Part of the Weapons of War series, Small Arms 1870-1950 brings together the most important handheld guns of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in a single volume. The book includes some of the best-known weapons of the era, such as the Luger pistol, Mosin-Nagant rifle, Thompson M1928 submachine gun, Sten Gun, and Browning M2HB heavy machine gun. Small Arms 1870-1950 features 150 entries of the most important guns from history. Weapons design was revolutionised in the late nineteenth century with the development of the magazine loading system. Without doubt, the generation of firearms designers that altered, improved and generally revised the rifles of the years prior to World War I were influenced by a legion of innovators and designers who had gone before them. Every weapon in Weapons of War Small Arms 1870-1950 is illustrated with an accurate color artwork and each entry includes a specifications table with essential information such as weight, length, caliber and range. The concise text provides a summary of the design, development, service history, and performance of each weapon. Gun enthusiasts and history buffs alike will be blown away by this enlightening, thorough look inside the small arms of 1870- 1950.

Part of the Weapons of War series, this book features more than 150 color and black & white illustrations and photographs as well as detailed specifications about small arms from 1950 to the present. Small Arms 1950–Present Day brings together the most important handheld guns of the second half of the twentieth century in a single volume arranged in alphabetical order. The book includes some of the best-known weapons of the era, such as the AK-47 and M16 assault rifles, the Uzi submachine gun, and the FN Five Seven pistol. Features 150 entries of the most important weapons of the era Every weapon is illustrated with an accurate color artwork Each entry includes a specifications table with essential information such as armament, weight, speed, and range Concise text provides a summary of the design, development, service history, and performance of each weaponThis book contains details on handguns, manually operated rifles, semi-automatic and automatic rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, grenade launchers, and shotguns, from 1950 to the present.

An in-depth history of the small arms made by the Sterling Company of Dagenham, Essex, England, from 1940 until the company closed in 1989. The Lanchester and the Patchett Machine Carbines were both developed at Sterling Engineering Co Ltd during World War II. With the appearance of the earliest Patchett prototypes the military began testing them in ever more rigorous trials, wherein the Patchett kept proving its merits. This led to limited UK adoption of the MkII Patchett as the L2A1 in 1953, and the “first Sterling,” the MkII, as the L2A2 in 1955. Then came Sterling’s “Crown Jewel,” the superb Mk4, adopted as the general-issue UK “Gun, Sub-Machine, L2A3” in September, 1955. Manufactured briefly but intensively by ROF Fazakerley (1955–1959) and by Sterling for over 30 years, nearly 4,000,000 were made. Unlike wraparound bolt designs like the UZI, the Sterling was capable of being truly silenced with standard 9mm ball ammunition (as opposed to being merely “suppressed”). The excellent silenced Sterling-Patchett Mk5, adopted as the UK L34A1 in 1967, is the only Sterling remaining in British Service. All prototypes, military Marks, commercial and licensed production models of the Sterling are described, including the Canadian C1 SMG and the Indian 1A Carbine. Contains notes on manufacturing methods and procedures as used at Sterling, ROF Fazakerley, Canadian Arsenals Limited and the Indian Small Arms Factory, Kanpur (Cawnpore), plus extensive notes on inter-model interchangeability, serial number ranges, quantities produced, client-country purchases of the various Sterling Marks, and accessories. Praise for A History of the Small Arms made by the Sterling Armament Company “If you have an interest in small arms then this is a book that belongs in your library or book shelf. The book does a great job of providing the reader with the story of the weapons that evolved into the Sterling sub-machine gun and the changes in design that took place over that history. The result was a weapon that served in many fields of conflict and performed admirably.” —Armorama

From classic US Civil War-period rifles such as the Springfield M1855 to the latest in personal defence weapons and hand-held rocket launchers, Small Arms covers all of the most significant and successful small arms produced during the past 150 years. Each category of small arms - handguns, rifles, submachine guns, automatic support weapons, grenades, and launchers - is explored in turn and all the most famous examples of each type of weapon are featured, such as the M16, Colt .44 Magnum, and Maxim machine gun. Informative and accessible text places each weapon within military, political, and technological context and includes a complete design and development history. Full-color photographs and artworks of the weapons accompany the text, and specification tables provide key technical data. Stunning photographs and paintings show the weapons in action in conflicts ranging from the Crimean War to the recent war in Iraq. Special double-page features also provide a more detailed comparison of key weapons within specific categories including combat magnums, precision rifles and submachine guns for VIP protection. With over 200 weapons, Small Arms is an authoritative and accessible reference work.