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'.

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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.

We're kicking the new year off with what could be our highest profile weapon in the collection... or at very least our shiniest. Join Jonathan Ferguson as he reveals this Golden Kalashnikov's connections to a famous dictator and bloody conflict.

Enjoy this festive (Christmas) cracker of an episode that is specially unabridged and extended for History of Weapons and War, featuring two wise men, Jonathan Ferguson and Ian McCollum.

Check out our new exhibition Re:Loaded, open for free now.

At the same time the revolver mechanism was taking the pistol market by storm in the late 19th century, three companies were were vying for their very own slice of the handgun market. While you may have heard of the four-barrelled Lancaster, Jonathan takes a look at two similar designs to see who...

So often arms designers get automatic pistols wrong. But, there's a lot right about Beretta's M93R Raffica. Despite receiving Jonathan's seal of approval, the M93R never really went anywhere, other than featuring in one of our Keeper of Firearms and Artillery's favourite cult films: RoboCop.

Thi...

Jonathan unveils a cult classic firearm—the MP5, but with a twist. Discover the more powerful variant developed for the FBI and delve into its enduring legacy in pop culture.

This week's episode combines one of the world's most recognisable and elusive firearms with an interesting idiosyncrasy of firearms design: the wooden mock-up. No, we don't have a real G11 (Bundeswehr if you're watching, you know where we are), Jonathan examines this sales replica, which is an ac...

With only around 15 in existence, Jonathan gets up close with the original type of rotating revolver – the manually rotating carbine revolver.

Made nearly a century prior to the development and popularisation of self-rotating systems by Elisha Collier, Artemis Wheeler, and then Samuel Colt, th...

Jonathan explores H&K's strange decision to plonk a low-power optic on a HK33, removing the excellent H&K iron sites in the mid-1980s.

This specific weapon is shrouded in a host of strange quirks, as our Keeper of Firearms and Artillery explains.