@historicalfirearms / www.historicalfirearms.info
Turkey has provided a huge range of military equipment to Ukraine, in this video we'll look at Turkish-made M2 heavy machine guns and an unusual rotary grenade launcher in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In this video we take a look at the FN40GL 40mm grenade launchers currently proliferating in Ukraine, with both under-barrel and standalone versions of the FN40GL seen.
Improvised munitions including grenades have appeared in Ukraine over the past 12 months. They are often based on drinks cans or bottles and are filled with readily available explosive materials and in some cases fragmentation material for an increased anti-personnel effect. In this video, we look at various types of improvised munition which have been observed in the field.
Check out the video below:
Recent imagery confirms the presence of the Mk153 SMAW in Ukraine. In the last couple of months there have been sightings of the Mk153 in use at the front an at a Ukrainian Armed Forces training ground. The Mk153 is a shoulder-fired rocket launcher capable of engaging structures and armoured vehicles.
This is the first of a series of videos looking at the older weapons in use in the war in Ukraine. In future instalments we'll look at Maxims, Mosin-Nagants and DP light machine guns but in this first video we'll examine use of the Fedor Tokarev-designed TT-33.
On 15 March, a Russian Federal News Agency report interviewed a sniper from Wagner. The report gave us our first good look at the MTs-566 7.62x51mm semi-automatic precision rifle designed at Tula.
Check out the accompanying article for this video here!
Over the last couple of months a number of M110 semi-auto precision rifles have begun to appear in Ukraine. Predominantly seen in the hands of Ukrainian special operations forces, the rifle began to appear in the autumn of 2022. In this video we take a look at some of the imagery of them in theatre.
Check out the accompanying article for this video here.
The Defender, from Ukrainian Company Black Storm, is a kit which allows the venerable 40mm GP-25 under-barrel grenade launcher to be converted into a standalone weapon. It combines a telescoping stock with an internal spring designed to mitigate felt recoil and a forward grip and a pistol grip extension to improve the weapon’s ergonomics. These have been seen in use since Spring 2022 and pre-date Russia’s February invasion so have probably been in use even longer.
They are an interesting piece of kit which allows AK pattern rifles which have been adapted with after-market railed forends and the large numbers of western rifles (which can’t mount a GP-25) to continue to be used.
Check out my video on the Defender below, it features more information and examples of its use in the field and video of it in action:
In January the first sign of M16A4s being issued in Ukraine came when the newly raised 47th Brigade posted several videos showing troops armed with them. Check out the video below.
Be sure to check out our accompanying article for this video here
10 months ago I wrote an article about Russia’s little-known ‘silent’ mortar - the 2B25. It ammunition uses a captive piston system combined with the spigot mortar principle to minimise its sound signature - so much so a Russian soldier who has been training with one in Ukraine described it as no louder than a hand clap.
The first murmurs of its use in Ukraine came in the summer but not we have numerous photos and videos of Russian troops of one unit training with the ‘silent’ mortar. Check out my video examining the new imagery below:
Here over the the TAB website to read my more detailed breakdown here.
Back in September Ukraine received a batch of vintage M101 105mm howitzers from Lithuania. These guns have recently been seen in action. In this video we look at their history and capabilities and how they might be used in Ukraine.
Check out the full accompanying blog here.
Over the past few months there have been a number of sightings of a relatively rare FN MAG variant in the field in Ukraine. The KSP-58B has been seen in use with Ukrainian Armed forces since September, in this video we take a brief look at the KSP-58B's features, history and look at who transferred the guns to Ukraine.
Check out the accompanying blog for the video over at armourersbench.com
