Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns

Category: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns --- See Latest World War I news here. See also 'Knives', 'Battle Tanks', 'Memorabilia, Militaria', 'WW1 Uniforms, Battle Flags', 'Victoria Cross Medal'.

History buffs who pleaded for WWI militaria get 2ft German bayonet
History buffs who called for First World War memorabilia got more than they asked for when they were offered a 2ft bayonet which once belonged to a German soldier. The Great War relic was handed over to Ladywood History Group by Gertie Grice, who was handed the bayonet by her dad Frank Webster, who served in the trenches of Western Front. The bayonet will go on show in an exhibition to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the conflict. [ birminghammail.net :: 2008-07-26 :: WWI Combat Knives ]

Letter from Winston Churchill to Edward Harrison, who invented the gas mask, found
An unknown letter from Winston Churchill to Edward Harrison, WWI army chemist who invented the gas mask, has been discovered. Churchill, then minister of Munitions, tells Harrison's widow that "it is in large measure to him that our troops have been given effectual protection from the German poisonous gases". Harrison died just days before the end of WW1, working himself to death to develop the perfect gas mask. His work on the gas mask saved countless soldiers from the death caused by poisonous gas in the trenches. For his work he was decorated with the highest honours like France's Legion d'Honneur. [ bbc :: 2008-06-12 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

Duluth collector buys legendary 1914 shotgun - Czar's Parker
To firearm collectors, it's known as the Holy Grail of guns, an almost mythical weapon. It was manufactured in 1914 and was meant for Czar Nicholas II. But the "Czar's Gun" was long thought to be lost or destroyed, while some believed it never existed in the first place. It did exist, and it now belongs to gun trader Jack Puglisi Sr., who bought it at an auction for $250,000, thought to be a world record for a shotgun at auction. the Czar's Gun is also known as the Czar's Parker because it was handmade by Parker Bros. It was to be shipped to Czar Nicholas II, but historian David Trevallion said WWI broke out and the gun sat in a New York dock. [ postbulletin :: 2007-04-28 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

A historic find frustrates: Trouble with captured German machine gun
Sergeant Alvin York's capture of a heavily fortified German machine gun nest made York an American legend. Which is why Nahant's public library was thrilled to discover one of the captured German machine guns in attic. Research showed that Mayland Lewis had plucked the weapon from a pile given up by Germans. Prized as a souvenir of the war, it was paraded through the town on 1919 Armistice Day. Its rediscovery stoked dreams of a big windfall for the library as auctioneers valued the weapon at $100,000. But the dreams didn't last long: Officials learned that the gun is illegal and that they can do very little with it - and ATF wants to destroy it. [ boston :: 2007-04-25 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

Mysterious Czar's Parker shotgun surfaces, put up for auction
This is a story about a Meriden shotgun, made for Czar Nicholas II, the last czar to rule Russia. The gun was on its way to Russia when World War 1 broke out and it was returned to its maker in Meriden, the renowned Parker Brothers. The czar never saw it. Eventually, a new buyer was found. In the years since, the shotgun, referred to as the "Czar's Parker," has been surrounded by mystery, fueled by a fake in the 1980s. The shotgun has legendary status among gun collectors, particularly those obsessed with the history of the Parker company. Now the gun has resurfaced, for auction. It is expected to attract bids $225,000-$325,000. [ boston :: 2007-01-06 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

Museum gets WWI-era MG08/15 water-cooled machine gun
Officials with the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, which houses military memorabilia, were wide-eyed as local sheriff's officials presented them a new link to battlefield history - a World War I MG08/15 water-cooled machine gun that was seized in a drug raid. The MG08/15 was the lighter version of the MG08, a machine gun that was meant to stay stationary. The MG08/15 was lighter and more portable for more rapid relocation in the trenches. "In 1918-19 when the war ended, many of these were brought back. Restrictions on what individual soldiers could bring home were nonexistent." [ desmoinesregister :: 2006-08-25 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

Arming ivan -- Russian small arms of WWI
During the Great War, the Russians violated the first rule of a gunfight: have a gun. The fighting on the Eastern Front in the early days of WW1 was performed in open order, columns and close order regimental line formations. The well equipped frontline regiments of the Russian army that took the field in 1914, carried a variety of different rifles. The standard issue model was the battle proven, Model 1891 Three-Line Rifle, better known to the casual collector as the M91 Mosin-Nagant. It is an interesting field of study with a tremendously wide range of weapons, both modern and obsolete, having been issued to front line units. [ findarticles :: 2006-07-18 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

The rise of the war knife - bayonets too long in the trenches
Article no longer available from the original source.
In the first part of World War One, the battles were fought in deep trenches and fortifications; the different detachments trained the soldiers which became specialists in the sudden attack, the so called "coup de main". The war had demonstrated that the bayonets and rifles were too long to be used effectively in the trenches, the narrow tunnels and the wire entanglements. Many soldiers made their own war knives, using all kinds of materials and pieces of other arms. [ afcoltellerie :: 2006-06-12 :: Weapons: Bayonets & Machine guns ]

Stolen World War I vintage handgun returned
A World War I vintage handgun, priceless as a keepsake to the family of a certified war hero, was returned to its owner - nearly a decade after it was stolen from a Grayling Military museum. Police recovered the weapon, locked and loaded in the waistband of a arrested juvenile. Now owners, the Stevens clan, is hoping this will lead to the finding of the rest family heirloom that was stolen with the gun: the Distinguished Service Medal and the framed certificate, signed by renowned Gen. John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing. The gun, a Model 1911 Colt 45 automatic, the medal and a souvenir helmet from a German soldier were among items stolen. [ mlive :: 2006-05-25 :: Memorabilia & Collectibles ]

First World War in the News is an edited review of hand-picked World War I 1914-1918 articles.