Heavily influenced by Germany's revolutionary assault rifles of the latter half of the Second World War, Britain sought a replacement for its reliable yet ageing Lee-Enfield series of rifles. The EM1, one of the contenders to fit this bill never quite lived up to expectations. Keeper of Firearms ...

Many of our followers will be familiar with the Welrod suppressed SOE pistol. But far less is known about it's minimalist cousin, the 'Sleeve Gun'. Made by BSA, the gun was introduced towards the Second World War's end as a single-shot, assassination weapon.

This week Jonathan examines two rifles instrumental in the early development of the concept which would eventually become the famous Lee Enfield. Despite both weapons not progressing past the experimental stage, their early adoption of a bolt-action firing mechanism coupled with a fixed magazine ...

Catch Jonathan in his element as he discusses one of his much favourite and most researched weapons, the EM-2. These are no ordinary variants however, with both weapons being shipped out for 'in-country' testing in the 1950s.

As with many of the weapons we've featured in this series, this week's firearm is a conversion of vast stocks of obsoleted percussion cap Adams Revolvers in order to give them a new lease of life into the second half of the 19th century.

Two pistols. Eight shots. It's an awful lot of firepower for just one individual, but that's what Thomas B van Horn, high ranking officer of the US militia and later Army ordered from British gunmaker, Robert Wheeler. There's a lot to unpack from these so strap yourselves in and let Jonathan guid...

Jonathan strips the Accuracy International AS50 to see how this lesser-known anti-materiel rifle sought to find it's niche with the British armed forces and beyond

The AR-18, seen as a cheaper alternative to the more commercially successful the AR-15 (M16), was the inspiration behind the Sterling LAR. However, with several patents preventing a more direct copy, Sterling had to find some inventive ways to do things a little differently, leading to this somew...

Jonathan finds himself at home with a pair of Victorian British pistols, one percussion and the other converted to fire cartridges. The Daw, who was in fact only the marketer and vendor of the weapons, is a superb example of period craftmanship but failed to capture enough traction to make it a m...

Britain entered the Second World War with the Lee Enfield as its core sniper rifle. While it was an effective, accurate weapon, its very nature as a bolt-action rifle meant that users had to readjust their aim after reloading. The SREM-1 originated from a 1944 requirement from the War Office to t...

The S-11 was Sterling's Chief Weapons Designer, Frank Waters attempt at competing with the huge commerical successes of the MP-5 and the Uzi.

A true unicorn of a weapon this week as Jonathan attempts to make sense of one of the strangest weapons we've featured on this channel so far. Overcomplicated and fundamentally flawed, the Kretz rifle was almost immediately obsoleted by superior designs.

Post-war Britain was looking for a new service pistol and turned to the tried and test German Walther P38 for inspiration. However, this new weapon's designer, Marion Karol Jurek decided to make a few changes. Jonathan Ferguson explains.

In 1908, Britain sought to improve its venerable .303 cartridge by making the bullet lighter and faster. That combined with the 1910 trial for a new rifle which led to the Enfield Pattern 1913.

The Sterling Story draws to a close with its final production rifle, the SAR 87. Building on the more commercially successful SAR 80, the later variant came too late to ultimately save the Sterling Armament Company from going out of business.

Soon after Prussia revealed it's ground-breaking, bolt-action Dreyse 'needle rifle', RSAF Enfield were hard at work making their own variant. This super rare weapon was the first official bolt-action rifle used by the British military.

The unreliability and issues with reload associated with new pistols in British service like the Enfield Marks I & II meant many officers preferred the large calibre Lancaster for a sidearm.

This is very much an anti-riot gun that's had two lives. That of which it was intended from it's development in the late 70s, and then it's popular culture life as a wholly different weapon altogether. Join Jonathan as he examines both of these stories as well as some incredible promotional foota...

Few weapons, if any have had a greater impact on history in a shorter space of time than the Minié rifle. Introduced in a limited capacity in British service during the Crimean War (1853-56). The Minié with its revolutionary ammunition had a devastating impact against Russian troops during the co...

Described by Jonathan as an 18th century Winchester repeater, this Lorenzoni repeater pistol combines intricate craftmanship with an ingenious mechanism for reloading on the fly. Join our Keeper of Firearms and Artillery as he delves into how this remarkable weapon functions, but also who would h...

To mark the 100th episode of What is this Weapon, the Royal Armouries hosted a special live episode at our flagship museum in Leeds in the UK. Befitting such a prestigious landmark for the series, our 100th weapon is one of Jonathan's all time favourites and has a back story immersed in the stale...

At the end of the Second World War, Britain looked to modernise it's small arms arsenal. With the Vickers MG a reliable but ageing weapon and the Bren limited to its 30-round magazine capacity, a more modern, belt-fed, 'general purpose machine gun' was sought. Despite excellent existing designs s...

Jonathan Ferguson pulls another obscure weapon out of our stores, focusing this week on a Colt AR-15 variant sent to the UK for testing by the British Army. Britain was looking to re-equip its infantry squad with a full package of AR-type rifles, with this example with heavier barrell and bi-pod ...

Join Jonathan Ferguson as he examines the third instalment in our Sterling assault rifle series: the SAR80. Attempting to create a legally different yet ultimately still a copy of the AR18, Sterling made huge strides from its predecessor, the LAR. But, was it enough to achieve commercial success?