The official AHF small arms quiz thread

[varjag]

Could it be a Russian PV-1??, Varjag

[peeved]

Close, although I'm not aware of a Beutegerät number for the PV-1.

Ex-aircraft MG, yes.
Related to Maxim, yes (but by the way of Vickers).
From a mainly Slavic country (somewhat more to the West though).
Chambering only slightly larger than 7,62x54R.

Markus

[The Edge]

Not again the vz. 30 / MG30(t) aircraft machine gun?

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... start=1395

[peeved]

Yes, MG 30(t) once again,

Like I wrote

Not the first time used in this quiz but thought this exp. eBay shot of the weapon under new management worthy of some cyberspace here.

Over to Edge,

Markus

[The Edge]

"Germans with captured weapons" topic has so many interesting photos - we could only hope you wont choose SVT or DT as next "quiz favourite".

Next question - something Peeved should post - identify the LMG in foreground (Caliber? User state?)

[Petrus]

Next question - something Peeved should post - identify the LMG in foreground (Caliber? User state?)

Well, to me it looks if it were the Finnish Lahti-Saloranta M/26 or LS-26 (Lahti/Saloranta - pikakivääri m/26). The original Finnish gun was chambered for the old Russian 7.62x54R cartrigde. I really doubt however if the gun in the picture was such a weapon, for the soldiers seen there are unlikely to be Finnish (the army of Finland did not equip their soldier with a kind of sandals, I suppose, as the gunner wears).
As the only export customer of the Lahti-Saloranta LMG was China, they are probably Chinese. If so, their gun must have been chambered for the Mauser 7.92x57mm cartridge and designated m/26-32.

?

Best regards,
Piotr

[The Edge]

Good deduction - over to Poland!

(Photo from LIFE magazine photo archive)

Finland also tried selling Lahti-Saloranta light machineguns to abroad, but with little success. Prototypes were designed in various calibre, but only deal which the Finns achieved was 30,000 M/26-32 light machineguns in 7.92-mm x 57 ordered by China. Even that deal fell through when Japan found out about the deal and started using diplomatic pressure.
From: http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/LMG1.htm

[Petrus]

Good deduction - over to Poland!

It has been rather easy, for there is too cold in Finland to use such a footwear

Let's get down to business again: Here is a photo showing a machine gun (unfortunately I couldn't find anything of better quality):

Quiz.jpg (214.53 KiB) Viewed 964 times

Could you please give its designation (I would be really happy when you specify the full designation, not just in abbreviated form), country where it was manufactured, and ammunition it was chambered for.

Best regards,
Piotr

[peeved]

Hi Piotr,
Don't know much Spanish but probably something like
Ametralladora ligera Fábrica de Armas de Oviedo Modello 59 (AML FAO 59), Spain, 7,62x51 mm.
Markus

[Petrus]

Absolutely fantastic, Marcus!

Indeed it is the Ametralladora Ligera FAO Modelo 59, or AML FAO 59. It was a modification of the Fusil Ametrallador FAO, which had been manufactured by the Fabrica de Armas de Oviedo upon licence (and used 7.92x57 ammunition).
Not only was it rebarelled and rechambered for the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge but also it was belt-fed - a stange object in the left of the gun is the ammunition 'box' typical for Spanish machine-guns of that time (esp. the Alfa MG). All of these changes reflected in the designation of the weapon: not longer a 'fusil ametrallador' (something like French fusil mitrailleur, i.e. automatic rifle) but now an 'ametralladora' or a machine-gun proper.

So, over to Finland

Piotr

[peeved]

You're too kind Piotr.

That just was the only FAO 59 photo I'd ever seen too so I went looking in Spain post haste.

New subject: the MG in the foreground (exp. eBay auction). Once more not the first quiz appearance; it's getting hard to find unused Axis small arms. Sorry for the pic quality, it was cropped from a group photo.

Markus

[peeved]

Hint: the group photo.
Markus

[The Edge]

I wonder could this gadget fire "modern" 6mm plastic toy balls :roll: (if so, my son would be delighted to have it; his father would not mind either)

More probably they would desintegrate during firing, like original paper ones. (For this reason I like better the Austrian pneumatic device)

[peeved]

I wonder could this gadget fire "modern" 6mm plastic toy balls :roll: (if so, my son would be delighted to have it; his father would not mind either)

Would need some wadding or whatever so the pellet would seal the 6,5 mm bore and wouldn't fall from the case especially in the mag during full auto.

More probably they would desintegrate during firing, like original paper ones.

Can't really say; dunno how reduced the charge was. Still probably not much pressure to comfortably use a bottleneck cartridge in a straight blowback action.

(For this reason I like better the Austrian pneumatic device)

The Austrian gadgets were neat and being non-firearms, would probably be license-free just about everywhere. Especially liked the CV 33 tankette simulator with Preßluft-MG

Markus

[The Edge]

Enough waiting – time for the sacred words:

Japanese training machine gun by Kijiro Nambu
training machine gun by Kijiro Nambu
machine gun by Kijiro Nambu
gun by Kijiro Nambu
by Kijiro Nambu
Kijiro Nambu
Nambu
ambu
mbu
bu
u

Produced by K.K Nambu-Ju Seizosho (Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company Limited), at Kokuburiji, Tokyo, in the late 1930’S. Through World War II some 6 variations were manufactured by 3 civilian contractors in the 6.5mm cartridge. These simple blowback type weapons had smooth bores for firing blanks.

There were several major training machine gun types, and some used vertically or horizontally mounted box magazines. They were designed to use paper bulleted blanks exclusively; standard ball ammunition and wood-bulleted blanks were dangerous and were prohibited from use in these weapons. Only paper bulleted blanks were sold through the catalogs. Only Kanayama in Toyohashi City put name plates on their products.
Military training (Kyouren ) was required for two hours per week at every school from junior high school up, and each school had an Army instructor. Each school held two classes on each of the training weapons - on rifles, bayonets, machine guns, hand grenades, and so on.
http://www.japaneseweapons.net/gunyojyu ... nglish.htm

This book could be an interestiong one:
http://www.dragonsoffire.com/Japanese-T ... ne-Gun.php