In the mid 1940s, George Patchett set out to design a submachine gun and magazine that would improve on the STEN gun's shortcomings. The result was arguably one of the best SMG magazines ever designed. Robust, reliable and easy to use - the Sterling magazine is definitely an improvement over the ...

We continue our STEN gun series by looking at the various magazine loading tools developed to help load the STEN's difficult to load magazines. Check out Richard's channel - https://www.youtube.com/VickersMGCollectionResearchAssociation And for more about his work with the Vickers Machine Gun Res...

A walk around the Anglesey Transport Museum's collection of military vehicles with a look at a Alvis Saracen, a Daimler Ferret, a Humber Pig and a Bofors QF 40mm Mk1! Find out more about the museum at - http://angleseytransportmuseum.co.uk/ Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this v...

In late 1944, the Royal Canadian Engineers were tasked with improvising a harassing weapon. The result was the Experimental PIAT Carrier. The Canadian Sappers mounted more than a dozen PIATs (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank) onto the back of a Universal Carrier! In this video Matt digs into this h...

In this video we'll take a look at an import on-screen depiction of the Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank (PIAT) in action with the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising. The scene from 2014's Miasto 44/Warsaw 44 features a PIAT going up against a Goliath remote controlled mine. Be sure to che...

While doing some archival digging in the IWM's online image collection I came across a couple of intriguing photos. Featuring the UK's WW2 Deputy Prime Minister Clement Attlee examining a STEN MkII with an intriguing ad hoc front grip! Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video ...

The 1942 British Thompson Submachine Gun manual. Let's take a look inside. It's essential for soldiers to know how to use and maintain their weapons properly. We've been collecting training manuals, pamphlets and handbooks to give us a wider understanding of how troops were trained and how they u...

In our earlier video we looked at the iconic ‘Bring Up the PIAT’ scene from A Bridge Too Far. In this video we’ll look at some of the PIAT’s other appearances in the film that are arguably even more interesting that it’s most famous scene! Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this vi...

In this episode of the Surplus Zone Vic takes a look at an inert PIAT training round from an Explosive Ordnance Disposal training kit. The kit included numerous other WWII and later ordnance and was intended to represent what might be found on training grounds and former battlefields throughout E...

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of travelling to @thetankmuseum to film some segments for the new documentary on the Rhineland Campaign - 'Rhineland 45'. Not all of the segments I filmed discussing weapons could be included in the finished documentary, so I'm pleased to share a couple here...

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of filming some segments on small arms for the new documentary on the Rhineland Campaign – ‘Rhineland 45‘. Not all of the segments I filmed discussing weapons could be included in the finished documentary – I filmed quite a few – so I’m pleased to share a coup...

Let's take a look at some intriguing wartime makeshift/homemade vertical front grips for Stens. Examples found so far include grips used by Commandos while training in Egypt, as well as similar front grips seen in Libya and Burma. Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here ...

David Niven brings up the PIAT! We return to the Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank’s long and storied on-screen career. This time we are examining a scene from ‘Paper Tiger’ (1975). It's an interesting film, and certainly not one you'd expect a PIAT to pop up in! David Niven plays Mr Bradbury, a tut...

Last weekend at the We Have Ways podcast's history festival the Airborne Assault Museum brought along a very interesting piece of history - a PIAT with Arnhem provenance. The PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank) had allegedly been dropped during Operation Market Garden but not used. At some poin...

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of filming some segments on small arms for the new documentary on the Rhineland Campaign – ‘Rhineland 45‘. Not all of the segments I filmed discussing weapons could be included in the finished documentary – I filmed quite a few – so I’m pleased to share a coup...

On the 14th May 1940, the British Government announced the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers (later the Home Guard). But with few weapons available to equip the new militia force some units improvised! A Hampshire Home Guard unit appear to have improvised a remarkable and innovative incen...

In this video we look at extracts for an early Second World War contract signed by Britain with a US ammunition manufacturer for the production of .303 ammunition. Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here - https://armourersbench.com/2022/10/16/ww2-anglo-american-ammuniti...

A couple of months ago I visited the UK’s National Army Museum in London. They currently have an exhibition exploring the history of the British Army in Germany since 1945. Titled 'Foe to Friend' it explored the British Army’s post-war experience in Germany first as an occupier and then as a NATO...

In this video we'll use some brilliant newsreel footage from New Zealand to examine how the Mills Bomb (or No.36 Grenade) was manufactured during the war. We also take a look at the design and history of the No.36 which served for over 50 years. Disclaimer: This video doesn't give any instruction...

In this final video of the Rhineland Campaign Weapons series we take a look at the little known role of the British and Commonwealth forces' Vickers Guns. With the help of the @vickersmg we recreated a platoon line consisting of 4 Vickers Guns to recreate the Pepperpot tactics used during Opera...

During the Second World War the British Home Guard were extensively issued American .30 calibre Browning M1917 machine guns. With so many guns in service there needed to be a way of describing, categorising and identifying the weapon’s parts so an identification list booklet was drawn up giving t...

The British Army's first dedicated infantry anti-tank weapon was a rifle grenade. Rifle grenades became extremely popular during the First World War and when the tank threat emerged a rifle grenade seemed like the ideal answer. Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here - h...

In this video we’ll take a look at a short internal British Ministry of Defence film about the SBS called ‘Oil Safe’. Produced in 1980, the film provides an introduction to the Special Boat Service’s capabilities and procedures for retaking off-shore oil and gas rigs seized in a potential terrori...

A wild MCEM-2 appears! Recently, while looking though British Army Cold War training films, I stumbled upon something I never expected to see: a clip of an MCEM-2 firing. The MCEM-2 (Machine Carbine Experimental Model No.2) was a small, compact, innovative submachine gun developed towards the end...