History of Firearms - Documentaries, Videos and Multimedia

[pmaitra]

History of Firearms - Documentaries, Videos and Multimedia

As I was browsing through the net, I chanced upon some really interesting videos about the history and evolution of firearms. I though I'd share them with others, and what better place can it be than DFI?

Dear members, if you have anything to share regarding firearms, please contribute.

!!!-Enjoy-!!!

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun - Part 1: The Hand Cannon

History of the Gun - Part 1: The Hand Cannon

 

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History of the Gun - Part 2: The Matchlock

History of the Gun - Part 2: The Matchlock

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun - Part 3: The Wheellock

History of the Gun - Part 3: The Wheellock

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun - Part 4: The Flintlock

History of the Gun - Part 4: The Flintlock

 

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History of the Gun - Part 5: Percussion

History of the Gun - Part 5: Percussion

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun Part-6: Self-Contained Cartridge

History of the Gun Part-6: Self-Contained Cartridge

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun Part-7: Rifling

History of the Gun Part-7: Rifling

 

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History of the Gun Part-8: Breechloaders

History of the Gun Part-8: Breechloaders

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun Part-9: Repeating Rifles

History of the Gun Part-9: Repeating Rifles

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun Part-10: Revolvers

History of the Gun Part-10: Revolvers

 

[pmaitra]

History of the Gun Part-11: Semi-Auto Pistols

History of the Gun Part-11: Semi-Auto Pistols

 

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Tales of the Gun - Early Guns (1-5/5)

Tales of the Gun - Early Guns (1-5/5)

 

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The Matchlock

The Matchlock

 

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The Caplock

The Caplock

 

[RAM]

The History of the Machine Gun

 

[pmaitra]

Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle

Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle

Kindly allow me to intercede here for a minor technical detail.

.303 or .308?

The last one mentioned as '.303' is not used in India any more. The name of that rifle is SMLE (Short Magazine Lee Enfield) and they are wrongly referred to as .303.

The term .303 implies .303" (bullet diameter 7.9mm), i.e. the diameter of the bullet. The RFI (Rifle Factory Ishapore) made SMLEs were built for 7.62mm NATO (approx. .308", bullet diamater 7.82 mm) rounds and used better steel than the original SMLEs of British origin. Hence, it would be appropriate to call them .308, but the name is still SMLE. Another difference from the British SMLEs is that the RFI SMLEs had 12 round and more squarish magazines as compared to 10 round magazines for the British ones. Yet another difference is that the RFI SMLEs used stronger steel for 7.62mm NATO rounds as compared to the original British ones. There are many other subtle differences. India has been making these rifles as RFI 2A and RFI 2A1 since after the Sino-Indian War in 1962 (guess: 1963-1975).

Note: RFI SMLEs were not conversions, but were specifically made for 7.62mm NATO rounds.

Comparison:

RFI SMLE

British SMLE Mark III

The following video gives a very accurate description of this great rifle:


P.S.: Let us all at DFI set high standards for accuracy. Hence, while commoners might refer to this rifle as .303, let us call it RFI SMLE instead. Just a humble request.

References:
Lee-Enfield - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ishapore 2A1 rifle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Do not get confused with inch and metric conversions. Refer to these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.303_British
[URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.308_Winchester[/URL]
http://rodandgun.netfirms.com/ishapore/RFI.pdf

 

[pmaitra]

Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova

SKS: Samozaryadnyj Karabin sistemy Simonova (Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова)

 

[pmaitra]

M1 Garand (officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1)

M1 Garand (officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30, M1)

 

[pmaitra]

Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle

<rest of the post truncated for brevity>

So I just discovered that RFI, popularly known as Rifle Factory Ishapore, was originally the Royal Factory Ishapore.

Source: http://rodandgun.netfirms.com/ishapore/RFI.pdf