MAB PA-15 (France)

Top Gun "  MAB PA-15 (France) "  When, in late 1970s  production of the 9mm M1950 pistols ceased, the French army obtained small numbers of commercially available MAB P15 pistols, also in 9x19. These pistols were never adopted for general army service, but saw some use in the hands of French Naval Commando units, Military police and Marines. The long-barreled version of the P15 was used in very small numbers by the French army shooting teams under the designation of PAP F-1. The MAB P15 pistol (also known as the PA-15, for Pistolet Automatique 15) was developed by the Manufacture d'Armes Automatiques de Bayonne (MAB) during the early 1970s based on the earlier 9x19 MAB Modele R Para pistol, which was originally created for the French army trials of late 1940s.
 

The P15 saw minor use by the French military and was also widely exported for commercial sales. Production ceased in the late 1980s, and while there were rumors of this pistol being made in the former Yugoslavia, it seems that this venture never went past talks or experimenting. The P15 was a solid, accurate pistol with large magazine capacity and low felt recoil. Probably the only “drawback” of this system was its single action trigger, a slightly old-fashioned setup by the standards of the time.

Caliber :		9x19 mm Luger/Parabellum
Action :		SA - Single action
Length :		203 mm
Barrel length :		117 mm
Weight unloaded :		1070 gramms
Capacity :		15 rounds

 

The MAB P15 is a delayed-blowback pistol with a rotary barrel. It uses a variant of the Savage-Searle system, originally developed in the USA in 1905-07. The breech part of the barrel has two lugs, one at the top and one at the bottom. The lower lug is engaged in the perpendicular cut made in the frame insert, and allows the barrel to rotate but not recoil. The upper lug follows a curved track cut in the inner surface of the slide. When the gun is fired, the pressure of the propellant gas forces the cartridge case back against the slide. The recoil of the slide, via the cam track, forces the barrel to rotate to the right; at the initial stages of the shot, when the bullet is still in the barrel and pressure is high, the rotation of the barrel and, subsequently, the opening of the slide, are opposed by the inertia of the barrel plus torque created by the bullet following the rifling.
 

As soon as bullet leaves the barrel, the torque force disappears and the slide forces barrel to rotate all the way through the cam arc. There’s a straight cut in the slide which then allows it to go back without any further resistance from the barrel. The trigger is single-action, with an external hammer and a manual, frame mounted safety. There is also an automatic magazine safety. Magazines are of double stack design, and hold 15 rounds. Sights are fixed, with the rear being dovetailed to the slide. Manual safety was a lever at the left side of the frame, above the grip panel. To put on safety, push the lever up; to set to “Fire”, pull the lever down

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Colt SSP (USA)

Top Gun " Colt SSP (USA) "  Colt SSP (Stainless Steel Pistol) was designed during late sixties and then shelved until XM9 trials, which began in late 1970s and in 1985 were won by Beretta M92FS pistol. It was then voluntarily withdrawn from trials by Colt for unpublished reasons, and never manufactured for commercial sales. This was a big mistake on part of the Colt's management, as back in 1970s and even 1980s this pistol had a great sales potential. However, this was not the only mistake made by Colt's top heads during that timeframe, which almost killed this once famous company by the turn of 21st century.

Caliber :           9x19mm Luger, .45 ACP
Action :         DA - Double action
Barrel length :         114 mm
Capacity :         15 rounds
 
Colt SSP pistol was made almost entirely from stainless steel. It used traditional Browning High-Power type locking breech, short recoil action, and a double action trigger with exposed hammer and ambidextrous slide-mounted safety. Hammer en-bloc unit is made removable for ease of maintenance. Magazines were double stack, and held fifteen rounds of 9mm ammunition. Sights were fixed, with the rear sight being dovetailed to the slide.

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BUL M-5 Commander Pistol

Top Gun " BUL M-5 Commander Pistol "  The M5 pistol was developed in 1991-92 timeframe by a private Israeli company called BUL Ltd. Manufacturing of this gun commenced in 1994 and ever since it became quite popular as sporting (IPSC and IDPA), self-defense and service weapon, used by numerous police and special military forces around the world, to include Latin America, Asia and Europe. Produced in a wide spectrum of modifications, Bul M5 pistols combine time-proven design and ergonomics of legendary US M1911A1 pistol with most modern materials and production techniques.

BUL M5 is short recoil operated, locked breech pistol that uses Browning-type tilting barrel locking with single swinging link that connects breech of the barrel with the frame. Wide-body frame is produced from impact-resistant polymer and can accommodate any caliber available in M5 product line without any changes (obviously, caliber change requires swapping barrels, magazines, springs and possibly slides). The single-action trigger system is same as in M1911A1 pistol, providing high accuracy potential and efficient safety measures, combining manual frame-mounted safety and automated grip safety. Pistols utilize double-stack high capacity magazines.

Caliber :           9x19mm, 9x21mm, 9x23mm, .38 Sup., .40 S&W, .45 ACP
Action :         SA - Single action
Length :         200 mm
Height :         135 mm
Barrel length :         108 mm
Weight unloaded :         858 gramms
Capacity :         18 (9mm, .38), 17 (.40), 13 (.45) rounds

BUL M5 pistols are produced with two frame sizes - standard and carry / Ultra-X. Additional configurations are permitted by installation of either a standard length (5" / 128mm) barrel or "Commander"-style shorter barrel (4,25" / 107mm) on standard frame; Ultra-X frame is fitted only with short (3,25"/80mm) barrel. Ultra-X frames also use shorter magazines, but also can use longer magazines from full-size models. For sport purposes BUL manufactures a wide spectrum of specially tuned pistols which may or may not have various additions such as magazine wells, compensated barrels, red-dot sight mounts etc. These include the Ultimate-Racer, the Modified and the IPSC models. The Ultimate Racer usually comes in .38 Super Cal, while the Modified and IPSC in .40 S&W

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Jericho 941 Pistol

Top Gun " Jericho 941 Pistol "  During the early nineties, the state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI) company developed a conventional combat pistol, the Jericho 941. This was actually an international effort, since the design of the pistol was based on the Italian Tanfoglio system, itself a well-made clone of the Czechoslovak Cz-75 pistol.  Early Jericho pistols were often shipped with two sets of barrels and springs, one in 9mm and another in .41AE.  Jericho pistols are widely exported from Israel, and also used by Israeli private security and police forces.

Manufacture of the Jericho pistols has been commenced with the great help (and probably certain parts) from famous Tanfoglio company of Italy; not surprisingly, design of Jericho pistols is similar to that of Tanfoglio pistols and based on famous Czechoslovak CZ-75.  . It must be noted that recently the small arms business of IMI has been privatized, and Jericho pistols are currently made by IWI (Israeli Weapon Industries) Ltd.

Jericho 941 are locked breech, short recoil operated pistols, which are available with either a steel (all models) or polymer frame (only compact and semi-compact models).The slide rails are located inside the frame, as in all pistols patterned after the CZ-75. There are three basic configurations of pistol: standard, semi-compact (standard frame and short slide and barrel), and compact (short slide and barrel, short grip).  Typical safety arrangements may include either a frame mounted safety (left side of frame only) which may lock the hammer cocked or not, or a slide-mounted ambidextrous safety which decocks the hammer automatically when engaged. Barrels have polygonal rifling.

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ALFA Defender or ALFA Combat

Top Gun " ALFA Defender " The ALFA Defender is a Czech-made semi-automatic pistol that was created for the military, law enforcement shooting purposes, and Sport. There are two different series of Pistols made by ALFA, Combat series and Defender Series. Proved the concept of self-loading service and defense pistol in modern design with frame polymeric materials. Breech locks in vertical movement of the barrel and drive cycle is controlled with short recoil action of the assembly blows back. This pistol uses Browning-type breech locking system distinguished by its simplicity, reliability and dirt-resistance.

 

Trigger mechanism and the striker is designed with a minimum number of parts to allow also field disassembly for cleaning emergencies. It works in both single-mode and double-action that comes with a manual safety lock rapid response. Arm is equipped with a striker lock designed to allow bring permanent cartridge loaded in the cartridge chamber has a pistol is always ready-to-use. Low weight, high magazine capacity and simple handling are attractive for demanding shooters. Permits high precision using a pistol to shoot sports center fire discipline. Three boring effective and two size versions offer a choice for police and sport shooters.

 

CZ-TT pistol made in the Czech republic by CZ sro Strojirna company, which is located in the town of Strakonice. This pistol recently introduced following the pattern of other famous Czech pistol, CZ-75, but with a polymer frame instead of the original steel frame CZ-75, and the locking system is modified. CZ-TT also has a shorter barrel combined with a full size grip, which accommodates high-capacity magazines. 

 CZ-TT convenient to carry and hold, well-placed controls, and dimensions suitable for concealed carry and self defense duty carry. The gun currently has a relatively large slide serrations, most suitable for gloved hands, but I was told that the new production guns will have more comfortable slide serrations. CZ-TT is a short recoil operated, locked breech pistol.

 

The barrel is operated using a Browning cam system, and lockable sliding by single lug via large ejection port. The frame is made from high impact-resistant polymer. Double action trigger system with exposed hammer has internal firing pin, and user security, mounted on the left side of the frame. Safety Manual can lock the hammer either in cocked or uncocked position. A version of the CZ-TTL similar to the basic CZ-TT but features an integral accessory rail on the frame, under the barrel. Sight fixed standard, with a slide integral front and rear sight are dovetailed into the slide

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Akdal Ghost

Top Gun " Akdal Ghost " The Ghost TR01 is a compact semi-automatic pistol designed by "Three Stars" Arms (Akdal Arms) of Turkey or Czech_Republic. It was designed as a pistol for security and law enforcement personnel rather than the military market. The TR01 is very much like the Glock 17 and shares very many similarities. The Turkish armed forces prefer to use the Yavuz 16 which has recently passed military trials and is in service with a few regiments. The TR01 was introduced in 1990 and continues to be produced.

The Akdal has been designed with high ergonomic quality with a comfortable grip and well balanced weight. The TR01 uses a short recoil operated locking breech mechanism which is also seen in Glock 17s. The locking breech is based on the Glock 17's Browning model in which the barrel engages the slide with a single lug, entering the ejection window. The pistol utilises a pre-cocked striker, which takes some of the workload off the shooter by allowing the trigger to be pulled less to fire off a shot.

The pistol has several safety mechanisms to prevent a misfire or accidental discharge. These include a trigger safety, a firing pin safety, decocking indicator and a chamber indicator. The rounds in the magazine are double stacked, which allows for twice as many rounds because there are two rows as opposed to the one in a single-stacked magazine.

The sights for the pistol are fixed, but a Picatinny rail can be fitted in front of the trigger guard or in front of the ejection port for a laser or Aimpoint sight. Finally, the stock is made of lightweight polymer and the barrel has six right-hand rifling grooves.

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Breda 30 " (Italy Machine Guns )

 

Top Gun " Breda 30 (Italy Machine Guns )  " This is one of weapon from Italy , The Fucile Mitragliatore Breda modello 30 was the standard light machine gun of the Royal Italian Army during World War II. The Breda M30 or Breda 30, was rather unique for a light machine gun. It was fed from a fixed magazine attached to the right side of the weapon and was loaded using brass or steel 20 round stripper clips. If the magazine or its hinge/latch were damaged the weapon became unusable.

Separated cases, jamming the gun beyond field clearing, are the usual consequence of poor primary extraction. As an automatic weapon's chamber and barrel heat up with prolonged automatic fire, the resulting excessive temperature can cause a chambered round to cook off or ignite without intent of the gunner.  The Breda 30 also inherently lacked good primary extraction in its design and thus utilized a small lubrication device that oiled each cartridge as it entered the chamber

Performance

The Breda 30 was also mounted on a number of Italian armored fighting vehicles. Although distinctive in appearance, the Breda 30 was widely viewed as a poorly designed weapon. It had a slow rate of fire (although this increased accuracy), low magazine capacity, used the underpowered and unreliable 6.5×52mm cartridge and was highly prone to jamming.

In North Africa the weapon was nearly unusable: desert sand and dust caused the weapon to jam continuously. The oil from the lubrication necessary to fire the Breda exacerbated its flaws. In the Balkans, Russian Campaign and other theatres of war the weapon achieved slightly better results. Although considerably flawed when compared to its contemporaries, the Breda 30 was still considered the deadliest weapon of the standard Italian infantryman's arsenal, since heavy machine guns were seen in relatively small numbers and submachine guns were very rare.

reports on the weapon were of mixed nature: the Breda's very slow rate of fire often resulted in a turning of the tide during a firefight against Italian soldiers; however, the Breda 30, in most occasions, was the fastest and most helpful weapon available. Careful polishing was also carried out frequently with extra attention being paid to Breda's lubricantion system and ammunition availability.

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Machine Gun

Top Guns " Machine Gun " A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute. Machine guns are generally categorized as submachine guns, machine guns, or autocannons. Submachine guns are hand-held small portable automatic weapons for personal defense or short-range combat firing pistol-caliber rounds.

It would not be until the mid-19th century that successful machine-gun designs came into existence. The key characteristic of modern machine guns, their relatively high rate of fire and more importantly machine (automatic) loading, came with the Model 1862 Gatling gun, which was adopted by the United States Navy. These weapons were still powered by hand; however, this changed with Hiram Maxim's idea of harnessing recoil energy to power reloading in his Maxim machine gun. Dr. Gatling also experimented with electric-motor-powered models; this externally powered machine reloading has seen use in modern weapons as well.

The Vandenburg and Miltrailleuse volley (organ) gun concepts have been revived partially in the early 21st century in the form of electronically controlled, multibarreled volley guns. It is important to note that what exactly constitutes a machine gun, and whether volley guns are a type of machine gun, and to what extent some earlier types of devices are considered to be like machine guns, is a matter of debate in many cases and can vary depending which language and exact definition is used

A machine gun is often portable to a certain degree, but is generally used when attached to a mount or fired from the ground on a bipod, and generally fires a rifle cartridge. Light machine guns are small enough to be fired and are hand-held like a rifle, but are more effective when fired from a prone position. The difference between machine guns and autocannons is based on caliber, with autocannons using calibers larger than 16 mm.

Another factor is whether the gun fires conventional rounds or explosive rounds. Guns firing large-caliber explosive rounds are generally considered either autocannons or automatic grenade launchers ("grenade machine guns"). In contrast to submachine guns and autocannons, machine guns (like rifles) tend to share the characteristic of a very high ratio of barrel length to caliber (a long barrel for a small caliber); indeed, a true machine gun is essentially a fully automatic rifle, and often the primary criterion for a machine gun as opposed to an automatic rifle is the presence of a quick-change barrel or other cooling system (see below).

In United States gun law, machine gun is a technical term for any fully automatic firearm, and also for any component or part that will modify an existing firearm such that it functions as a fully automatic firearm. Conventional machine-gun development has been slowed by the fact that existing machine-gun designs are adequate for most purposes, although significant developments are taking place with regard to antiarmor and antimissile weapons.

Electronically controlled machine guns with ultrahigh rates of fire may see use in some applications, although current small-caliber weapons of this type have found little use: they are too light for anti-vehicle use, but too heavy (especially with the need to carry a tactically useful amount of ammunition) for individual soldiers. The trend towards higher reliability and lower mass for a given power will probably continue. Another example is the six barreled, 4000 round per minute, XM214 "six pack" developed by General Electric. It has a complex power train and weighs 85 pounds, factors which may, in some circumstances, militate against its deployment.

Metal Storm has developed a new type of machine gun, with rates of fire up to 1.62 million rounds per minute. The distinguishing features of this technology are the absence of ammunition feed and casing ejection systems (the only moving parts are the projectiles), and the electronic ignition of the propellant charges.

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