed them into rifles chambered for the German military 8X57 rimless round and called this modification the M 95M. This required a new barrel and considerable modification to the magazine. The new extractor was very fragile however, and there are absolutely no replacements if one breaks; I have shot my M 95M some 20 rounds and that's all; I don't work the action very often, either. M 95M rifles are scarce, and mostly in a little worse than NRA boat anchor condition, since they fought the Nazi army for several years in the mountain of Yugoslavia. I've never even heard of one in the condition of mine. Pictures:

Yugoslav M 95M rifle.

Receiver Marking.

Reciever With Clip Guides for Mauser Type Strippers.

Mauser Type Rear Sight.

Magazine Does Not Have a Port for Ejection of the Empty Clip.

 

[LVSteve]

More on Austrian rifles; the original caliber was 8X50R, the left hand round in the picture. It used a 244 gr round nosed bullet. Despite the '8mm' designation, the bore diameter was around .329". Around 1935 Hungary developed a larger capacity 8X56R round firing a 208 gr spitzer bullet at a higher velocity and giving a much flatter trajectory. That's the round on the right. The recoil of the 8X56 in the short rifles is 'noticable'.

....as in "can I have my Mosin carbine back, please."

 

[Birdgun]

Here is an article, with great photos, that was written by a friend of mine about my father-in-law's Luger that he brought back from Europe. James Bullock was in Patton's 3rd Army. James was an artillery Staff Sergeant and forward observer. James was a very fine man and one of my heroes.

Guest Post-Luger Bring Back from WWII - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog

Thanks for reading and looking at the article.

God bless,
Birdgun

 

[Vegetaman]

I call them Boris (the short one) and Natascha (the tall one):

Boris (1943 Izhevsk M38) and Natasha (1943 Izhevsk M91/30)

And a couple of cans of that to go with it!

And that is a 1924 vintage CCCP stamped 1895 Nagant revolver. Heck of a heavy trigger pull.

 

[Cyrano]

Here is an article, with great photos, that was written by a friend of mine about my father-in-law's Luger that he brought back from Europe. James Bullock was in Patton's 3rd Army. James was an artillery Staff Sergeant and forward observer. James was a very fine man and one of my heroes.

Guest Post-Luger Bring Back from WWII - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog

Thanks for reading and looking at the article.

God bless,
Birdgun

This is a military Luger, not a commercial one. Only millitary lugers had the four digit serial number with a letter suffix; commercial ones had the complete serial number. The acceptance stamps are military. The military marking of the year of manufacture on the receiver ring over the chamber hasbbeen ground off, probably after WW I. In the picture of the pistol from the front, note that the thickness of the receiver around the barrel is much greater on the sides than on the top.

 

[Smith&WessonTearGas]

Wow,

Nice stuff you guys. I have two 1903 Springfield Armory rifles one made in April of 1918 (not shown) and the other one was made in 1930 with a barrel date of 9-44 accompanied by a twenty round 1918 Air Service Magazine for a total of twenty five rounds.

I also have a very sad 1911 .45 ACP 1913 Commercial that the previous owner let rats urinate on the bluing and rusted it in several places. It has never had grips and I wanted to send it to Turnbull for restoration.

I also have an October 17, 1922 "The Never Fail" powered by a .38 SPL Blank for you to view. For those pesky German and Japanese gophers in your Victory Garden.

Best regards

Smith&WessonTearGas

 

[TDB]

Webley Mk IV, I guess they were still in use in WW1
S&W Victory Model .38S&W

 

[CZU]

The military marking of the year of manufacture on the receiver ring over the chamber hasbbeen ground off, probably after WW I.

This is a 1908 DWM, they were not dated.

 

[Rock185]

You guys have some neat stuff! The only thing I have that might be considered WWI or WWII is an old 1918 Webley MK VI.

 

[Cyrano]

This is a 1908 DWM, they were not dated.

Good point! I wonder why someone ground the receiver ring, then.

 

[Cyrano]

Here are some British weapons. First is a Webley Mk VI, dated 1916. It is still chambered for the .455 cartridge; the cylinder has not been shaved to take the 45 ACP with half moon clips. I reload for it; I have about 100 rounds, which is plenty as I don't shoot it that much. Hard to measure the bore diameter as it has seven grooves. I cast bullets from a Lyman mould designed for the 45 Colt when its groove diameter was .454". I shoot the bullets unsized and get good accuracy.

Next is an Enfield No 2 in 38/200 which si the 38 S&W cartridge with a 200 grain bullet. When the bullet was jacketed, the weight was reduced to about 178 grs. I shoot a keith type SWC weighing about 175 grs. The holster is the later drop down model: the first model had a much longer drop.

Next is a S&W British Service Revolver, also in 38/200. This one went to New Zealand and is stamped NZ and a number on the bump in the frame behind the hammer.

Last is a SMLE Mk III*. I have fitted it with a Parker Hale peep sight. The barrel was bad and I got a brand new one, with wax still on the threads, and had Brian Dick, the SMLE guru rebarrel it. Accuracy is still lousy; its groups are about twice as big as my 03-A3's. In WWI, my father was in the 27th Infantry Division, NYNG. It and the 30th Division were grouped into the US Second Corps and given to the British. They wore British uniforms, ate British rations (which he didn't appreciate), were equipped with British kit and carried the SMLE. He didn't think too much of he SMLE; one of his diary entries reads: "Went to the range today. Shot a pretty good score, consideing I was firing a Lee-Enfield".

 

[Cyrano]

More British weapons, this time the Sten. First picture is the Sten with its sling. It's registered with the BATFE, of course.

Second shows the trigger mechanism housing which was apparently hit with a bullet, my guess is a 45. It still works although the selector switch doesn't and mine is more more or less permanently in full auto mode. It's great fun to shoot, of course, but accuracy, even on a torso sized target is really 'hit or miss' beyond about 20 yards.

Third shows the Sten magazine pouch on the left and a pouch for three of the 50 round magazines for the Navy's Lanchester SMG. The Lanchester mags will fit the Sten.

Fourth and fifth are the early and late model magazine loaders. The later model is not only slimmer and lighter; it also loads the magazines faster.

 

[Cyrano]

Last is the British MLE Mk I*. Note that it is not 'short'. The bayonet and cartridge pouch are also shown. This one came from New Zealand. There are a lot of MLEs in New Zealand and their history is interesting. New Zealand was regarded by the British War office as the 'red headed step-child' and generally got what nobody else wanted. When they were asked to send a regiment to the Boer War, the troops arrived equipped with .303 caliber single shot Martini-Henrys, the latest thing they had received from the War Office. The British officers in South Africa were horrified and loaned the regiment the latest British rifle, the MLE Mk I* with the understanding the rifles would be returned when the war was over. When the war finally ended, the soldiers were herded onto troopships with their rifles, and when they debarked at Wellington, they were told to vanish into the bush with their rifles. The 'Bloody Poms' were not happy.

This rifle isn't one of these. When World War I started, Canada was equipped with the Ross Mk III, and held the Ross Mk II in reserve. They had quantities of MLEs that were surplus. In 1914, Canada sent a large number of MLEs New Zealand as it was still the standard rifle down there. This one is marked on the buttplate to show it came from Canada. It stayed in service a long time, as the receiver ring is marked HG 9\596. This indicates use by the WW II Home Guard. I don't know what area was numbered '9' but possibly it was Wellington. Anyone have information on this? I also don't know the meaning of the two gray-green bands painted on the buttstock: any enlightenment out there?

When the Zew Zealanders went ashore at ANZAC Cove on Gallipoli on April 25, 1916, they were carrying MLE MkI* rifles. These were not equipped for clip loading and were throated and sighted for the 215 gr round nosed bullet rather than the 174 gr Mk VII that was the issue in 1916.

 

[CZU]

I wonder why someone ground the receiver ring, then.

I see why you think it has been ground, here's another for comparison.