Most modern revolvers can trace their lineage all the way back to Colt's designs of the 1840's, but not these...

In this episode of Up In Arms, Curatorial Assistant Christian Wellard is looking at a beautiful set of early percussion revolvers belonging to King Ferdinand II of Sicily.

Along with examples like the wooden G11, wooden fencing AK and PhotoSniper, we're adding to our prestigious group of weapons in this series that are probably not *technically* weapons.

However, it's small but recognisable role in pop-culture makes it a worthy inclusion.

And it looks cool too.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of France which took place on 6th June 1944. From landing on the beaches of Normandy, the Allies would push the Nazi war machine and breach Hitler's Atlantic Wall.

To commemorate this, we're collaborating with IWM to release a sp...

This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of France which took place on 6th June 1944. From landing on the beaches of Normandy, the Allies would push the Nazi war machine and breach Hitler's Atlantic Wall.

To commemorate this, we're collaborating with Imperial War Museum...

From Green Meanie, to ‘three men in a shed’, to gamers running wild with the ‘AWP’ –Accuracy International and their L96A1 created the modern template for sniper rifles to this day.

Less well-known, as Jonathan shows in this week’s episode, is the integrally suppressed variant.

Books mentioned...

A few weeks ago, Jonathan as he often does was perusing the web and saw a White Star Line Webley revolver in the collection of a fellow museum.

"That's a very cool thing," he thought to himself. "I wonder if we have one of those?"

As it turns out we do. We know what you're all wondering: Which ...

50.cal is a calibre that often packs a punch, especially when it belongs to a precision rifle.

This week Jonathan breaks down the latest offerings of a modern high-powered firearm for long range applications.

It's a rare sight on this series to see Jonathan left scratching his head.

But that's exactly what happened when our Keeper of Firearms examined the curious curvature of the grips of these flintlock pistols.

The world of early 20th-century firearms dawned a new era as revolvers began to be swept away by higher magazine capacity and faster reloading pistols.

The C96 exploded in popularity with shooters worldwide, sparking a frenzy of variants – some favoured, others... well, let's just say ‘less so’...

Designed to provide US aircrews with enough punch to defend themselves in a pinch and potentially survive behind enemy lines, the CAR-15 had all the hallmarks of a successful design.

But the project was shelved and this example is 1 of only 10 to survive, entering the museum collection under so...

What do you get when you combine a Micro Uzi magazine, an Australian fixed rifle stock (in this instance) and a well recognised American firearm? A British M10.

Watch this week as Jonathan delves into the history of this firearm which includes a tangle with the James Bond film 'Casino Royale'.

...

Six firearms go head-to-head in this week's episode, as Forgotten Weapon's Ian McCollum and our very own Keeper of Firearms & Artillery Jonathan Ferguson battle it out to prove they can find the slightly weirder firearms in our collection.

If you had free rein in the National Firearms Centre, w...

The SA80 is famed for its disastrous introduction into British Army service, even inspiring unofficial t-shirts to be worn by soldiers stating it was, " Designed by the Incompetent; Issued by the Uncaring; Carried by the Unfortunate."

During development, the British Army gave serious cons...

Relatively small, but packed with history - this week's episode explores the Belgian Montigny system all-metal breech-loading needle-firing parlour pistol. Try saying that fast three times.

A compact take on the Agram 2000 this week. Join Jonathan Ferguson as he takes a look at a reputedly improved, stock-less version of the Croatian-made firearm coveted by criminals.

OK - we caved. For as long as we've been doing this series we've given our followers the chance to guess the weapon on social media before our video goes live. Without fail, there is always at least one person who guesses it's a hyper realistic cake (you know who you are). So, in what will be her...

What makes a blunderbuss worthy of being in a royal collection? Make its bore so enormous that it should technically be classed as a canon.

This unique French rococo-style flintlock pistol from King Louis XV's royal collection is just as impressive as it is pointless, making it what could be des...

As if you couldn’t get enough of the weird and whacky on this channel, this week Jonathan’s pulled out a firearm that looks less like a gun, and more like a musical instrument.

Get to know the harmonica pistol, designed by Pierre-Joseph Jarre. While this relatively rare weapon wasn’t widely succ...

This series is all about weaponry wrong turns and the Dimancea pistols are prime examples that begs the question, "Who thought this would be a good idea?".

In an attempt to improve on the already venerable revolver design, this Romanian take is as striking as it is confounding.

Why on earth did Olympic Arms convert its AR-15 to use magazines from *THE* Second World War era, British sub-machine gun? Join Jonathan as he pulls apart this ‘PCR’ (politically correct rifle) featuring an AR15 body and Sten magazine.

Much more than just a piece of wood? From the curved magazine of an AK to its SKS similarities, discover just what this East German bayonet fencing training rifle was meant to replicate.

In this episode Jonathan shares how it was used for basic bayonet fencing training and explores its loose res...

In this myth-busting episode of What is this Weapon?, Jonathan Ferguson explores the Remington 760 – a relatively unassuming pump-action hunting rifle infamously associated with the 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. Assassination.

Join Jonathan as he dispels some of the conspiracies that attempt to di...

This week Jonathan showcases one of the stars of our newest exhibition, Re:Loaded – an Art Deco style Baby Browning.

From its peacock blueing and gold engravings to its mother-of-pearl grips, this Baby Browning by Fabrique Nationale may be small, but it is mighty impressive.