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What was the first intermediate cartridge? Who designed it, and why? How did the concept evolve? These are all good questions deserving of thorough, thoughtful answers. Sadly, to give a comprehensive history of the intermediate cartridge concept would require a project nearly as long and laborious as my ongoing research project on the Lightweight Rifle program of the 1940s and ’50s, so I won’t do that. Instead, I’d like to take just a brief dip into the long history of the intermediate cartridge, enough to hopefully give my readers an idea of how the concept evolved.

While it’s well known that the Germans were the first to field select-fire assault rifles in large numbers during World War II, the Soviets, thoroughly impressed by the idea of an intermediate-power infantry cartridge and intrigued by the idea of the assault rifle, were hot on the Germans’ heels with as many as nine different kinds of prototype assault rifles completed before the end of of the war. Each of these weapons were developed by talented and accomplished Soviet arms designers, and offer a glimpse into the genesis of the Russian assault rifle program that would eventually result in the world-famous Kalashnikov “AK-47” rifle, the most-produced weapon of its kind in history.

1969 was a year of great optimism and achievement for the United States. NASA’s space program took humans to the Moon in July of that year, while the Mariner 6 and 7 probes gave humanity its first close look at the planet Mars. The Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” took to the skies for the first time in 1969, and that year also marks the sending of the first ARPANET data packet, heralding the very beginning of the Internet age. In 1969, it seemed as though there was nothing that America could not accomplish, if it wanted to.

What was the standard issue U.S. Army infantry rifle with the shortest service life? The most common answer is probably the Springfield Krag–Jørgensen rifle, which was quickly replaced after its lackluster performance in the Spanish-American War versus faster-firing, longer-ranged Spanish Mausers. Another good candidate is the M14, which was quickly replaced in Vietnam by the troubled M16 after the former rifle was wracked by scandal. These, then, are our two candidates, but the question remains: Which one had the longer service life? It would be easiest to simply look up the Wikipedia pages for both weapons, look for the date of introduction, find the date of introduction of their respective successors, and then subtract, but this would not give us an accurate answer. For one thing, rifles continue to serve long after their nominal replacement date, so the date of introduction of a new weapon does not actually tell us when the previous weapon stopped being used. For another, the dates of introduction are often misleading for many U.S. Army weapons, sometimes preceding their actual deployment by years. So, to accurately answer this question, we’ll need to hit the books.

Recently, I ran an article on this site pointing out some of the less impressive aspects of the MP.44 assault rifle’s history. Many people were unhappy with my assessment that the legendary Sturmgewehr was overrated and over-hyped, and therefore I think it’s worth spending some time to examine, by analogy, why I think that. But first, let’s talk about a French rifle.

Heckler & Koch has had an unusual relationship with the striker-fired handgun. The world’s first polymer-framed striker-fired production pistol, the VP70, was an H&K, and what many consider to be the company’s finest handgun ever, the P7, was also striker fired. However, aside from those two, Heckler & Koch had not produced any other striker-fired handguns, despite being one of the world’s major pistol design and manufacturing firms. Had, that is, until the summer of 2014, when the company released a brand new handgun, which harkened back to the aforementioned VP70 with the name VP9.

In the early summer of this year,  a car-full of gun nerds set out to capture the rare Pedersen rifle on camera for the first time. The passenger with the van Dyke mustache and ponytail had just mentioned how if he could own any machine gun, it would be an StG.44, the German assault rifle of the second World War. Upon this, the driver, a tall, blonde Texan in cowboy boots, rebounded that one of the other passengers was the only person he’s ever met who wasn’t impressed with the German ur-sturmgewehr, which caused a great deal of whiplash to the others as their heads spun around to look in surprise and incredulity at the overweight one with the unkempt beard and brown mop of hair.

Welcome to another Friday Field Strip. Watch the Field Strip video below, then read the article below…

The Stechkin APS received a mention in the Handgun Radio segment I collaborated on with Daniel Watters, and for good reason. It could be argued that the APS, though and obscure weapon in the West, is one of the very few truly successful machine pistol designs ever fielded by a military power.

The Editor Writes: This week’s Friday Field Strip Video/Article combo is on the fascinating 1907 Roth-Steyr. Watch Alex’s video above then read Nathaniel’s article below …

The Mauser 1914 is not a well-known firearm today, but during the First World War, it became one of the most important small semiautomatic handguns of the early 20th Century.

For today’s Friday Field Strip, we’re looking at the Japanese Type 99, a rifle with more than meets the eye. The Type 99, commonly but somewhat erroneously called the “Arisaka”, is a rifle that was once widely known as a crude, last ditch weapon of the Japanese Empire, but which has since become well-respected among modern collectors and historians, with many even considering it to be the best bolt-action of the Second World War.

Russia’s next-generation infantry modernization program is in full swing, and while here at TFB we’ve covered two of the rifles, the AEK-571/A545 and AK-12, competing for orders as part of the program, but the program as a whole is more extensive than just a new infantry weapon. The project, called Ratnik (a Russian word equivalent to “warrior”) is a total modernization of infantry equipment, introducing over 40 new items, including camouflage, comms gear, sights, body armor, navigation equipment, designators, and, of course, small arms. A three-year order for Ratnik equipment was placed in October of last year, and is expected to consist of deliveries of 50,000 units per year.

I am partnering with C&Rsenal’s Othais to bring you companion articles to his Primer series of videos looking at some of the most important firearms in history. First, Othais tackles the iconic Mauser C96 pistol, used by diverse characters from Chinese resistance fighters in WWII, to fictional rogue smugglers from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Keep a look out for further articles in this set as they come out!

Whatever one thinks of the proliferation of firearms, it’s a fact that the technology needed to make reliable, effective weapons is well in hand. Even at the lowest levels of industrial capability firearms are practical, manufacturable items, and this includes those capable of fully automatic fire. Weapons with a great deal of firepower can be made from simple, off-the-shelf items at home. Proof of this can be seen in the numerous improvised firearms that continually turn up all over the world.