Black powder-era, 19th century cannon is now being used in Syria

This was a strange occurrence.

Now in Syria, as the flow modern weapons slowly goes down due to embargoes, the people fighting – Syrian government, ISIS, FSA and the Kurds are slowly resorting to home made weapons.

The first weapon was the ‘barrel bomb’, a 55 gallon drum filled with more than 500 pounds of cheap, low grade explosives like ANFO.

Now, at this point in the war a new weapon has been introduced – A hydraulic mounted 19th century black powder cannon. This video is interesting because there’s simply no videos or information about the power of 19th century cannons, till now. In this case, a nearly 150 year old cannon is being used with ferocious effect in the Syrian Civil War.

Here’s the video of it being used to kill soldiers in a fortified position.




As if this wasn’t enough, we’ve also found several videos of other home-made weapons being used in the Syrian conflict. Something to note is that while the war rages, engineers continue to develop new weapons made from common components, many of which are quite effective and deadly.

Here is the truck mounted, hydraulically controlled “Omar Gun” developed by a engineer named Omar with the Alrahman Corps.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Btflc-4XM

If you’d like to learn more about how weapons are made, check out the following links.

Home made machine guns of the Mexican drug war

Inside a Philippine gun factory



Was the M4 Sherman really that bad? A Soviet perspective

With regards to WW2, many so-called experts have determined that the American M4 Sherman tank was one of the worst weapons fielded by the Allies. In his book “Death Traps” Belton Cooper believes that the M4 got many American servicemen un-needlessly killed due to intentionally poor construction. Since the writing of this book, some historians have agreed with this point, while many others have not.

In our last Article about the M4 “Dispelling the myths surrounding the M4 Sherman” we brought up a great deal of technical records regarding armor, guns and the like.

To supplement this article, we are providing a excerpt from a Soviet tankman with the 6th Guards Tank Army, mr Dmitry Loza.

“[I fought] On Shermans. We called them “Emchas”, from M4 [in Russian, em chetyrye]…. When someone says to me that this was a bad tank, I respond, “Excuse me!” One cannot say that this was a bad tank. Bad as compared to what?”

“In general, the Matilda was an unbelievably worthless tank!”

With regards to the maintenance of the M4 Sherman tank versus the British Matilda tank, Dmitriy noted that “The Sherman was light years better in this regard.”




With more regards to reliability, especially both on-road and offroad service usage – “I might be mistaken, but I believe that the service life of the T-34 track was 2500 kilometers. The service life of the Sherman track was in excess of 5000 kilometers. Secondly, The Sherman drove like a car on hard surfaces, and our T-34 made so much noise that only the devil knows how many kilometers away it could be heard. ”

Two M4A2 Sherman tanks rolling through the streets of Vienna. Note the STUG in the background.

Two M4A2 Sherman tanks rolling through the streets of Vienna. Note the STUG in the background.


With regards to the ‘Ronson’ theory that the M4 Sherman was a death-trap once hit, causing ammunition to cook off (That is violently explode)
“For a long time after the war I sought an answer to one question. If a T-34 started burning, we tried to get as far away from it as possible, even though this was forbidden. The on-board ammunition exploded. For a brief period of time, perhaps six weeks, I fought on a T-34 around Smolensk. The commander of one of our companies was hit in his tank. The crew jumped out of the tank but were unable to run away from it because the Germans were pinning them down with machine gun fire. They lay there in the wheat field as the tank burned and blew up. By evening, when the battle had waned, we went to them. I found the company commander lying on the ground with a large piece of armor sticking out of his head. When a Sherman burned, the main gun ammunition did not explode. Why was this?”

(After having his tank hit and set on fire by Germans) “We lay under the tank as it burned. We laid there a long time with nowhere to go. The Germans were covering the empty field around the tank with machine gun and mortar fires… …We heard many loud thumps coming from the turret. This was the armor-piercing rounds being blown out of their cases. Next the fire would reach the high explosive rounds and all hell would break loose! But nothing happened. Why not? Because our high explosive rounds detonated and the American rounds did not? In the end it was because the American ammunition had more refined explosives. Ours was some kind of component that increased the force of the explosion one and one-half times, at the same time increasing the risk of detonation of the ammunition.”

A whopping 17,184 M4 Shermans were sent to Great Britain. A total of 4,102 were sent to the USSR.

A whopping 17,184 M4 Shermans were sent to Great Britain. A total of 4,102 were sent to the USSR.

With regards to the interior layout, soldier comfort and amenities of the M4 Sherman – “In the first place, it was painted beautifully. Secondly, the seats were comfortable, covered with some kind of remarkable special artificial leather. If a tank was knocked out or damaged, then if it was left unguarded literally for just several minutes the infantry would strip out all this upholstery. It made excellent boots! Simply beautiful!”





With regards to the anti-aircraft mount M2 50 caliber heavy machine gun – “These machine guns were of great use to us in the war with Japan, against kamikazes. We fired them so much that they got red hot and began to cook off. To this day I have a piece of shrapnel in my head from an antiaircraft machine gun.”

With regards to the special-delivery diesel powered engine used in the M4 Sherman tank, the GM 6046 “In Romania it happened that we broke into the German rear with our tanks and they cut us off from our own logistics. We made a cocktail, a mixture of gasoline and kerosene (the M4A2 Shermans were diesel-powered), in what proportions I do not recall. The tanks ran on this cocktail, but the engines overheated.”

Soviet infantry hitching a ride on a M4 Sherman.

Soviet infantry hitching a ride on a M4 Sherman.


As a side note, it appears that the USSR reverse-engineered the GM6046 as the Russkiy Dizel (Diesel Energo) DPN23/2H30 DRPN23/2H30 series of engine used in post-war USSR and Eastern Bloc countries.

Regarding paint schemes and camouflage motorized vehicles – “We lacked the materials. We did not have a large choice of colors. There was a protective color and we painted it. It took a lot of paint to cover a tank! If we had been able to obtain other colors, then perhaps we would have camouflaged our tanks. In general, there were many other tasks at hand, like repair, refueling, and so on.”

Regarding the Sherman’s armor layout
“I want also to add that the Sherman’s armor was tough. There were cases on our T-34 when a round struck and did not penetrate. But the crew was wounded because pieces of armor flew off the inside wall and struck the crewmen in the hands and eyes. This never happened on the Sherman.”

More information from Mr Loza’s perspective can be found at : http://iremember.ru/en/memoirs/tankers/dmitriy-loza/

PS – If you liked this, you might like our 100+ image photo gallery of the graphic nature of the Eastern front

The day 5 million Children disappeared

Call it what you want, but April 15th 1987 is a day that should be in the back of everyone’s minds as a watershed event in American history.

Why?

Because, on the night of April 15th 1987, a total of 7 million children disappeared from the United States. Thankfully, some of these children (Approximately 2 million) later were ‘found’, and all contribute to one of the more unique cases of American history, but also a major lesson in Economics.

So, what caused 5+ million children to disappear? Well, president Reagan happened. Source

Just like a scene from Star Trek, American citizens made 5+ million children disappear seemingly overnight

Just like a scene from Star Trek, American citizens made 5+ million children disappear seemingly overnight

Prior to 1987, oddly enough it was possible to claim as many dependents as you wanted on your taxes. Since there was a child tax credit for every additional dependent in your household, it was quite easy to just put the names down of additional, non-existent children for your family and get glorious government money.






Reagan though, in 1986 decided that rather than let people claim taxes on the honor system, part of the change in tax policy would require entry of Social Security numbers for all household members. This was all due to take effect by tax season 1987.

Once 1987 rolled around, a grand total of 7 million children disappeared from tax roles.

Eventually 2 million wound back up as dependents, as many parents never asked for Social Security numbers be issued for their kids. So for 1988 the number dropped from a total of 7 million missing children to 5 million. One of the major morals of the story would be to remember that people love to cheat on taxes. And in this case, it wasn’t the rich or even the 1% that were hosing tax payers, it was normal, every-day families.

Another fun fact was that in 1989 the US government went a little further, and started checking into child daycare credits. This year, not just children had disappeared into thin air, but 2.6 million babysitters also vanished as well. A total savings of $1.2 billion dollars, all taken once again not by the 1% but ordinary, average people wanting to cheat on their taxes.

Source

Source #2




100+ Amazing and Graphic Images From the Eastern Front (WW2)

The Eastern Front of WW2 remains one of the largest bloodbaths in the entire history of humanity. More than 30 million individuals are estimated to have lost their lives in the period between June 1941 and April 1945. Of these, around 10 million were combat related deaths, the rest being civilians.

Additionally, another 50 to 100 million are estimated to have been wounded during the severe fighting on this somewhat forgotten front.

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I-16 airplanes lie destroyed as the result of German Blitzkreig

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Destroyed Russian tank with crew caught trying to escape. Notice penetrating hits on hull & turret.

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Pz3 races to action

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Goebbels announced to the German populace that war has been declared on the Soviet Union.


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German troops, likely of the Sixth Army surrender en-masse to Soviet troops during the defense and subsequent encirclement of Stalingrad.

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German anti-tank cannon engages Soviet T34 tank at extreme long range.

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Dead bodies freeze in place during the Siege of Leningrad

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A child falls victim to the Siege of Leningrad


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A young Russian poses for a photo before heading out to the frontier.

A young Russian poses for a photo before heading out to the frontier.

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North Korea Deploys Amphibious Landing Craft as Tensions Mount in Peninsula

Mirror from Yonhap News Agency, Korea:

 

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) — North Korea has deployed amphibious landing crafts carrying special forces to the frontline as the country keeps up its tight combat readiness despite on-going inter-Korean talks to defuse military tension, military sources said Monday.

About 10 North Korean air-cushioned landing crafts have left their home base in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province, and come forward to a naval base, located about 60 kilometers north of the Northern Limit Line, the de facto inter-Korean border in the Yellow Sea, the sources said.

“Since North Korea declared a semi-war state, its invasion vehicles and forces have been actively moving,” one of the sources said.

Stock footage courtesy of North Korea. It has been rumored that this photo has been doctored by the DPRK. The country currently operates 130 hover and landing craft.

Stock footage courtesy of North Korea. It has been rumored that this photo has been doctored by the DPRK. The country currently operates 130 hover and landing craft.

The government program that accidentally killed 20 million people – Sparrow Famine

During the late 50s and early 60s, communist China undertook what on the surface appeared to be a relatively benign ecological program to kill pests.

It was called “The four pests” campaign. The goal was to eradicate 4 pests in China that Mao Zedong considered to be an enemy of the people. These four pests were : The mosquito which spread milaria, the rat which spread plague, the fly which spread other diseases and the sparrow which ate the grain of the peasants.

Out of these four, only one campaign was totally effective in its goal of eradicating its pest : The Eurasian Tree  Sparrow.

The Great Sparrow Campaign also known as the Kill a Sparrow Campaign, and officially, the Four Pests Campaign was one of the first actions taken in the Great Leap Forward from 1958 to 1962.

The Great Sparrow Campaign also known as the Kill a Sparrow Campaign, and officially, the Four Pests Campaign was one of the first actions taken in the Great Leap Forward from 1958 to 1962.



The Chinese government, at the request of chairman Mao spent a significant sum of money encouraging and advertising to the peasants that killing the pests would make the country better.

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The programs overall were extraordinarily effective as it gave the people a purpose with their free time. People got caught up in the cult of communist worship and were able to kill millions of birds in short order.

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The masses of China were mobilized to eradicate the birds, and citizens took to banging pots and pans or beating drums to scare the birds from landing, forcing them to fly until they fell from the sky in exhaustion. Sparrow nests were torn down, eggs were broken, and nestlings were killed. Sparrows and other birds were shot down from the sky, resulting in the near-extinction of the birds in China.

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By 1960, peasants and labor were celebrating that they had followed the government’s desires and killed all the birds. Unbeknownst to them, they had created one of the worst disasters in history.

By killing sparrows, they eliminated the primary enemy predator of the locust. Without any natural predator the locust, the local populations thrived. Grain production in most rural areas collapsed and a massive famine began.

The resulting massive famine in China killed by some estimates, 20 million people total. The government quickly rushed in to cover up their massive mistake and replaced the sparrow with bedbugs as a threat. It took till 1978 for scholarly works to be done that were able to assess the massive losses of life due to the government’s program.

Source of loss and research into famine.

 

Buzz Aldrin and the First Meal on the Moon

46 years ago on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.

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In the midst of the iconic “One Small Leap for Mankind” speech that Armstrong gave while walking for the first time on the moon, a different kind of record was going on inside of the lunar module. Instead of walking outside of the capsule first, Buzz Aldrin stayed inside as the Lunar Module pilot, and achieved a different kind of first: eating the first meal on the moon.

What makes this piece of history interesting is not only that we, in fact, know what the first meal taken by humankind on another planetary body is, but what was actually consumed.

Rather than feed himself a standard zero-gravity meal, or something more akin to the fare afforded to Earthlings inside a gravity well, he opted for something hugely contrasting: he took communion. 

Despite the feelings of some opting to pit religion against science, Mr. Aldrin chose to combine man’s most incredible feat – landing on the moon – with one of man’s most ancient rituals.

As per Buzz Aldrin:

In a little while after our scheduled meal period, Neil would give the signal to step down the ladder onto the powdery surface of the moon. Now was the moment for communion.

So I unstowed the elements in their flight packets. I put them and the scripture reading on the little table in front of the abort guidance system computer.

Then I called back to Houston.

“Houston, this is Eagle. This is the LM Pilot speaking. I would like to request a few moments of silence. I would like to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to invite each person listening, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his own individual way.”

In the radio blackout I opened the little plastic packages which contained bread and wine.

I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup. It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements.

 

Theologically, there has been great debate about what Buzz did in space. Some Christians believe that communion is something that only priests can perform, while others believe that it is very important for the act to be done in the presence of others – much like when Jesus broke bread with the disciples in the Gospels.

Picture: Buzz Aldrin's hand-written notes on the event, and a passage from the Gospel of John

Picture: Buzz Aldrin’s hand-written notes on the event, and a passage from the Gospel of John

What makes the argument interesting is that Buzz Aldrin happened to be a Presbyterian Elder at Webster Presbyterian Church in Webster, Texas. Therefore, he was allowed (as per Presbyterian policy) to perform the communion. Additionally, since he was technically the only person in the Lunar Module, he could have been considered a “Shut In”, which is the only given example of when it is theologically applicable to perform communion by ones’ self.

Regardless of your religious leanings, what Buzz did is an interesting achievement:  bringing religion to space. But it begs some further questions on Christianity in space: Who actually leads Christianity in the heavens?

Muslims only answered the question in 2014 by issuing a fatwa concerning prayer towards Mecca. But for Catholics, the answer was already known before any man or even animal entered space. In fact, the Catholic Church already had discussed which Bishop would preside over the moon in the early 1900’s.

Currently, the Bishop of Orlando is the reigning “Moon Priest”, or space pope if you will. The decree was established many years prior defining that any vessel traveling from a port of call would be under the authority of the Bishop of the said port of call. In the case of NASA and Cape Canaveral, it would be the aforementioned Bishop of Orlando. One wonders, though, how that will change and evolve as more and more people go into space, and one day, live there as well. Will Christianity or religion survive in space? Its impossible to know, but for Mr. Aldrin, the very foundations of lunar exploration by humanity were rooted in appreciation towards God and religion.

 

Meet Wojtek, the bear that fought in WW2

In 1942, a local boy found a bear cub near Hamadan, Iran, whose mother had been shot. He sold it to Irena Bokiewicz, a young Polish refugee who had left Poland due to world war 2. Irena was walking across the Elbruz mountains as she in an attempt to escape the Soviet Union pogroms in her hometown. When the bear became too big she donated him to the Polish Army. Eventually, Wojtek made it to the rank of Corporal while in the Polish 22nd transport company.

This is the journey of a very special bear.

Wojtek (Voytek) was a bear cub found in Iran in 1942 and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps

Wojtek (Voytek) was a bear cub found in Iran in 1942 and adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps

Soldiers fed him with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle.  The bear was subsequently fed with fruit, marmalade, honey and syrup, and often rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink.  He also enjoyed smoking and eating cigarettes.

Soldiers fed him with condensed milk from an emptied vodka bottle. The bear was subsequently fed with fruit, marmalade, honey and syrup, and often rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink. He also enjoyed smoking and eating cigarettes.



 
 

Over the long journey from Iran to Palestine, the bear quickly became the unofficial mascot of the 22nd company.  The bear would sit around the campfire with the men, eating, drinking, and sleeping in the tents with the rest of the soldiers.

Over the long journey from Iran to Palestine, the bear quickly became the unofficial mascot of the 22nd company. The bear would sit around the campfire with the men, eating, drinking, and sleeping in the tents with the rest of the soldiers.

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He enjoyed wrestling (obviously, no one had any chance with him) and was taught to salute when greeted.

He enjoyed wrestling (obviously, no one had any chance with him) and was taught to salute when greeted.

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The guns of WW2 – MG34 Pictorial (50+ Photos)

Often we watch movies detailing the battles of the Wehrmacht during ww2. Many of these movies and documentaries involved action involving machine gun groups in the heat of battle. German machine gun tactics during WW2 are still used today in modern warfare, as they were absolutely devastating as Allied & Soviet discovered.

However one thing is often incorrectly shown in movies and documentaries and that is the actual machine gun that the Germans used prior to 1942. It was not the MG42, it was the MG34. A much more revolutionary firearm in warfare.

The MG34 was the first belt fed machine gun that could easily be transported and used by one man. This was used to amazing effect during the initial phases of Barbarossa as individual machine gun operators were able to kill dozens if not hundreds of Soviet troops. Additionally, the MG34 was the primary machine gun used on virtually all German armored vehicles through the entire war. Additionally the MG42 did not replace the MG34, but served as a cheaper-to-produce supplement to the Wehrmacht’s automatic weapon requirements during the war.

MG34 on bipod.

MG34 on bipod.



 
 The receivers are not marked with "MG34" and there are no dates. The only manufacturer info and dates are on the barrel jackets. This one is marked "BSW" 1939. BSW is the only manufacturer that had a three letter mark that was the actual abbreviation of the company name.


The receivers are not marked with “MG34″ and there are no dates. The only manufacturer info and dates are on the barrel jackets. This one is marked “BSW” 1939. BSW is the only manufacturer that had a three letter mark that was the actual abbreviation of the company name.

Top cover open. This is set up for left hand feed. One reason the MG34 stayed in production after the introduction of the MG42 was the 34 could be set up for right hand feed. Many vehicle and fortress mounts required right hand feed. The barrel change method on the 34 also made it easier to adapt to vehicle mounts.

Top cover open. This is set up for left hand feed. One reason the MG34 stayed in production after the introduction of the MG42 was the 34 could be set up for right hand feed. Many vehicle and fortress mounts required right hand feed. The barrel change method on the 34 also made it easier to adapt to vehicle mounts.

Strikingly enough, the changing two parts made it right hand feed.

Strikingly enough, the changing two parts made it right hand feed.

 Left and right feed parts. The right hand arm is easy to find but the universal feed tray is not. Universal tray does not have the loop to connect to the top cover release button nor does it have the "ears" for attaching the assault drum. It can be used for left or right feed.


Left and right feed parts. The right hand arm is easy to find but the universal feed tray is not. Universal tray does not have the loop to connect to the top cover release button nor does it have the “ears” for attaching the assault drum. It can be used for left or right feed.



 
Early milled top cover. You can also see the trigger marked "E" and "D". E is semi auto and D is full auto.

Early milled top cover. You can also see the trigger marked “E” and “D”. E is semi auto and D is full auto.

Standard stamped top cover

Standard stamped top cover – Stamping was important for wartime production. Guns like the Sten, PPD-43, Grease gun and the MG42 involved significant numbers of stamped parts to speed production. This was highly vital to every nation’s war efforts as it could potentially decrease the effective cost and boost production anywhere from 50% to 500%.

Assault drum attached. It holds one 50 round belt. While being known as somewhat unreliable it gave one man the ability to produce unbelievable amounts of firepower. At a time when the best light machine gun had 30 rounds, this carried 60% more ammunition.

Assault drum attached. It holds one 50 round belt. While being known as somewhat unreliable it gave one man the ability to produce unbelievable amounts of firepower. At a time when the best light machine gun had 30 rounds, this carried 60% more ammunition.

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14 Amazing, totally forgotten firearms

 

The 1892 Blake rifle

 

John H. Blake of New York constructed his rifle in response to the fact that very few domestic designs were submitted to US Army rifle trials (1890–93). The rifle used a unique, 7-round rotary magazine. It was unique because it was detachable, whereas other rifles at the time using similar type of feed used non-detachable rotary magazines (Savage M1892). As such the detachable magazine was often described as a packet, or en-bloc clip, due to the lack of a more proper term at the time.

 

Stg 45M

 

 

The Stg45m is the simpler, easier to build cousin of the revolutionary Stg44. Faced with losing the war between the Russians on one side and the US & UK on the other, Germany sought to develop a cheaper gun to replace both the K98 Mauser and the new STG44. The Stg45m cost an amazing $12 to build in the later stages of the war. It fired the somewhat-powerful 7.92×33 kurtz, which has a similar power to that of the 7.62×39 round of the AK 47. Thankfully Germany was only able to build a few prototypes before the end of the war.

 

The Pedersen Rifle

 




 

The Pedersen rifle was one of the only other viable contenders in the program that brought us the M1 Garand and M1941 Johnson rifle. While the Pedersen rifle never achieved the status of a standard-issue weapon of the U.S. Army, the rifle did have a visible impact on the process by which the ultimate winner—the M1 Garand rifle—was selected. John Pedersen’s work in creating and improving his rifle was a coherent research and development process which significantly raised the bar for those trying to get a hearing from Army Ordnance regarding their designs. Significantly, the only serious competition that the Pedersen rifle had in the end was the rifle created by John C. Garand—like Pedersen, a talented designer and engineer with a solid grounding in the particulars of production tooling.

 

2.7mm Kolibri

 

 

There’s not a whole lot to say about this – It’s the smallest centerfire known to man. Patented in 1910 and introduced in 1914 by Franz Pfannl, an Austrian watchmaker, with financial support from Georg Grabner. It was designed to accompany the Kolibri semi-auto pistol or single shot pistol, both marketed as self-defense weapons.

 

1897 Mondragon

 

 

The Mondragon represents the first in a line of somewhat revolutionary but completely overlooked rifles. Due to the lack of infrastructure in Mexico, SIG industries in Switzerland was entrusted to manufacture the rifle. Later on the features were incorporated in the venerable K11 and K31 bolt action rifles. In 1908 Mondragon yet again developed another revolutionary concept – A magazine fed, select fire rifle. The concept wouldn’t be fully utilized for many years.

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