text:
Directory: B
Entries that can be expanded, either in the form of additional notes or a printable 'pdf' file are highlighted in red.
or within an encircled six-point star. A property mark found on Brazilian military
a crown. Found on Belgian weapons: the mark of King Baudoin (1950 to date).
into the heel of British 'Bantam' rifle butts, which were an inch (25mm) shorter
than standard.
a crown, above a number. A mark applied by an inspector working in the British
Royal Small Arms Factory in Sparkbrook, Birmingham. Care should be taken to
distinguish the upright or Roman letter 'B' of Sparkbrook from the cursive 'B'
used by BSA. See also 'SK'.
a crown, above a number. A mark applied by an inspector working in the Birmingham
Small Arms [& Metals] Co. Ltd or BSA Guns Ltd factories in Birmingham, Warwickshire,
England. Care is necessary to distinguish the cursive 'B' used by BSA from the
upright or Roman letter 'B' of the Royal Small Arms Factory in Sparkbrook.
a crown. Found on Bulgarian weapons: Tsar Boris III (191843).
in an oval cartouche. Sometimes accompanied by a miner with a lamp, this is
associated with the products of Theodor Bergmann. It will be found moulded into
the grips of most Bergmann-Schmeisser pistols, including the abortive No. 5
or 'Military Model'.
Beneath a crown. Found on Dutch weapons: the mark of Queen Beatrix (1980 to
A mark associated with Lee Enfield rifle and other small arms components
made by the Australian government factory in Bathurst.
Used by Sundwiger Messingwerk vorm. Gebr. von der Becke KG of Sundwig Kreis
Iserlohn, Germany, on small arms ammunition made during the Second World War.
Applied to US military stores including .45 M1911A1 Government Model
pistols refurbished by Benicia Arsenal.
This trademark was associated with the products of Bolte & Anschütz
of Zella-Mehlis, Germany. Found on small-calibre rifles, including military
trainers (DSM-34, KKW) and sub calibre barrel inserts for the Parabellum pistol,
it often took the form of a cross containing 'B', 'B', 'A' and 'A' in the arms
and the ampersand ('&') in the central void.
Back action, or Back lock
An alternative method of construction to side lock (q.v.), this originated in
Europe in the nineteenth century and remained popular for the duration of the
cap-lock era. The principal distinguishing feature was the main spring, which
lay behind the hammer. Even though it often weakened the wrist of the stock,
the back lock was particularly favoured on the earliest breech loaders as it
freed the space ahead of the standing breech or 'action face' for the barrel
locking mechanism. Locks of this type were eventually superseded by the box
C.W. Bacon. A U.S. government arms inspector active in the 1870s, using the
initials 'CWB'.
George R. Bacon; Providence, Rhode Island., USA On 21st July 1863, Bacon was
granted U.S. Patent 39270 to protect a breech-loading firearm. Reissued on 15th
March 1864, the patent was subsequently assigned to the Burnside Rifle Company.
James T. Baden, a lieutenant in the Federal Army, accepted small arms marked
'JTB' during the American Civil War.
C. Bailey. This government arms inspector active during the American Civil War,
was identified by the initials 'ECB'.
H. Bailey. The 'RHB' marks of this government arms inspector will be found on
U.S.-made rifle muskets, Remington rifles and Sharps carbines accepted in 18707.
Samuel P. Baird. Working from c. 1860 until 1873, Baird, a lieutenant in the
U.S. Navy, accepted small arms marked 'SPB'. They included Starr and Whitney
revolvers, and, apparently, some Remington Rolling Block rifles.
Baker: inventor of the Baker Rifle. Succeeded by E. Baker & Son, trading
from Size Yard, Whitechapel Road, London, in 1850-2; 49 Tenter Street in 18534;
and 7 Union Street, Whitechapel, from 1854 until the early 1860s.
W. Baker. A government arms inspector active in 190917, this US Army major
marked .45 Colt revolvers with 'FWB'.
G.T. Balch, a captain in the US Army, accepted Colt and Savage revolvers during
the American Civil War, marking them 'GTB'.
Albert Ball. One of the greatest of the mechanical geniuses to come out of the
New England states, Ball's patents (more than a hundred of them) spanned a wide
range of subjects. The first of the specifications relevant to firearms was
U.S. Patent 38935 of 23rd June 1863, granted to protect a 'self loading fire
arm' made by the Windsor Mfg. Company. A later patent, 43827 of 16th August
1864, allowed claims for a 'breech loading self feeding firearm', also made
by the Windsor Mfg. Co. U.S. Patent 45307 (of 6th December 1864) protected a
'magazine fire arm' with a tubular magazine which slid into the fore end and
was protected against accidental discharge caused by barrel heat by insulation.
U.S. Patent 47484 of 23rd May 1865 covered a 'machine for lubricating bullets',
and 60664 of Ist January 1867 protected a 'cartridge retractor for breech loading
& Lamson, Windsor, Vermont, U.S.A. This partnership of Albert Ball and Edward
G. Lamson made Ball's 1863 patent magazine carbine, but failed shortly after
the end of the American Civil War and was succeeded by the E.G. Lamson Company.
& Williams, Worcester,
Massachusetts, U.S.A. Active during the American Civil War, this partnership
made sporting rifles, carbines and military long arms in accordance with the
1861 vintage breech-mechanism patent granted to Charles H. Ballard.
Ballard of Worcester, Massachusetts, is best remembered for his distinctive
breech-loading rifles and carbines made in accordance with U.S. Patent 33631
of 5th November 1861. Ballard also patented a 'cartridge ejector for breech
loading firearms', the subject of U.S. Patent 63605 of 9th April 1867, and was
responsible for the design of a single barrel cartridge derringer patented on
22nd June 1869.
Ballard rifle.
Patented by Charles Ballard in November 1861, this distinctive US dropping block
design was very successful. The breech-block contained the hammer and the trigger
mechanism, which automatically dropped the hammer to half cock as the action
opened. The first guns were made in 18623 by Dwight Chapin & Company
of Bridgeport, Connecticut, under contract to Merwin & Bray. Purchases in
18616 amounted to a mere 35 rifles and about 1509 carbines, owing to the
poor quality of Chapin's work. However, six hundred rifles and a thousand carbines
were sold to the state authorities in Kentucky, where they were so well received
that more orders followed; according to an inventory taken in September 1864,
the state cavalry and mounted infantry had 3494 carbines, and the infantry had
about 4600 rifles. Most of the Ballard rifles supplied to the Federal authorities
incorporated an auxiliary cap-lock ignition system, patented in January 1864
by Joseph Merwin & Edward Bray, which was useful in areas where metal-case
ammunition was in short supply. Ballards were also made by Ball & Williams
of Worcester, Massachusetts (18634, in .44, .46 and .56 rimfire) and by
R. Ball & Company of Worcester (18646). Work was continued by the
Merrimack Arms & Mfg Co. (18679) and then by the Brown Mfg Co. (186973)
of Newburyport, Massachusetts. I 1873, however, rights were acquired by Schoverling
& Daly of New York and manufacture was licensed to John Marlin of New Haven,
Connecticut. None of the Marlin-made Ballards had any miltary significance.
The principal Indonesian arms factory, on the island of Java, this was formerly
the workshop of the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (KNIL). Garand-type rifles,
their Beretta-type adaptations, and FN-Browning GP-35 pistols have all been
made there.
Danish inventor-engineer Søren Hansen Bang, of Copenhagen, is best-known
for semi-automatic rifle designs originating early in the twentieth century.
These relied on propellant gas trapped by a muzzle cup to pull the operating
rod forward. The goal was a softer action than the recoil-operated guns of the
day, which often worked very harshly; however, though tested for many years,
including during the Second World War on the German Gew. 41 (Mauser and Walther
patterns), the muzzle cup system ultimately proved unreliable and too susceptible
to fouling.
Bannerman & Sons [subsequently 'Francis Bannerman Sons, Inc.']; Brooklyn
and New York City. Founded soon after the end of the American Civil War by Francis
Bannerman (18511918), a Scottish emigré, this gun dealing business
grew rapidly. A move to Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, occurred in 1867, then to
New York City: to 118 Broad Street, 27 Front Street and finally 597 Broadway.
Bannerman bought such huge quantities of military surplus that he was able to
equip entire regiments during the Spanish American War of 1898, and then bought
so much more after hostilities had been concluded that an island in the Hudson
river had to be purchased to store it! Frank Bannerman (18731945) and
David Bannerman (18751957) had joined the business by the beginning of
the twentieth century, forming 'Bannerman & Sons', and the purchase of 499
& 501 Broadway established the business as the doyen of military surplus
businesses. Run in more recent times by Charles S. Bannerman, it moved to Blue
Point, New York, in 1961. Though renowned largely as a dealer, Bannerman bought
the assets of the Spencer Rifle Company from Pratt & Whitney and (despite
a most acrimonious confrontation with Winchester) continued to make slide-action
Spencer shotguns for some years.
rifle. A thousand .303 rifles were made from a collection of Springfield, Krag
and Mauser components, and sent to Britain in 1915 in acknowledgement of Bannerman's
Scottish ancestry. Unfortunately, the guns failed inspection and were relegated
to drill use.
Applied to the shortest butt-option fitted to British military rifles. It was
one inch shorter than the standard pattern.
See 'Browning Automatic Rifle'.
Karl Barnitzke; Suhl in Thüringen, Wilhelm-Gustloff-Strasse 17 (1941).
Listed in the Erfurt telephone directory as 'Ob.-Ing.' (Oberingenieur,
'senior engineer'), Barnitzke has been linked not only with Gustloff-Werke but
also with the design of the so-called Volksgewehr 1-5.
The part of any gun containing the bore, down which the bullet passes,
and (usually) a chamber in which the cartridge is inserted.
band. Also known simply as 'band', this holds the barrel in the fore end. It
may be made in one piece or two, and retained by springs let into the fore end
(sprung band) or by screws or threaded bolts (screwed band).
extension. A frame attached to the barrel to carry the bolt or breech block;
or, alternatively, the part of the barrel behind the breech into which the bolt
or breech block may lock.
rib. A stiffener forged or otherwise attached to the upper surface of the barrel,
into which the front sight blade is formed or fixed. This is sometimes encountered
on sporting rifles, though much more common on shotguns. The object is to give
the barrel rigidity without adding as much weight as would be required if it
had been forged with a greater diameter.
Peter Barrett, a Gunner in the U.S. Navy, accepted Colt cap lock revolvers in
18618. They were distinguished by 'PB' marks.
Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This gunmaking business has made a variety of sporting
and military rifles, including the auto loading .50 calibre Light Fifty and
Model 90 sniping rifles, introduced in 1983 and 1990 respectively.
Barry. The designer of a safety catch for the Danish Krag Jørgensen service
Barry. This government arms inspector, a captain in the U.S. Federal Army working
in 18614, accepted cap lock revolvers marked 'RPB'. Remington, Rogers
& Spencer and Starr patterns have been reported.
Barthelmes, born in Zella St Blasii in 1899, deserves to be remembered as the
designer of the Walther P. 38, developed in the 1930s when he was chief engineer
of Carl Walther Waffenfabrik of Zella Mehlis. The relevant British patent for
the locking system is, after all, granted jointly to Barthelmes and Fritz Walther,
and it is clear from the testimony of surviving employees that the concept was
due more to Barthelmes than Walther. Fritz Barthelmes escaped from what was
to be the Soviet Zone of a partitioned Germany in the summer of 1945, settling
in the village of Heidenheim, where, ironically, Fritz Walther's fortunes also
began a post war recovery. There he formed 'Fritz Barthelmes KG' to make metal
goods and, later, starting and signal pistols. Barthelmes died in 1973.
Bartlett. A U.S. government arms inspector active in 190410, using the
initials 'CLB'.
Bartlett. This U.S. government arms inspector, working in 18991904, accepted
small arms marked 'WWB'.
Konstantin Aleksandrovich Baryshev was born in 1923 in Sosnovka, near Tambov,
USSR. He graduated from the Dzherzhinsky Artillery Academy in 1946 and began
working for the proving-ground authorities alongside many famous smallarms designers.
During this period Baryshev developed a 9mm pistol and a 7.62mm Avtomat, and
was also responsible for a mount for the PKP machine-gun. Lieutenant-Colonel
Baryshev retired from the Soviet army in 1974.
A term associated with guns, including automatic pistols made by Nicholas Pieper
of Liége, Belgium, denoting tipping barrel construction. See also 'Demontant'.
William L. Bates. This U.S. government arms inspector, working in 1870
9, accepted Remington revolvers for the navy; the guns bore 'WLB'.
Also known as 'Rifle Factory No. 2'; Olympic Way and Stuart Street, Bathurst,
New South Wales, Australia. This was established in 1941 to supply S.M.L.E.
components to the Lithgow factory, but subsequently became a feeder for the
Orange establishment. Bathurst products were marked 'BA'.
Often accompanied by a mounted knight. Used by Anciens Établissements
Pieper of Herstal lèz Liége, Belgium, on firearms ranging from
Bergmann-Bayard pistols to a range of shotguns.
This is a bladed weapon that can be attached to the muzzle of a rifle or musketoon,
though not usually to a carbine. There are many differing types. A socket bayonet
is an all metal pattern with a short cylindrical socket, passing over the muzzle,
and some method of locking the socket to the gun: a spring, a rotating collar
or a sliding catch. A knife bayonet has a short straight blade, customarily
defined as less than 25cm (11.8in) long; a sword bayonet is essentially similar
to a knife pattern, but has a blade exceeding 25cm. A sabre bayonet is usually
a sword pattern with a curved or recurved ('yataghan') blade. A rod bayonet
usually slides in a channel beneath the muzzle, being carried on the gun at
all times. Many books have been written about this particular subject. The best
of them, usually devoted to specific subjects (e.g., Japanese Bayonets, British
& Commonwealth Bayonets), are excellent.
See '[B.B.] Lombard'.
This code was allotted in 1941 to Gustloff Werke, and used on rifles and
small arms components made in its Weimar (Germany) factory.
with crossed sceptres and a crown. An abbreviated form of 'Birmingham Company
Proof', applied by the Guardians of the Proof House in Birmingham, Warwickshire,
England, from 1813 until replaced in 1904 by 'BP' black powder and 'NP' nitro
Used in 19405 by F.A. Lange Metallwerke AG of Bodenbach an der Elbe,
Germany, a maker of small-arms ammunition and components.
A mark used by Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik Arthur Krupp AG on small-arms
ammunition or components made during the Second World War.
the mark 'RB', U.S. Federal government arms inspector Robert P. Beals accepted
Colt revolvers in 18601. He then changed to 'RPB', and continued to accept
small arms until 1880.
Beardmore & Co. Ltd; Parkhead Forge and Dalmuir Works, Glasgow, Lanarkshire,
Scotland. Formed in 1886, superseding the partnership W. & I. Beardmore,
this engineering business was best known prior to 1918 for warships, armour
plate and heavy guns. After the First World War, however, seeking to diversify,
Beardmore briefly promoted the Beardmore Farquhar machine gun (191927).
Farquhar machine-gun. Made by the Beardmore Engineering Co. in accordance with
the patents of Moubray Gore Farquhar and Arthur Henry Hill, this light machine
gun was tested by the R.A.F. in 1919, and then by the British Army in the early
1920s. An unusual combination of gas and spring action allowed the weapon to
be very lightly built by the standards of its day, weighing merely 16.5lb with
a 77-round pan magazine, but much of the operating mechanism was exposed to
the elements. A handful of Improved 'Mark II' Beardmore Farquhar guns were offered
from 1924 in 0.303-inch, 7.65mm and 7x57, with pan or box magazines. A 0.5-inch
calibre version weighing only 38lb was developed experimentally, but none of
these innovative guns were successful.
Lester A. Beardslee, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, accepted
Starr cap lock revolvers marked 'LAB' prior to 1861.
Frans [de] Beaumont. A Dutch gunmaker, best known for the single shot bolt
action rifle adopted by the Dutch army in 1871.
Frederick Blackett Edward Beaumont; Upper Woodball, Barnsley, Yorkshire. This
British army officer (c. 182899), 'Late Royal Engineners', received British
Patent of 374/55 of 20th February 1855 to protect the trigger mechanism of a
modified Adams revolver, allowing it to be cocked manually. A comparable U.S.
Patent, no 15032, was granted on 3rd June 1856.
Becker & Hollander
Established late in the nineteenth century in Suhl, in the Thüringen
district of Germany, this partnership is best known for the Beholla pistol.
Rifles and shotguns were also made, but operations seem to have ceased at the
end of the Second World War.
Beecher's Bibles
See 'John Brown Sharps'.
A German term ('auxiliary pistol') used to denote the many non-regulation
handguns that eventually found their way into official service during the First
World War. Few of the Behelfspistolen were particularly powerful, but they did
free Parabellums for front-line service. Material published later in the war
indicates acquisition of a broad range of commercial designs, including tiny
blowbacks seized after the invasion of Belgium.
A small blowback semi-automatic pistol made by Becker & Hollander of Suhl,
c. 191619. It seems to have had its origins, like the FL-Selbstlader,
in the 'Hindenburg Programm' of 1915. Designed specifically to meet German military
requirements, the Beholla was chambered for the 7.65mm Auto cartridge and had
a seven-round box magazine in the grip. Simple, reliable and easily made, guns
of this type were also offered under the brandnames 'Leonhardt', 'Menta' and
A modernised version of the 7.65mm 1913- or 'Old Model' pistol made by J.P.
Sauer & Sohn of Suhl, this was intended for police and paramilitary use
(Behörde, 'authorities'). The external changes were minimal, only
a refinement in the shape of the handgrip distinguishing between the 1913 and
1930 patterns; however, the newer gun had a blade-like safety mechanism inserted
into the trigger blade to ensure that the weapon would not fire accidentally.
Too late to compete effectively with the Walther Polizei-Pistole, the Behörden-Modell
was replaced shortly before the Second World War began by the Sauer Modell 38.
Beistegui Hermanos
Eibar, Guipuzcoa, Spain. This gunmaking business was formed in 1909 by
Juan and Cosmé Beistegui. It achieved prominence during the First World
War only as a sub-contractor for Ruby-style pistols ordered from Gabilondo y
Urresti. These were marketed in the early 1920s under the name Royal, alongside
a variety of guns made for Fabrique d'Armes de Grande Precision. In 1926, however,
the first of the Beistegui adaptations of the Mauser C/96 appeared, to be followed
by an improved 'MM31'. Production ceased in 1934; the factory was destroyed
in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War; and the manufacture of bicycles and accessories
began instead in Vittoria in 1939.
A mark found on telescope sights and associated optical-instrument components
made in Germany in 19405 by Hensoldt Werk Dr H. Hensoldt in Herborn/Dillkreis.
Theodore A. Belknap, a Federal arms inspector working during the American
Civil War, marked cap-lock revolvers and possibly also breech-loading carbines
with 'TAB'.
A. Bell, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, accepted Colt and Smith & Wesson
revolvers in 19023. The guns were marked with the initials 'JAB'.
L. Bell. This government arms inspector, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, accepted
Colt pistols marked 'WLB' in 1937.
Belted case
See 'cartridge case'.
See '[George A.] Hyde'.
Benet, Benét
V. Benét, the engineer son of Stephen Benét, one-time Chief of
Ordnance of the U.S. Army, settled in France where he became a long-term employee
of Société Anonyme Établissements Hotchkiss. Among his
designs was the Hotchkiss light machine-gun, or 'Machine Rifle', developed in
association with Henri Mercié.
Machine Rifle (Fusil Mitrailleur Mle. 1909). Designed in 19079
by Laurence Benét and Henri Mercié, this was made in France by
Hotchkiss of Saint-Denis. The guns were issued tested in small numbers in Belgium
and France, but were much more popular on the export markets. Purchasers included
the U.S. Army, in which the 'Benét-Mercié Machine Rifle, .30 Model
1909', after an allegedly poor showing in the border wars with Mexico, was unfairly
castigated as the Daylight Gun and rapidly withdrawn in favourof the Lewis Gun.
M.P. Benjamin, a U.S. government arms inspector working in 18991909, accepted
the small arms marked 'MPB'.
Benjamin. This U.S. government arms inspector, working in 1898, accepted small
arms marked 'WAB'.
Benjamin. Sometimes listed as working in the late 1890s, accepting small arms
marked 'WEB', this may be a mistaken attribution of the mark of W.A. Benjamin
Bennet, Bennett
Bennet or 'Bennett'. This U.S. government arms inspector, working in the 1890s,
accepted small arms marked 'WAB'.
Bennett. The marks of this U.S. government arms inspector ('AGB') will be found
on Remington revolvers and Ward Burton rifles accepted in 186879.
as a mechanic, Thomas Gray Bennett (18451930) joined the Winchester Repeating
Arms Company in 1870, becoming company secretary in 1871 and president in 1890.
He was a prolific patentee, though it is possible that his name was often simply
used by Winchester on designs emanating in the Model Room. U.S. Patents granted
for 'Breech loading firearms' or simply 'Firearms' included 352292 of 9th November
1906; 564421 of 21st July 1896; 781179 of 31st January 1905; and 836554 of 20th
November 1906. Three U.S. Patents were granted to protect the design of 'bolt
guns' 632090 of 29th August 1899; 782716 of 14th February 1905; and 798866
of 5th September 1905, with Frank F. Burton, to permit 'Krag or other rifles'
to fire small-calibre ammunition. Among the many U.S. patents granted to protect
'magazine firearms' were 188844 of 27th March 1877; 190264 of 1st May 1877,
with William W. Wetmore; 209748 of 12th November 1878; 224366 of 10th February
1880 (also with Wetmore); 343423 of 8th June 1886; 386290 of 17th July 1888;
545766 of 3rd September 1895; 551572 of 17th December 1895 (for a box magazine
gun); and 599587 of 22nd February 1898, with William Mason. U.S. Patents 695784
of 18th March 1902 and 710660 of 7th October 1902, granted jointly with William
Mason and Thomas C. Johnson respectively, protected designs for semi-automatic
or automatic firearms. Among the lesser patents were three obtained in 1897
to protect locking catches for lever action guns 588315 of 17th August,
598201 of 31st August and 598687 of 7th September. U.S. Patents 487465 and 487466
of 6th December 1892 were 'take-down' systems; 537598 of 26th April 1895 and
549343 of 5th November 1895 protected 'recoil locking bars for bolt guns'.
Bennett. Active in the mid 1870s, this U.S. arms inspector accepted small arms
marked 'VLB'.
Nathan L. Benoit, known to have been active in the early 1900s, accepted U.S.
military small arms marked 'NLB'.
James G. Benton, an officer in the U.S. Army, commanded the National Armory,
Springfield, from 1866 until relinquishing his post in 1881 with rank of colonel.
His personal marking is said to have been 'JGB'. See also '[John G.] Butler'.
Hiram Berdan was a prolific designer of firearms, including bolt-action guns
adopted in Russia and elsewhere. Berdan resigned his commission in the Federal
Army in 1864, though the Civil War was still raging, and embarked on a new career.
Among his U.S. Patents were three granted on 10th January 1865: no. 45898 protecting
a method of rifling muzzle-loading smoothbores, 45899 for a breech-loading firearm,
and 45901 for a bayonet-attachment system. Other 'breech-loading firearms' patents
included 51991 of 9th January 1866 and 52925 of of 27th February 1866, both
being assigned to the Berdan Fire-arms Mfg Co. The first protected extractors
for a rolling-block type breech, and the other was a two-piece lifting-block
design. Next came 85162 of 22nd December 1868, assigned to the company to protect
a primitive form of bolt action. Additional U.S. patents included 88486 of 30th
March 1869, protecting the lifting-block 'Berdan I' made for the Russian government
by Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg Co., under a subcontract agreement; 101418 of
5th April 1870 for a modified two-part lifting block; 108869 of 1st November
1870 for the bolt-action 'Berdan II'; and 157783 of 15th December 1874 for an
improved form of bolt action. Berdan's last effort, U.S. 478215 to protect a
'Method of operating submarine guns', was granted on 5th July 1892. U.S. Patents
46292 of 7th February 1865 and 52818 of 27th February 1866 protected 'metallic
cartridges for rifled breech-loading firearms', whereas 53388 of 20th March
1866 was granted for a method of priming metallic cartridges. U.S. Patent 82587
of 29th September 1868, for a metallic cartridge, was also assigned to the Berdan
Fire-arms Manufacturing Company. Hiram Berdan, successful and prosperous, died
in March 1893.
primer. Still used
on many millions
of the cartridges made each year, this, together with the essentially similar
Boxer pattern, was the earliest centre-fire primer to be successful. A detachable
cup, filled with priming compound, is inserted in a hole in the base of the
cartridge case. The impact of a firing pin or hammer-tip then drives the thin
cup material against an anvil placed in (or formed as part of) the case, compressing
the priming compound until it ignites. The flash then passes up through a central
flash-hole to fire the main charge. The principal difference between the Berdan
and the Boxer primers concerns the anvil, the former being made as part of the
cartridge case and the latter supplied as part of the primer. However, though
Berdan is customarily given the credit for 'his' primer, there is some evidence
that he exploited an idea he had seen in embryo on a visit to Frankford Arsenal.
Certainly, there was a feeling in the U.S. Army in the 1870s that the credit
for the separately-primed cartridge case should really have been given to Stephen
Berdan rifle, block-action. These were made in two basic
patterns conversions of rifle muskets, distinguished by an external hammer,
and a simplified newly made version with a linear striker system. The conversions
were most popular in Spain, where trials had been undertaken successfully in
1865. Spanish guns chambered 15mm-calibre rimmed cartridges, and had breech
blocks that could be lifted up and forward by a small integral lever. Hammers
remained external. The Fusil para Infanteria Mo. 1867, the standard infantry
rifle, was converted from 1859-type rifle muskets by Ybarzabal of Eibar, Orbea
Hermanos y Cia of Eibar, and Euscalduna of Planencia. Marks on the lock plates
included a crown over an 'AR' monogram, and 'O' for 'Oviedo'. The Fusil para
Cazadores Mo. 1867, the short rifle, was similar to (but shorter than) the infantry
pattern. Guns converted from Mo. 1857 short rifles had generous trigger guard
bows; Mo. 1857/59 examples had a notably cramped trigger guard. The artillery
and engineers carbine, or Carabina para Artilleria e Ingenieros Mo. 1867, was
a short-barrel weapon adapted from the rifled engineer carbine of 1858. Artillerymen
carried a heavy-blade sword bayonet. A Mo. 1861 engineer carbine was also made
in small numbers, and a few marine-infantry carbines (Carabina para Infanteria
de Marina, Mo. 1867) were converted from Mo. 1858 cap lock naval short rifles,
made in 18601 by Juan Aldasoro of Eibar. The 1868-patent linear striker
design was supplied in quantity only to Russia, where about thirty thousand
rifles and a few carbines made by Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg Co. served for
a few years. The breech-block could be lifted at the rear, exposing the chamber,
once the striker had been withdrawn. A new cartridge was inserted, the block
was closed, and the trigger was pressed to allow the striker to fly forward
to lock the breech.
Berdan rifle, bolt-action.
Very successful in Russia, this was a conventional turning-bolt pattern relying
on the sturdy bolt-handle rib to double as a locking lug. The earliest 'four-line'
guns (the calibre was actually 0.42-inch) were made by the Birmingham Small
Arms Company, though work was soon started in Tula. Huge quantities of the 'M1870'
infantry rifles had been made when production stopped about 1892; even in 1914,
362,000 10.6mm original and 7.62mm converted Berdans remained on the inventory.
Carbines were made in small numbers, alongside a distinctive ball-trigger cossack
Pietro Beretta SpA, of Gardone Val Trompia, Brescia and Rome, claimed origins
as early as the sixteenth century. Sporting guns were made prior to the confederation
of Italy in 1860, but the business had become powerful enough by the early 1870s
to tender successfully to make Vetterli rifles, short rifles and carbines. Many
thousands of these were delivered to the Italian army prior to 1885.
During the 1930s, under the supervision of Tullio Marengoni, auto loading rifles
were made. By 1939, however, the Beretta had been rejected in favour of the
Revelli Armaguerra design. Production of automatic pistols began in earnest
during the First World War, continuing most successfully through the 1930s until
the present day; guns based on the M951 Brigadier and the many derivatives of
the '92' series are now in service throughout the world including the
U.S.A., where the 9mm Pistol M9 (Beretta 92F) is being made in Accokeek, Maryland.
Automatic weapons of all types have been developed since the 1920s, including
the pre-war Model 38 submachine gun and a selection of automatic rifles developed
by Tullio Marengoni and others. Large numbers of Garand and improved Garand
type (BM59) rifles were made from 1953 onwards, and work is now concentrating
on 5.56mm '70/90' series of assault rifles, carbines and light machine guns.
The history of Beretta is traced in greater detail in Beretta, la dinastia
industriale piu antica del monde by Held & Morin, published by Aquafresca
Editrice in 1980, and in R.L. Wilson, The World of Beretta. An International
legend, published by Greenhill Books in 2000.
Mikhail Evgenyevich Berezin was born in Goncharka, Russia,
in 1905. He graduated from the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute in 1934
and worked thereafter for the Tula ordnance factory. Transferred to the Tula
design bureau in 1935, he developed the first of his machine-guns. Twice honoured
with the USSR State Prize, Berezin died in 1950.
Berezin machine-gun. The first of these aircraft weapons
was a 12.7mm prototype successfully test-fired in 1935. This provided the basis
for the UB series UBK, UBS and UBT.
Theodor Bergmann is best known as an inventor of firearms, though most of the
creative work was apparently undertaken by his long time employee Louis Schmeisser.
Together with a partner named Flürscheim, Bergmann founded Eisenwerke Gaggenau
in 1877 to make metalware, railings, railway lines and lamp posts. A series
of patents was granted in the 1880s, usually to protect variations of the Haviland
& Gunn Gem airgun. Bergmann left Eisenwerke Gaggenau in the early 1890s
to exploit pistol patents. The first to be developed, based on a patent granted
to a Hungarian watchmaker, Otto Brauswetter, was unsuccessful. It was followed
by a series of pistols designed by Louis Schmeisser, characterised by clip-loaded
magazines, pivoting magazine-cover plates, and bolts reciprocating independently
within an enveloping receiver. The first few guns embodied a form of hesitation
lock, but the perfected 1896 patterns were simple blowbacks lacking (at least
initially) extractors; spent cases were expelled simply by residual gas pressure.
The series included a tiny 5mm 'No. 1' with a folding trigger, a larger 5mm
'No. 2' with a small circular trigger guard, and a 6.5mm 'No. 3' holster pistol.
They were successful enough to sell in the thousands, but were rapidly eclipsed
by Browning and other designs at the beginning of the twentieth century. These
early Bergmann-Schmeisser pistols were followed by the Bergmann No. 5, a fragile
military-style semi-automatic, fed from a detachable box magazine ahead of the
trigger guard and locked by displacing the tail of the breech-block laterally
into the receiver wall. This method was patented in Germany in the Spring of
1898. Then came the Bergmann-Mars (q.v.), but work had been sub contracted to
V.C. Schilling of Suhl and ceased when the Schilling factory was purchased by
Sempert & Krieghoff in 1904. Rights to the handguns were then sold to Anciens
Établissements Pieper and became the 'Bergmann-Bayard'. Production of
blowback semi-automatics resumed after the First World War had ended, including
some incorporating one-hand (Einhand) cocking systems based on the Chylewski
Bergmann-Bayard. Derived from the Bergmann-Mars, chambered
for the 9mm 'Bergmann-Bayard' (9mm Bergmann No. 6) cartridge, this recoil-operated
semi-automatic pistol also known as the 'Mle 1908' was supplied
in quantity to Spain (as the 'Mo. 1903'), Denmark ('M/1910') and Greece prior
to 1914. Though the Bayard pattern retained the exposed hammer of its Mars prototype
and a detachable box magazine in the frame, its trigger aperture was approximately
circular and the contours of the grip were refined. Production ceased in Belgium
when the First World War began, though the Danes began work in the Haerens Tojhus,
Copenhagen, in the early 1920s. These guns, which served as 'M/1910/21', customarily
had enlarged wooden grips and a circular knurled-head grip on the magazine base
which entered a semi-circular void in the frame.
Bergmann machine-gun. This recoil-operated weapon was
patented in the name of Theodor Bergmann in 1901 though the design was actually
due to Louis Schmeisser. The Bergmann-MG. 02 was
locked by a rising block, in the barrel extension, which engaged in the recess
in the top surface of the bolt. The Bergmann deserved a better fate, but its
failure was due entirely to a loss of production facilities. Work began again
in 1908, probably under the supervision of Hugo Schmeisser son of Louis
who had remained with Bergmann after his father's departure to work for
Rheinische Metallwaaren- u. Maschinenfabrik. The Bergmann-MG. 10 was similar
to its predecessors, firing from a closed bolt, but the feed mechanism was driven
by the recoil of the barrel and barrel extension. 'Push-through' belts were
replaced by the standard 'pull-out' Maxim pattern, which allowed Austrian Keller-Ruszitska
disintegrating-link metallic belts to be used when appropriate. The Bergmann
had a fire-rate of 480600 rpm, owing to the short travel of the locking
mechanism. A few guns were used in the First World War, adapted to standard
Schlitten 08 (Maxim) mounts. The Bergmann-LMG. 15 was developed during the First
World War, but was little more than a lightened air-cooled MG. 10. A pistol
grip was added beneath the receiver, and a small shoulder plate was attached
to the back of the receiver. The action was efficient enough in theory, but
flaws in its design gave problems in aerial combat and the Bergmann-LMG. 15
was relegated to ground roles. The original guns fired from an open bolt, but
accuracy was poor and a much-modified pattern designated 'LMG. 15 neuer Art
(n.A.)' was substituted in 1916.
Bergmann-Mars. Based on breech-locking system patented
in 1901 by Louis Schmeisser, this semi-automatic pistol was customarily chambered
for the 7.8mm No. 5 or 9mm Bergmann No. 6 cartridges. Distinguished by a detachable
box magazine in the frame, ahead of the trigger guard, it also had an exposed
spur-hammer. The first guns were made for Theodor Bergmann by V.C. Schilling
u. Co., in Suhl, but the purchase of Schilling by Krieghoff (1904) interrupted
production just as the Spanish army was showing interest. Work continued until
the end of 1906, when a few 11.35mm guns were made for US Army trials, but the
Mars was licensed to Anciens Établissements Pieper in 1907 and re-emerged
as the 'Bergmann-Bayard'.
Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik
A maker of components for the Gew. 41 and Gew. 43 Walther rifles.
Berlin Suhler Waffen u. Fahrzeugwerke GmbH
('BSW'); Berlin, and Suhl in Thüringen, Germany. Listed as a maker of BSW
brand guns, weapons, sporting rifles, bicycles, motor cycles, 'Astora' brand
freewheel hubs, prams and baby carriages and fans (Kuhlschranke), 1939. BSW
was renamed 'Gustloff Werke' in 1940, but ceased trading at the end of the Second
World War.
Vincenzo Bernardelli & Co. SNC of Gardone Val Trompia, Brescia, Italy,
have made sporting guns and rifles, revolvers, and a variety of automatic pistols.
Bernardelli entered the 'SR' or 'SR-556' assault rifle (a variant of the Israeli
Galil) in the Italian army trials of the 1980s, but the Beretta AR. 70 was preferred.
See 'BP monogram'.
I.L. Berridge & Company of Leicester, England, made 'Pistols, Signal,
No. 1' (Mks III, IV and V) from 1941 until the end of the Second World War.
The code 'M 601' was often used instead of the company name.
Adolphe V.P.M. Berthier, trained as a railway engineer,
was working in Algeria when, in 1888, he submitted his first rifle to the French
authorities. The guns proved to be very successful, though able only to loosen
the hold of the inferior Lebel on French army psyche. Berthier also experimented
with automatic weapons, producing an effective light machine-gun prior to the
First World War, but the failure of his efforts owed more to the antics of promoters
than to inherent design flaws. The Vickers-Berthier light machine-gun may have
been adopted by the British Army had not the Czechoslovakian predecessor of
the Bren Gun intervened.
Berthier rifles. The first ten experimental 8mm infantry
rifles were made at the Ateliers de Puteaux in 1888. They were followed by an
experimental artillery musketoon, then a cavalry carbine. The original infantry
pattern Berthier was superseded by ten Puteaux made vertical locking rifles,
trials of which began in February 1890. These guns were followed by a series
of rifles and short rifles (Mousqueton) adopted officially from 1890 to the
end of the Firsr World War largely owing to the inability of the French to provide
an adaptation of the tube-magazine Lebel. Regulation patterns included cavalry,
cuirassier and gendarmerie carbines (Mle 1890) and the artillery musketoon (Mle
92). The cavalry pattern lacked a bayonet, the cuirassier version had an extraordinary
combless butt, the gendarmerie guns accepted a special épée bayonet
with a groove in its white-metal hilt for the cleaning rod, and the musketoon
accepted a sword bayonet. The Berthier rifles of 1902 and 1907 were issued to
French colonial troops as the Fusil des Tirailleurs Indo-Chois and Fusil des
Tirailleurs Sénégalais respectively, and the 'Modele 1915' was
adopted in desperation during the First World War. It was followed by the essentially
similar Mle 1916, recognisable by a protruding magazine case for a five-round
clip instead of the the flush-fitting original three-round type. The Mle 92/16
museketoon also accepted the five-cartridge clips. Many surviving Berthier rifles
were shortened in post-war days, and the musketoons were updated. However, experiments
with new cartridges led to the standardisation of the MAS 36 in the late 1930s.
Additional details of the Berthier patterns will be found in John Walter, Rifles
of the World (Krause Publications, second edition, 1998).
Berthier Machine Rifle. Based on patents granted prior
to 1914 and locked by a tilting bolt, this gas operated weapon was offered as
a light machine gun or a heavy-barrelled automatic rifle. The Belgians took
small numbers of 7.65x53 rifles prior to the First World War, the British rejected
them in 1916, and the light machine-gun was adopted by the U.S. Army as the
'.30 Model of 1917'. However, the rickety structure of its promoter, the United
States Machine Gun Company, prevented delivery of any of the seven thousand
guns ordered on behalf of the armed forces. The Browning Automatic Rifle was
preferred and contracts for the Berthier were cancelled in 1918 after only prototypes
had been made. Tests undertaken in 191920 with guns made by the U.S. Machine
Gun Company suggested that adoption had been too hasty, and the Berthier was
abandoned. A modified form the Vickers Berthier subsequently enjoyed
limited success in Britain and India, particularly as an aircraft gun.
See 'Vetterli Bertoldo'.
A sustained-fire machine-gun made in Britain by BSA Guns Ltd, in 7.92mm and
15mm. The small-calibre gun was based on the ZB53, developed by Zbrojovka Brno
and known to the Czechoslovakian army as the 'vz. 37'. The Mark I, approved
in June 1940, had a two-position selector lever on the receiver and a full-length
barrel sleeve. The Mark II, approved on the same day, had a simplified receiver,
a short barrel sleeve, changes in the action and a plain flash-hider. The Mark
II was a simplified Mk II. The Marks III and III (August 1941) lacked the selector,
fire-rates being set at 750 rds/min and 450 rds/min respectively. The Mark 3/2
(1952) and Mark 3/3 Besa (1954) were refurbished pre-1946 Mk 3 guns. The 3/2
version had a modified feed cover and a new mounting block, while the 3/3 had
an improved barrel with a larger gas vent and a modified gas cylinder.
This simplified .303 light machine gun somewhat Bren-like externally
was developed by BSA Guns Ltd, the work being credited to Harry Faulkner.
The perfected design was cocked with the assistance of the sliding pistol grip
sub assembly, inspired by the Besa. In the autumn of 1942, Besal was adopted
as the 'Gun, Light, Machine, Faulkner, .303 inch Mark I', but deliveries of
Bren Guns from the Enfield Royal Small Arms Factory, Inglis and the Monotype
Scheme proved to be more than enough to meet demand. Approval of the Faulkner
machine gun was rescinded on 10th June 1943.
Aldige J. Bessette, a government arms inspector active in 1940, accepted .45
Colt M1911A1 pistols marked 'AJB'.
Plural Beutegewehre. This term was used in Germany during the First World
War to denote captured rifles which had been pressed into military service.
The booklet Kurze Beschreibung der an Ersatztruppen und Rekrutendepots verausgabten
fremländischen Gewehre ('A short description of the foreign rifles
given to supplementary units and recruiting depots'), published in 1915, listed
these rifles and carbines as the British Mks I and III SMLE (Lee-Enfield); the
Canadian Ross 'M1910'; the US single-shot Remington and Peabody; the Belgian
Albini-Braendlin, Comblain and 1889-type Mauser; the French Mle 66 Chassepot,
Mle 74 Gras, Mle 78 navy Kropatschek, Mle 86/93 Lebel, Mle 90 and Mle 92 Berthier;
the Italian Vetterli-Vitali and Mannlicher-Carcano; the Russian Berdan and Mosin-Nagant;
the Austro-Hungarian M. 95 Mannlicher rifle and Stutzen; the Dutch Beaumont,
Remington and 1895-type Mannlicher. German
wholesalers had colossal stocks of military-surplus weaponry; in 1911, for example,
A.L. Frank alone had 250,000 Austro-Hungarian Werndl rifles and 42,000 Italian
Vetterli rifles and musketoons C sufficient to equip infantry regiments many
times over. Shortages of Mauser rifles during the First World War forced an
ever-increasing use of Beutegewehre. A 1915-vintage Baltic Naval Station (Kiel)
inventory, for example, included 8726 Mosin-Nagants. Captured rifles were often
altered for German service, many of the Russian examples having their magazines
(but not their barrels) altered to accept the 7.9x57 service cartridge. Many
Mosin-Nagants and a few ex-French Mle 86/93 Lebels had their fore-ends cut back
to accept a sleeve-like bayonet adaptor designed in 1915 by Moritz Magnus der
Jungere of Hamburg. Beutegewehre are usually easy to identify, as they will
often bear German military proof or inspectors' marks and an eagle within a
DEUTSCHES REICH cartouche may be struck into the butt.
Marks used on US military firearms and accessories by B.F. James.
Marks used on US military firearms and accessories by Benjamin F. Loughran.
Marks used on US military firearms and accessories by Benjamin F. Quimby.
Found on small arms components made in 1940-5 by Brünner Waffenwerke AG
of Brno, in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.
A superimposition-type
monogram, with neither letter prominent, found on the grips of Beholla pistols
made during the First World War by Becker & Hollander of Suhl.
'B.H.' or 'BH'. Found on US military weapons. See 'Benjamin Hannis' and 'Benjamin
Often misleading listed
as 'Billingshurst'. William Billinghurst (1807-80) of Rochester, New York State,
had established himself as a gunsmith and agricultural implement maker in Stilson
Street, Rochester, by 1843. US census returns indicate that he employed four
men, working in 41 Main Street, Rochester, from the 1850s until work ceased
about 1874. In addition to the battery gun described below, Billinghurst made
target pistols, sporting guns, and a seven-shot pinfire revolver rifle with
an additional shotgun barrel, two hammers and two triggers.
Billinghurst &
Requa Gun. Patented in the USA in September 1861 by William Billinghurst and
Joseph Requa of Rochester, New York (no. 36488), this Battery Gun was the first
to use self-contained metallic cartridges, 25 being loaded into a flexible metallic
strip. A train of priming powder was then laid in a trough behind the breech,
flash from the cap-lock firing mechanism reaching the propellant through holes
in the cartridge case heads. Unfortunately, Billinghurst-Requa guns were so
susceptible to damp that they were customarily relegated to covered strongpoints
and became known as 'Bridge Guns'.
Gebrüder Bing of Nürnberg, Germany, was one of the best known European
toymakers. Founded by Ignaz and Adolph Bing in 1866, this metalsmithing business
began to make tinplate toys in 1885 and embarked on a period of rapid expansion.
The experience of sheet metal work was used to good advantage in large numbers
of drum magazines (TM. 08) made for the Parabellum pistol during the First World
War. These can be identified by the trademark of 'B' above 'N', separated by
a short horizontal bar. The business became Bing-Werke in 1919, under
the leadership of Stephan Bing, but encountered financial problems in the late
1920s and was purchased by a consortium of other toymakers in 1932. The manufacturing
facilities may have continued to trade as 'Bing-Werke', making automotive components,
but were incorporated in 'NowagNoris Werke AG' in 1942 and became one
of Germany's leading carburretor makers.
Bira Gun
This was a two-barrelled mechanically operated machine-gun, made in small numbers
(at least forty) in Nepal in the late 1890s. Chambered for the British .450
government rifle cartridge, shared with the Martini-Henry rifles used by the
Nepalese army, the Bira is usually credited to Gehendra. It is, however, an
adaptation of the American-designed Gardner Gun with an ingenious pan-type feed.
For more details, click here.
Birmingham, Birmingham...
The centre of the
English provincial gunmaking industry, and of the first successful moves towards
mechanisation. The environs of Birmingham, notably Coalbrookdale and the Ironbridge
Gorge, were effectively the cradle of the Industrial Revolution; and it was
natutal that ironsmithing and associated trades should grow nearby. Gunmaking
had been organised as early as 1689, when the local Member of Parliament petitioned
King William III that his constituents be allowed to tender for Board of Ordnance
contracts. A lengthy series of European and colonial wars ensured prosperity.
Birmingham's affairs were refined by the establishment in Bagot Street in 1797
of a 'Proof and Viewing House' for military arms, and then, owing to the provisions
of the contemporaneous Gun Barrel Proof Act, an official Proof House was founded
in 1813. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, gunmakers, gun-stockers,
gun-riflers and associated trades had come to dominate the area subsequently
known as 'The Gun Quarter', bounded by Slaney Street, Shadwell Street, Loveday
Street and Steelhouse Lane. Participating businesses rose from about fifty at
the outbreak of the American War of Independence in 1776 to more than five hundred
in the 1850s. The census of 1851 recorded that 5167 of the 7731 gunsmiths and
gun-workers recorded in England and Wales worked in Birmingham; in 1865, there
were 174 gunmakers, 32 barrel makers, 25 lock-makers, 61 implement makers and
600 retailers and distributors. Production was stupendous. More than seven million
guns, barrels and locks were made for the British government in 1804-15, and
the numbers of barrels successfully passing through the Proof House peaked at
961,459 in 1868. However, the loss of work to the Royal Small Arms Factory,
Enfield, and the advent of large-scale manufacturers such as BSA, formed in
1861, threatened the livelihood of many independent smiths; by 1900, only three
hundred gunmakers were working in the Birmingham district. The establishment
of colonies of specialised trades in the environs of Birmingham was initially
often due to, in the case of barrel makers, reliance on sources of wind- or
water-power. Consequently, lock-making centred on Darlaston, Wednesbury, Willenhall
and Wolverhampton; and the barrel makers congregated in Aston, Smethwick or
West Bromwich. One of the best sources of information about the Birmingham gunmaking
industry is English Gunmakers (1978), by De Witt Bailey and Douglas A.
Nie; also helpful is The Gun Trade of Birmingham, by Keith Dunham (1955),
produced by the City of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and "Birmingham's
Gun Quarter and its Workshops" by D.M. Smith, published in the Journal
of Industrial Archaeology in 1964/65.
Birmingham Gun Trade
[The]. This association of Master Gunmakers and Master Gun Barrel Makers was
formed in 1854 in an attempt to regulate what had become unruly trades, with
tremendous variety in working practices, wages and selling methods. The association
was recognised by the Gun Barrel Proof Acts as that from which the fifteen Guardians
of the Birmingham Proof House were elected.
Birmingham Small Arms
Co. Ltd [The], also known simply as 'BSA'; Steelhouse Lane and Armoury Road,
Small Heath, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. This gunmaking business was
founded on 7th June 1861, when several leading Birmingham gunmakers purchased
shares in a new company intended to be capitalised at £50,000. Principal
shareholders included Isaac Hollis, John F. Swinburn, William Tranter and Thomas
Turner. The goal of BSA was to mass produce guns with fully interchangeable
parts, in competition with the London Armoury Company and the Royal Small Arms
Factory at Enfield Lock. After negotiating a terrible slump in the mid 1860s,
when few armies were re-equipping, BSA obtained a lucrative British government
contract to convert Enfield rifle muskets to the Snider system. About 156,000
guns were altered in 1867-8, and the first batches of 93,000 new guns were delivered
in 1869. A lucrative contract for Martini Henry rifles was obtained in 1871,
but the company was voluntarily liquidated in 1873 and re-emerged as the 'Birmingham
Small Arms & Metal Co. Ltd'. The history of BSA in all its guises can be
found in greater detail in John Walter, 'The Rise of the Piled Arms A
Short History of the Birmingham Small Arms Company' in Guns Review, 1983-4
and 1987.
Birmingham Small Arms
Co. Ltd [The]; Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.
The post-1901 reincarnation of BSA, having completed rifle contracts placed
during the Boer War, also continued the bicycle making operations begun by its
immediate predecessor (BSA&MCo.). The first motor cycles were made in 1909,
and, in 1910, BSA bought the British Daimler car making business. However, increasing
interest in airgun shooting in the early 1900s also prompted BSA to acquire
manufacturing rights to an underlever cocking rifle designed in 1904 by George
Lincoln Jeffries. By 1914, BSA was operating three factories in the Birmingham
area (Small Heath, Sparkbrook, Coventry Road) and a fourth in nearby Redditch.
Large numbers of weapons were produced during the First World War. In addition
to the Lee Enfields, BSA was also the British licensee of the light machine
gun credited to Isaac N. Lewis. Many thousands of Lewis Guns had been delivered
by 1918 to the British and Belgian armies, for land and air service alike. In
1919, BSA, which had become too large to operate as a single unit, was split
into three divisions: BSA Cycles Ltd, BSA Guns Ltd and BSA Tools Ltd
Birmingham Small Arms
& Metals Co. Ltd [The] (or 'BSA&MCo.'); Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham,
Warwickshire, England. This 1873 vintage successor to the original Birmingham
Small Arms Co. Ltd (above) retained the Small Heath factory, though a sales
office was also maintained in London at 6 Great Winchester Street from 1885
onward. Though BSA&MCo. enjoyed comparatively little success in the 1880s,
its fortunes were partly restored by the adoption in British service of solid
drawn cartridge cases and the Lee Metford magazine rifle. However, in the middle
of frantic War Office work, the company once again sought voluntary liquidation
for the purposes of reconstruction (in 1897) and emerged in 1901 to trade once
again under its old name. In the intervening period, it had made substantial
quantities of Lee Metford Mk I, Mk I and Mk II rifles, and Lee Enfield Mks I
and I rifles. BSA&MCo. also offered .303 Lee Metford and Lee Enfield rifles
commercially from 1892 onward, utilising actions taken from regular production
runs. They had commercial proof marks and were marked LEE SPEED
Birmingham Small Arms
Trade [The]; Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, Warwickshire. This British trading
association was formed in 1854, during the Crimean War, by twenty of the area's
leading gunmakers keen to share government contracts amongst themselves. Though
discontent led to the formation of the Bormingham Small Arms Company by some
of its participants, the Small Arms Trade association staggered on until 1878.
Among the firearms made under its control were French Chassepot needle-guns
and 1869-pattern Russian Krnka infantry rifles.
Roger Birnie, Junior, ranked as a lieutenant in the US Army when he accepted
small arms marked 'RB' in 1879-80.
Gustav Bittner was one of the leading gunmakers operating in Weipert, Bohemia.
He was also one of the principal members of a co-operative formed in 1887 to
produce components for the straight-pull Mannlicher service rifle that had been
adopted for the Austro-Hungarian army. His workshop was particularly well equipped,
with a range of machine tools driven by steam engines, but the scheme did not
last. He is also renowned as the manufacturer of a mechanical repeating pistol
developed by Passler & Seidl. Operations seem to have ceased in the 1920s.
This is a 9mm Russian submachine-gun, based on some of the components of the
Kalashnikov assault rifle and made in Izhevsk. A special helical-feed magazine
protrudes beneath the barrel.
A mark associated with small arms and ammunition components made by Metall ,
Walz und Plattierwerke Hindrichs Auffermann AG of Wuppertal Barmen, Germany,
during the Second World War.
'Berlin-Karlsruher Industrie-Werke': a trademark and trading style adopted in
1922 by Deutsche Waffen & Munitionsfabriken. It was used until 1936.
Used on small arms components made under German supervision by the Ung. Brod
factory of Böhmische Waffenfabrik AG in 1941-5.
See 'Benjamin Lyon'.
A mark found on cartridge clips and chargers made by E.G. Leuner GmbH of Bautzen,
Germany, in 1941-5.
A.B. Blackington was a U.S. Federal government arms inspector active in the
early 1860s, marking Starr and Colt revolvers with 'ABB'.
John Blake of New York City designed a bolt action rifle in the early 1890s,
two .30 prototypes being tested by the US Army in 1891-3 though they were unable
to challenge the Krag Jørgensen. Both were stocked in military fashion
and had spool magazines. Blake subsequently sought a patent, granted in July
1898, and rifles were advertised commercially in several grades and chamberings.
V. & R. Blakemore. This London based company is perhaps best known for undertaking
contracts to supply, among other items, Swinburn Henry rifles and carbines to
the government of Natal. This suggests that Blakemore, trading from 46 Leadenhall
Street in 1866-74 and 8 Lime Street in 1875-97, was more a wholesaler and agent
than a manufacturer. The marks have been mistakenly identified as 'N. &
R. Blakemore'.
Found on German military optical equipment made by Carl Zeiss of Jena in 1941-5.
John Bell Blish (1860-1912) retired from the U.S. Navy in 1905, ranking as commander,
and applied his enthusiasm to the development of a breech-locking system that
relied on the friction generated when two surfaces of differing metal attempted
to slide across each other under pressure. Patented posthumously in the USA
in 1913, the ideas were subsequently licensed to the Auto-Ordnance Corporation
and duly incorporated in the earliest Thompson submachine-guns. However, the
failure of the high-powered Thompson Automatic Rifles (which from suffered gas
leaks and unacceptably harsh extraction) and experience with the submachine-guns
suggested that the complication was not justified by results. Guns made during
the Second World War reverted to blowback operation without performing notably
Block action
A mechanism relying on a block placed behind the chamber to seal the breech,
which may be encountered in many differing guises. Dropping
or falling blocks slide vertically downward through a mortise. The
Sharps and Browning (Winchester) rifles are typical examples. Rising blocks,
rarely encountered, should move vertically upward. Swinging blocks are
common, though encountered in a variety of guises and difficult to categorise
accurately. A few swing up and back. Some swing up and forward (e.g., Albini-Braendlin,
Springfield-Allin). Some swing laterally backward (e.g., Restell) or forward
(Milbank-Amsler). Many swing back and down (Remington Rolling Block, Spencer);
others move down and back (Peabody, Martini). The Snider and similar breech-blocks
swing laterally on a longitudinal pin.
Also known as 'case projection', this relies on nothing but the inertia of a
heavy breechblock, friction between slding surfaces and the opposition of a
powerful spring to delay the opening of the breech; delayed blowback adds elements
such as swinging levers or multi-part breech blocks to buy a little more time
before the breechblock begins to move back. As the breech is not locked at the
moment of discharge, operation of this type was initially confined to pistols
and a few light automatic carbines chambering low-power cartridges. Few blowback
auto loading rifles other than the Winchesters designed by Thomas Johnson had
been notably successful prior to 1914, as attempts to use military pattern cartridge
were generally doomed to failure. Extraction was customarily harsh unless the
cartridges were lubricated: manufactured with a wax coating perhaps, or squirted
with oil as they entered the chamber. Extractors were prone to tear through
the case-rims or even rip the entire case head away, jamming the action. Though
blowback operation was viewed with suspicion by most military ordnance authorities
prior to 1945, views of this type have now been altered by the success of roller-locking
systems. The first of these were used in a delayed blowback form by several
experimental Mausers tested in the closing stages of the Second World War, but
have been featured more recently in many CETME/Heckler & Koch designs. The
French AAT52 embodies a two-piece bolt and a lever-like 'retarder', and some
of the SIG designs also rely on roller units. Most delayed-blowback guns still
require fluted chambers, effectively floating cartridges on a cushion of gas
in an attempt to improve extraction, but this complication (which prevents cartridges
being reloaded satisfactorily) is accepted in return for constructional simplicity.
See also 'gas operation', 'delayed blowback', 'locked breech', 'operating systems'
and 'recoil operation'.
Blow forward
The converse of blowback operation, this relies on the barrel being projected
forward by chamber pressure. The empty case is ejected before a spring returns
the barrel to chamber a new cartridge. Though extraction and ejection are simplified,
blow forward has too many problems to attract rifle designers: the excessive
weight of the moving parts disturbs aim too easily. The best-known examples
are the 1894-type Mannlicher pistol and the Schwarzlose pattern of 1908, which
was made in surprisingly large numbers in Germany and the USA. SIG made a few
AK 53 rifles in Switzerland in the early 1950s, but few other blow-forward rifles
have ever encountered success.
Usually stencilled or painted on the butts of British military rifles 'Beyond
Local Repair' and thus destined to return to a major depot.
Budapest based gunsmith Friedrich Blum is now generally credited with the design
of the drum magazines (TM. 08 and TM für FSK) issued with the German
Parabellum pistols and Mondragon rifles during the First World War. Blum was
granted three relevant German patents in this period: 302455, 305074 and 305564.
Stanhope English Blunt, then a captain in the U.S. Army, inspected the Colt
revolvers displaying a 'SEB' acceptance mark in 1889-90.
Associated with optical equipment made during the Second World War by M. Hensoldt
& Söhne of Wetzlar, Germany.
Marks of this type will be found on German small arms and ammunition components
made during the Second World War by Minerva Nähmaschinenfabrik AG of Boskowitz.
'B' above 'N'
Separated by a horizontal bar. A trademark ued on Parabellum drum magazines
(TM. 08) made during the First World War by Gebr. Bing of Nürnberg.
Identifying small arms ammunition and components made in the Second World War,
this code was used by Metallwerke Odertal GmbH of Odertal Post Lautaberg/Harz,
Used during the Second World War by Ostmarkwerke GmbH of Gbell bei Prag on small
arms components, made in German-occupied Czechoslovakia.
And a crown. The definitive nitro proof mark applied by the Guardians of the
Proof House in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, this replaced the 'BP' black
powder and 'NP' nitro proofs in 1954.
Associated with the products of Steyr Daimler Puch AG made in 1941-5, including
machine guns, pistols, rifles and relevant components
Edward L. Bolles was a U.S. government arms inspector active in 1902, identified
by the initials 'ELB'.
A method of closing
the breech of a gun. Used on practically all military rifles made in 1890-1940,
it usually comprises a cylindrical body containing the firing pin and firing
pin spring. Several differing types of bolt have been used, but most rely on
lugs rotating into the receiver (or sometimes into the barrel extension) to
lock the action securely. Some guns have the lugs on the bolt body; others have
a detachable head. A few retract the lugs into the bolt during the opening stroke
and others may have a pivoting bar or locking strut.
Bolt action A system
of operation relying on a cylindrical bolt reciprocating to extract, eject,
reload and cock the firing mechanism. Though the rudiments of the system may
be seen in medieval cannon, the originator of the modern bolt-action rifle is
generally agreed to have been the Prussian inventor Johann-Niklaus Dreyse, a
one-time apprentice of Samuel Pauly, whose Zündnadelgewehr ('needle
rifle') was adopted by the Prussian army in 1840. Straight pull or rectilinear
action simply requires a handle to be pulled backward, usually transmitting
a rotary motion to the bolt head by way of lugs and helical cam tracks. Associated
with the later Austro-Hungarian Mannlicher service rifles and the Swiss Schmidt(-Rubin),
this system may be operated quickly when clean and properly lubricated but offers
poor primary extraction. Turning bolt action requires a handle to be
lifted or the bolt body rotated to disengage locking lugs before the backward
movement can begin. Theoretically slower to operate than straight pull systems,
it offers more effectual primary extraction and is less likely to be affected
by variations in cartridge dimensions. Many books and countless articles have
been written on this particular topic. See also 'Arisaka', 'Berthier', 'Lebel',
'Lee', 'Mannlicher', 'Mauser', 'Mosin-Nagant', 'Remington', 'Ross', 'Schmidt-Rubin',
'Springfield' and 'Winchester'.
Bolt carrier A component
or assembly that carries the bolt, commonly encountered in auto loaders. It
may also control unlocking.
Bolt plug, sleeve
or shroud This term is applied to a housing attached to the rear of the bolt,
generally surrounding the cocking piece.
Bolt way The portion
of the receiver in which the bolt rides.
Bolte & Anschütz
Mehlis and Zella Mehlis in Thüringen, Germany. Listed in 1900 as a weapon
maker and wholesaler, when owned by Fritz Reuss. Listed as a gun and weapon
maker in 1914. The products included revolvers, pistols and small calibre rifles
amongst a wide range of other metal goods. Listed in 1920 as a wholesaler of
guns and metalware, owned by F. Reuss and A. Spiess. By 1925, the products were
being recorded as 'revolvers, Flobert rifles and pistols, self loading pistols'.
The trademark of 'B & A' in a cross will be found on a variety of firearms
and accessories, including sub calibre barrel inserts for the Luger (protected
by DRGM 1364272 of 1936) and the rimfire 'B.u.A. Karabiner' of the 1930s. Listed
in 1930-9 as a gun and weapon maker; trading ceased in 1945.
Bombrini, Parodi e Delfino
Or, alternatively, 'Bombrini Parodi Delfino' ('BPD'). This was one of Italy's
leading ammunition manufacturers, identifying its products by the inclusion
of 'B.P.D.' in headstamps in a variety of forms.
Edward & William Bond. This English gunmaking partnership was listed at
45 Cornhill and Hooper Square, Goodman's Fields, London E., in 1850-5. The Hooper
Square address remained until 1861, though Cornhill gave way to 42 Leadenhall
Street in 1856. The directory entries for 1862-70 are in the name of 'Edward
P. Bond', but a reversion to 'Edward & William Bond' at 4 Northumberland
Alley, Fenchurch Street, London E.C. was made from 1871 until mentioned
ceased in 1879. Edward Bond was the Managing Director of the London Small Arms
Co. Ltd. for many years and is credited with the design of the Bolted Action
for the Snider.
Christopher George
Bonehill owned the Belmont Fire Arms Works in Birmingham from 1872 onward, apparently
succeeding his father, and was himself succeeded by his son Alfred in 1926.
Trading was originally centred on Charlotte and Morville Street in Birmingham,
but had moved to the Belmont Fire Arms Works, Belmont Row, by 1882. This may
have coincided with the first order received by Bonehill for Snider rifles.
A move to 4 Price Street had been made by the end of the First World War. Bonehill
was particularly interested in sporting guns, obtaining several relevant patents
between 1877 and 1908.
Bonehill & Company.
This gunsmithing business, best known as a 'merchant' or distributor arms merchant
and gunsmith began trading in Birmingham in 1851. The premises originally stood
in Belmont Row, Birmingham, and were consequently known as 'Belmont Fire Arms
Works' or, alternatively, as the 'Britannia Gun Works'. Christopher George Bonehill
was listed as 'proprietor' from 1872 onward, but was followed by his son Alfred
Howard R. Booth, a
U.S. government inspector of Colt revolvers in 1940, used the marking 'HRB'.
Pomeroy Booth. This
U.S. Federal government arms inspector, working in the early 1860s, accepted
small arms marked 'PB'.
Thomas W. Booth, working
for the Federal army during the American Civil War, accepted Sharps and other
carbines marked with 'TWB' in a cartouche.
Roberto Boragine, an Italian army officer (then holding the rank of major),
made improvements in the design of the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle in the 1940s.
Hugo Borchardt was
born in Magdeburg on 6th June 1844, but emigrated to the USA at the age of sixteen.
He became Superintendent of Works for the short lived Pioneer Breech Loading
Arms Company in c. 1871, moving to the Singer Sewing Machine Company and then
briefly to Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company before going on to
Winchester. Borchardt was appointed Factory Superintendent of the Sharps factory
on 1st June 1876, patenting the Sharps Borchardt rifle and developing tooling
for a prototype Lee type bolt action rifle. When the Sharps Rifle Company collapsed
in the autumn of 1880, Hugo Borchardt returned to Europe in the autumn of 1882
to join Fegyver es Gepgyar Reszvenytarsasag in Budapest. After returning briefly
to the U.S.A. in 1891, Borchardt retraced his steps to Europe to perfect his
pistol in association with first Ludwig Loewe & Company and then Deutsche
Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. Improved toggle locked pistols and rifles were
patented prior to 1914, but the life of a most versatile engineer otherwise
passed without notice. All that is known with certainty is that Borchardt was
living at Königgrätzer Strasse 66, Berlin, when his first patents
were granted, and at Kantstrasse 31 in Berlin Charlottenburg when he died on
8th May 1924. Protection granted to Borchardt included U.S. Patent 153310 of
July 1874, for a method of machining lubricating grooves in hard lead bullets.
U.S. Patents 185721 of 26th September 1876 and 206217 of 23rd July 1878, protecting
elements of the Sharps Borchardt rifle, were sought from Peeskill in New York
State and assigned to the Sharps Rifle Company. Patent 197319 of 20th November
1877 was granted for a gun sight; and 273448 of 6th March 1883, for a 'detachable
magazine for machine guns', was assigned to Joseph W. Frazier of New York City.
Borchardt was subsequently granted nearly forty patents and sixty registered
designs in Germany between 1893 and 1911. They included German Patent 75837
of 9th September 1893, for the construction of the basic toggle lock pistol;
a patent of addition, 77748 of 18th March 1894, made a specific claim for the
roller used to break the toggle joint. British Patent 18774/93 of 18th November
1893 and US Patent 561260, granted on 10th November 1896, were broadly comparable
with the two German specifications. German Patent 83141 of 10th March 1895 protected
a magazine with twin coil springs; and 91998 of 10th October 1896 was granted
for a modified magazine with a follower doubling as a hold open. Later patents
such as British 17678/07 of 2nd August 1907 allowed claims for differing methods
of breaking a toggle lock. German Patent 222222 of 27th February 1909 protected
an improved trigger mechanism for toggle lock guns, similar specifications being
accepted in Britain (29622/09 of 17th December 1909) and the U.S.A. (987543
of 21st March 1911). German Patent 227078 of 27th February 1909 was granted
for an improved ejector for toggle-lock pistols, and 215811 of 30th April 1909
allowed the insertion of a short chain in the toggle assembly. Borchardt subsequently
patented an auto-loading rifle of this type in the U.S.A. no. 1160832
of 1914 but it was not successful.
The Borchardt-Luger
pisto, popularly known as the 'Luger', was developed from the Borchardt pattern
in the late 1890s. Though the Borchardt worked well enough when it was properly
adjusted, the management of Deutsche Waffen u. Munitionsfabriken realised that
serious weaknesses in the design should be eliminated. The return spring was
delicate, and the overhang of the spring housing behind the grip upset the balance
when the gun was used in the hand. Some time prior to trials held in Switzerland
in the winter of 1898, Georg Luger had developed a method of unlocking the toggle
by using cam ramps on the frame instead of the Borchardt type internal roller.
The 7.65mm pistols that arrived in Switzerland in November 1898, therefore,
were the first of the true Borchardt-Lugers. When the final eliminator began
on 1st May 1899, D.W.M. had submitted an improved Borchardt- Luger with a manually-operated
safety lever set into the rear left side of the frame. This easily won the trials
and finally, on 4th May 1900, the Borchardt Luger was adopted for service with
the Swiss army. This encouraged D.W.M. to offer the pistol commercially, and
also to sell small quantities to countries such as Bulgaria, Portugal and the
U.S.A. The subsequent history of the gun is summarised under 'Parabellum (2)'.
William A. Borden, a U.S. government arms inspector ranking as lieutenant colonel,
accepted Colt pistols marked 'WAB' in 1936-9.
The axial hole through the barrel, usually rifled to spin the projectile. Bore
diameter measurements usually exclude the depth of the rifling. The universal
Anglo American standard was laid down in the British Gun Barrel Proof Act of
1868, which regularised the sizes of shot from 'A' (with a diameter of two inches)
to fifty bore (a diameter of 0.453in), often listed as '50 gauge' or '50 gage'
in North America. The Imperial measure equivalents of the most popular bore
sizes are: ten bore, 0.775; twelve bore, 0.729; sixteen bore, 0.662; twenty
bore, 0.615; and 28 bore, 0.550. The sizes below fifty bore were regarded as
'small bore' in the 1868 Act, and customarily described in imperial measure.
However, the cap lock pistols and revolvers made in Britain prior to the 1860s
were classified in smaller sizes: e.g., 84 bore or 120 bore. The bore size equivalent
can be calculated simply by cubing the dimension in inches and then dividing
the result into 4.6578. For a 0.410 shotgun, therefore, the answer proves to
be 68 bore (0.410 x 0.410 x 0.410 = 0.06892; 4.6578 ÷ 0.06892 = 67.58).
The method also works in reverse, as the equivalent of 84 bore is .381 (4.6578
÷ 84 = 0.05545; cube root of 0.05545 = 0.381).
Richard Bornmüller; Suhl in Thüringen, Germany. Once a partner in
Bornmüller, Simson & Luck, this gunmaker traded independently in Suhl
in the twentieth century. Most of the directories list the business as a wholesaler
of guns and ammunition. The entry in the Deutsches Reichs Adressbuch
for 1900 lists the owners as 'Edm. R. & Ernst H. Bornmüller'; by 1914,
however, it was being operated by Ernst Hilmar Bornmüller. The 1930 directory
entry still lists 'Bornmüller & Co.', and the 1941 edition lists 'Richard
Bornmüller u. Co.' as a gunmaker; operations ceased in 1945.
Boris Afanasevich Borzov was born in Tula, USSR, in 1944. He graduated as a
mechanical engineer in 1967 and was appointed to the design bureau in the Tula
small-arms factory. He helped Petr Yakushev to create the YakB multi-barrel
J. Boss & Company. Trading successively in London in the twentieth century
from 13 Dover Street, 41 Albemarle Street and, in more recent days, 13/14 Cork
Street, Boss handled rifles, sporting guns and ammunition. About 3900 Lanchester
submachine-guns were assembled during the Second World War, probably from parts
made by the Sterling Engineering Company. Boss also modified about 20,350 0.303
No. 3 Enfield rifles to 'Weedon Repair Standards' ('WRS') in the summer of 1939,
and reconditioned about 1100 0.303 Hotchkiss Mk I and Mk I machine-guns in 1940.
The code 'S 156' was allotted to J. Boss & Co. in 1940, but does not seem
to have been widely used.
George G. Bowe. This arms inspector, working during the American Civil War,
accepted rifle and carbine stocks marked 'GGB'.
George F. Bowen. Active in the late 1870s, this U.S. arms inspector could be
identified by the initials 'GFB'.
William J. Bowers, a U.S. government arms inspector working in 1938, accepted
Colt pistols marked 'WJB'.
Edward Mounier Boxer (1823-98), commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1839,
is best known as the developer of the primer that now bears his name. Boxer
became Superintendent of the Royal Laboratory, Woolwich, in the early 1860s
and there developed a series of cartridges, fuzes and shells. The primer was
distinguished by its own anvil, unlike the Berdan pattern which had the anvil
formed as part of the cartridge-case head. Ironically, Boxer primers have become
more popular in North America than in Britain, where the Berdan version is preferred!
Boxer was eventually forced out of the army, resigning his post in 1869 after
a wrangle over the commercial exploitation of his patents.
Box lock
This term is given to a gun with the strikers, springs, tumblers and associated
components fitted inside the action body instead of carried on detachable side
plates (cf., side lock). The earliest successful box lock gun was patented in
1875 by William Anson and John Deeley, and made by Westley Richards of Birmingham.
Edgar B. Boyd. A U.S. Federal government arms inspector identified by the initials
'EBB', active in 1862.
J.N. Boyer. This U.S. arms inspector, working in 1905-6, accepted small arms
marked 'JNB'.
C.M. Boyington. A U.S. arms inspector identified by the initials 'CMB', active
from 1901 until c. 1910.
William E. Boynton, a U.S. government arms inspector working in 1902-10, accepted
small arms marked 'WEB'.
And a crown, encircled.
This mark was applied by the Budapest proof house (Austria-Hungary, then Hungary)
from 1891 until 1948, originally accompanied by an NPB nitro proof mark and
then simply appearing above 'FN'. See also 'F, encircled'.
And a crown, often
encircled. The definitive black powder proof mark applied by the Guardians of
the Proof House in Birmingham, England, 1904-54
A monogram. This mark,
with the letters back to back, was used by the Eidgenössische Waffenfabrik,
Bern, Switzerland, as a proof mark. Known as the 'Bernerprobe', it had replaced
a small Federal Cross in 1919.
with crossed sceptres and a crown C see 'BCP'.
Found on optical equipment made in Vienna during the Second World War by C.P.
Goerz GmbH. The equipment was used by the German armed forces.
Found in the headstamps of cartridges made by Bombrini, Parodi e Delfino.
This mark was used in 1941-5 by Johannes Grossfuss of Döbeln in Sachsen,
on machine guns and small arm components made for the German armed forces.
beneath a crown, above a number. A mark applied by an inspector working in the
Royal Small Arms Repair Factory in Birmingham.
W.F. Bradbury. This
government arms inspector, working in 1898-1902, accepted small arms marked
William Bradbury.
A U.S. Federal government inspector working in the early 1860s, Bradbury accepted
small arms marked 'WB'.
Braddick Ltd
Fabricators of silencers for the British Mk IIS Sten Gun, together with Auto-Engineering.
Location and manufacturer's code unknown.
Francis Augustus Braendlin,
possibly of Belgian origin, worked for the Mont Storm Gun Works in 1863-5. Braendlin
was the designer of a breech-loading rifle protected by British Patent 2147/63
of 31st August 1863, and co-patentee with William Mont Storm of a modification
to the latter's breech-loading system protected by British Patent 708/65 of
14th March 1865. He was also the co-designer with Augusto Albini of the breech-loading
system protected by British Patents 2243/66 of 30th August 1866, 2652/66 of
13th October 1866, and 460/67 of 20th February 1867. Braendlin was the senior
partner in Braendlin & Sommerville, and then associated with the Braendlin
Armoury Co. Ltd.
Braendlin Armoury
Co. Ltd [The]; 1-3 Lower Loveday Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.
This business was formed in 1871 to purchase the assets of Francis Augustus
Braendlin, who had been trading as Braendlin & Sommerville. Among the major
shareholders were several local gunmakers, including William Powell and his
son. Initially managed by George Conrad Braendlin, son of Francis Augustus,
the Armoury concentrated on the importation of Belgian made rifles and shotguns.
It was a licensee of patents granted to Friedrich von Martini, specifically
British 2305/68 and 603/70, and also of British Patent 1531/80 granted to A.
Martini. This enabled the Martini Marres Braendlin Mitrailleuse pistol to be
made in small quantities, but trading steadily declined and the Braendlin Armoury
Co. Ltd was liquidated voluntarily in 1888.
& Sommerville (also known as 'Braendlin, Sommerville & Company) was
formed in England in 1867, partly to promote rifle muskets converted to the
Albini-Braendlin breech-loading system but also to make revolvers incorporating
an extractor mechanism patented by Galand & Sommerville in 1868. Trading
from 1-3 Lower Loveday Street, Birmingham, Braendlin & Sommerville were
succeeded in 1871 by the Braendlin Armoury Co. Ltd.
C.A. Brand. This arms inspector, a US Navy lieutenant, accepted Smith &
Wesson revolvers at the end of the nineteenth century. The guns were marked
Bratt Colbran Ltd; Lancelot Road, Wembley, Middlesex, England. A maker of magazines
for the British 9mm Sten Gun during the Second World War. The code 'S 159' may
have been used instead of the company name.
Alfred Bray &
Son (also listed as 'A. Bray & Co.'); Leicester, England. Makers of 0.303
Vickers machine-gun tripods during the Second World War. These may be marked
simply 'M 602'.
Edward P. Bray of
New York City was the co-designer with Joseph Merwin of an auxiliary cap-lock
ignition system used on Ballard guns during the American Civil War. This was
protected by US Patent no. 41166, granted on 5th January 1864.
Ernesto Breda [Società Italiana Costruzione Meccaniche]. Based in Brescia,
this business was renowned more for its heavy guns than small arms. However,
the Greek-type Mannlicher-Schönauer rifles used by the Austro-Hungarian
armies during the First World War were given to Italy in 1919, together with
surviving spare parts. They were subsequently refurbished and, ironically, shipped
to Greece.
The rear end of the
action (q.v.), containing the breech block and giving access to the chamber.
See also 'receiver'.
Breech-block. Any
non cylindrical means of closing a breech. Breech-blocks may take a wide variety
of forms: e.g., sliding vertically, pivoting laterally, or tipping upward.
Breech bolt. See 'bolt',
John J. Breen, a captain in the U.S. Army, inspected Colt revolvers marked 'JJB'
in 1886.
Bren Gun
The success of ZGB
Improved Model 4 allowed the >Bren= light machine gun (for Brno and Enfield)
to be approved for issue in May 1935. A few guns were acquired from Ceskoslovenská
Zbrojovka of Brno, though the first of a 10,000 gun order placed with the Royal
Small Arms Factory, Enfield, was completed in September 1937. Enfield production
was so slow that the last guns from the pre war contracts were not delivered
until 1942. A 5000 gun order was then given to the John Inglis Company of Toronto
in 1938, but the loss of vast quantities at Dunkirk soon reduced the inventory
of Bren Guns to just 2130. Desperate steps were taken to simplify the basic
design, which had a complicated drum-type back sight and a folding grip beneath
the butt. The Mark I Modified ('Mark I [M]'), accepted in the autumn of 1940,
had a simpler receiver lacking the optical-sight bracket, and a new bipod. The
Mark II (June 1941) had a leaf-pattern back sight, a simpler body, a fixed cocking
handle and a stamped butt plate. The Mk 3 of May 1944 had a shortened barrel,
a lighter receiver and a simplified butt; intended for paratroops, the contemporaneous
Mark 4 had even more metal removed from the receiver to save weight, and an
ultra-short barrel. Bren Guns were sometimes issued with 100 round Mk I or II
drum magazines instead of the customary thirty-round boxes. Nearly a million
of these magazines were made, together with a few 200 round 'High Speed Drum'
units intended for anti aircraft use. Many sub-contractors were recruited to
accelerate production, the origin of their parts often being masked by letter
prefixed numerical codes. Participants ranged from the Austin Motor Company
Ltd ('M 13') of Longbridge to Wilson & Mathieson Ltd of Leeds ('N 90').
Orders placed for Bren Guns between 3rd September 1939 and 14th March 1944 amounted
to 416,658, the principal manufacturers being the Royal Small Arms Factory,
Enfield, John Inglis and the participants in the Monotype Scheme. Many surviving
Bren Guns were converted for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge in the 1950s. These
were known as the L4 series, beginning in 1957 with the 'Guns, Machine, Light,
7.62mm L4A1'. The perfected L4A4 was adopted in 1960. By far the best source
of information is Tom Dugelby's The Bren Gun Saga (Collector Grade Publications,
1986), though Miroslav Sada's Ceskoslovenské rucni palné zbrane
a kulomety (Prague, 1971) is helpful if the language barrier can be overcome.
For more details, click here.
Bren Manufacturing
Company; Gateshead, Northumberland, England. This gunmaking business, formed
in 1942, made components for the Bren Gun. Coded 'N 10', they included piston
parts and sears. Assembly of piston and breech block units was also undertaken.
This government-owned arms factory made, amongst other equipment, 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano
service rifles marked 'FAB'.
Used in 1941-5 on Kar. 98k and other German small arms components made by H.W.
Schmidt of Döbeln in Sachsen.
Bridesburg Machine Works
See 'Alfred Jenks'.
Bridge Gun
See 'Billinghurst & Requa Gun'.
A.J. Bristol. This
U.S. government arms inspector accepted Remington revolvers and Sharps carbines
in the 1870s, marking them 'AJB'.
Bristol Fire Arms
Company; Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S.A. In 1855, before his rifle patent had
been granted, Ambrose Burnside had organised this maufacturing company. Unfortunately,
the army order of September 1858 was small 709 guns and the absence
of large scale orders coincided with a severe economic depression that hit the
New England firearms industry particularly badly in the autumn of 1857. In desperation,
Burnside sold his patents to his creditors and the Bristol Fire Arms Company
went into liquidation.
British & Foreign
Lee Arms Co. Ltd. Registered at 23 Queen Victoria Street, London, from 1900
onward, this business was formed to look after the patent rights of the inventor
James P. Lee.
British Magazine Rifle
Co. Ltd. This business occupied premises at 13 Austin Friars, London, from 1896
until the early 1900s.
British military inspectors' marks. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, these cannot
be linked with individuals merely by deciphering initials. The standard form
was a crown above an identifier of the factory (e.g., 'E' for 'Enfield') above
the number of the individual inspector. No list of numbers and names has yet
been published, but the agency codes were 'B' or 'SK' for the Royal Small Arms
Factory in Sparkbrook, Birmingham (Roman or upright); 'B' (cursive) for the
Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd and BSA Guns Ltd; 'BR' for the Royal Small Arms
Repair Factory in Bagot Street, Birmingham; 'E' for the Royal Small Arms Factory,
Enfield Lock; 'GRI' for the Ishapore factory in India; 'S' for the Australian
inspection facilities in Sydney; and 'X' for the London Small Arms Co. Ltd.
The Ishapore mark was subsequently replaced by 'IS' after India gained independence,
and the Sydney mark was superseded by those applied by the small arms factories
in Lithgow ('ACP' on a shield, 'A' on a six point star or 'L' above a broad
arrow) and Orange ('O' above a broad arrow). The Canadian arms factory in Long
Branch used 'IP' beneath crossed pennants under a crown.
British military manufacturers'
codes. The regional coding system was developed during the Second World War
to disguise the identity of participants in the ordnance industries. The essence
was a letter prefix 'M', 'N' or 'S' indicating whether the manufacturer concerned
was in the Midlands, north or south of Britain; a number identified indivudual
British military proof
marks. These normally consisted of crossed pennants, with 'P' in the lower quadrant
and the monarch's initials beneath a crown in the upper quadrant (see Royal
cyphers). The Royal Navy, however, used plain pennants above 'N' in the bottom
quadrant; the Australian (Lithgow) mark had 'L' in the top quadrant and 'P'
in the bottom; South Africa used 'U' and 'P'; whilst India used a crowned 'GRI'
in the top quadrant and 'P' in the bottom. The post independence Indian mark
substituted the four-tiger Asoka for the crowned 'GRI'. The Dominion of Canada
also used crossed pennants, but the quadrant lettering was 'P' to the left,
'D' in the top and 'C' to the right; the fourth (bottom) quadrant was blank.
British military unit
markings. Only weapons issued for service from army stores were marked in accordance
with Regulations for Army Ordnance Services, Part One. Magazine rifles
and carbines bore the 'ordnance marks' number of the month and year of
issue (e.g., 5/96) together with the 'Corps marks and consecutive numbers'
on the butt disc. On older guns with brass butt plates, only army ordnance marks
were to be struck into the strap; corps marks did not appear. On guns with iron
butt plates, the ordnance marks were to appear in the centre of the butt, two
inches from the butt plate, with the corps marks between the two. Webley revolvers
customarily bore the ordnance marks, corps marks and consecutive numbers on
the 'upper part of the strap of stock'. The marks can identify some of the most
famous regiments in the British Army C e.g., '8.03' over 'D.K.O.S.B.'
over '128', on a butt disc, the 128th rifle retained by the reserve ('D') battalion
of the King's Own Scottish Borderers after being issued in August 1903. Among
the more desirable would be those marks applied by the premier line regiments
of the British Army, including: A.& S.H. for Princess
Louise's Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; C.G. for
the Coldstream Guards; G.G. for the Grenadier Guards;
GOR. for the Gordon Highlanders; I.G.
for the Irish Guards; IN.F. for the Royal Inniskilling
Fusiliers; L.G. for the Life Guards; R.B.
for The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own); R.H.
for The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders); S.G. for the
Scots Guards; and W.G. for the Welsh Guards. Yeomanry
regiments invariably display the identifier 'Y' above a line separating it from
the county abbreviation such as DVN. & CLL. for Devon
& Cornwall, LCK. for Limerick, M.U.
for Mid Ulster, STF. for Staffordshire or Y.&
D. for Yorkshire & Durham. The senior (university) division of the
Officers Training Corps applied marks such as AYH. for
Aberystwyth and OXF. for Oxford below the 'O.T.C.' legend;
the junior (schools) division displayed marks as diverse as HBY.
for Haileybury College and UPM. for Uppingham.
British Tabulating
Machine Co. Ltd [The]; Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England. This Monotype Scheme
member made a variety of small parts for the Bren Gun in 1940-5. These sometimes
bore the code 'S 162', though many of the pins were too small to be marked.
Lewis Wells Broadwell, born in 1849 in New Orleans, Louisiana, is best known
as a designer of guns and artillery...and for waging a long and unsuccessful
campaign of words with Krupp, He was responsible for a 'breech-loading firearm'
protected by U.S. Patent 49583 of 22nd August 1865. Assigned to C.M. Clay, this
protected a block that slid vertically through the frame as the trigger-guard
was rotated laterally. Relying on two rapid-pitch threads, this was, in essence,
little more than a two-part adaptation of ideas that had been tried since the
early 1700s. Broadwell was also peripatetic, filing submissions from places
as diverse as St Petersburg, Russia (1861), and Hietzing bei Wien (Austria,
1870s). Most of these protected improvements in breech-loading ordnance, but
U.S. Patent no. 110338 of 20th December 1870 described a 'Feeder for Repeating
Fire-arms' and 172382 of 18th January 1876 protected a cartridge applicable
to small-arms. Broadwell is also remembered for the 'Broadwell Drum', used with
the Gatling Gun. He died in 1906.
Waldemar Broberg, a U.S. Army colonel, accepted Colt M1911A1 pistols in 1941.
They were marked 'WB'.
M. Brooks, a U.S. government inspector, accepted Colt revolvers in 19026.
They were marked 'HMB'.
A. Brooks, Jr, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, accepted .45 Colt M1911A1
pistols in 1940, marking them with 'JAB'.
P.H.M. Brooks, a U.S.
Government arms inspector working in 1909, accepted Colt revolvers marked 'PHMB'.
S.H. Broughton, working for the U.S. government in 18991912, accepted
small arms marked 'SHB'.
C. Brown was a U.S. government arms inspector active in the mid 1870s. He accepted
small arms with 'LCB' marks.
Brown, a Federal government inspector, accepted small arms marked 'WB' in the
early part of the American Civil War.
M. Browning. Ogden, Utah. Notes to add.
Often known simply
as the 'BAR', the Browning Automatic Rifle was designed by John M. Browning
as a squad automatic weapon. A prototype was successfully demonstrated to the
U.S. Army Machine Gun Board in February 1917 and adopted as the 'Browning Machine
Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1918'. For more details, click
The rifle-calibre
Model 1917 Browning machine-gun, adopted by the U.S. Army after a sensational
demonstration, was a recoil-operated water-cooled weapon created by John M.
Browning on the basis of patents dating back to 1901. The
.50-calibre Browning owed its origins to the unexpected appearance of the 13mm
German Mauser anti-tank rifle or T-Gewehr. Frankford Arsenal produced a cartridge
simply by scaling up the .3006 pattern, but this was too powerful for
an experimental enlargement of the M1917 to handle until a hydraulic buffer
had been developed. For more details, click
The first Browning
pistol, with a top-mounted gas-operated flap lock, was demonstrated to representatives
of Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg Co. in the summer of 1895. The most important
series of patents, however, were granted on 20th April 1897: U.S. no. 580923
protected the gas-operated flap-lock gun; 580924 protected a recoil-operated
gun with its barrel depressed by a double-link mechanism; 580925 protected a
recoil-operated gun with a rotating-barrel lock; and 580926 protected the first
blowback design. The locked-breech patents were licensed to Colt's Patent Fire
Arms Mfg Co., though the first guns to be exploited in quantity were blowbacks
protected by U.S. Patent no. 621747 of 21st March 1899 and made in Belgium by
Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre. For more details, click
W. Bruce, a U.S. government arms inspector working in 1875, accepted small arms
marked 'EWB'.
F. Bruce of Springfield, Massachusetts, is best known as the designer of the
'Bruce Feed', applied successfully to the Gatling Gun. He received several U,S,
patents for 'Cartridge Feeders for Machine Guns': 247158 of 14th June 1881,
273249 of 6th March 1883, 343532 of 8th June 1886 and 351960 of 2nd November
1886, all assigned to Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg Co. Bruce also developed a
cartridge-charger for his feeders, U.S. Patent 341371 of 4th May 1886, and a
series of magazines for breech-loading fireams (439833, 462298 and 708311 of
4th November 1890, 3rd November 1891 and 2nd September 1902 respectively). A
'Breech-loading magazine rifle' protected by U.S. Patent 432507 of 22nd July
1890 was entered unsuccessfully in the trials that led to the adoption of the
Krag-Jørgensen in the U.S.A.
Bruff, Brother & Seaver
These New York
City merchants sold 225 Freeman made Joslyn revolvers to the Federal authorities
in the winter of 1861.
José Brull y Seoane, then a captain in the Spanish army, is credited
with improvements made in the Remington rolling-block rifle used in Spanish
W.H. Brundett, a U.S. government inspector working in 18981900, accepted
Colt revolvers and other small arms marked 'WHB'.
Waffenwerk Brünn A.G.: the name given to Ceskoslvenská Zbrojovka
during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia during the Second World War.
A mark found on U.S. military stores inspected by B.R. Whitcomb (q.v.).
A mark found onn U.S. military stores inspected by Benjamin Syrett (q.v.).
trademark associated with the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd and its successors.
It was usually accompanied by a 'Piled Arms' mark of three stacked Martini Henry
rifles, which was registered by the company in 1881.
BSA Guns Ltd of Armoury
Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, was an outgrowth of the
Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd created immediately after the end of the First
World War
coinciding with a slump in the munitions business. Improved forms
of the Jeffries Pattern underlever cocking airguns were made, alongside protracted
(but ultimately abortive) experiments with Thompson submachine guns and automatic
rifles. In the 1930s, however, BSA became a major participant in the production
of the Browning aircraft machine-gun while continuing to fulfil small orders
for the .303 Rifle No. 1 (Lee Enfield). Production of airguns was suspended
in 1940 to allow the factory facilities to concentrate on war work, which included
reconditioning of 1580 .303 Hotchkiss Mk I and Mk I machine-guns pressed into
emergency service as a result of the huge losses of arms and equipment at Dunkirk.
No. 1 Mk III Lee Enfield rifles were made in Small Heath until 1943; about 1.5
million No. 4 type rifles were made in 19415 in Small Heath and Studley
Road, Redditch, as well as in a newly built factory in Shirley; and 81,330 No.
5 Mk 1 'Jungle Carbines' were made in Shirley in 19456. Output of automatic
weapons included 468,100 .303 Browning guns Mk I, Mk II and Mk II, made in the
Small Heath factory from 1937 until, in 1942, after air-raid damage, much of
the work was dispersed to sub-contractors (including Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd).
More than 404,000 Mk II Sten submachine-guns were made in the Tyseley factory
from 1941 onward. The 7.92mm Besa Guns Mk I, Mk II, Mk III and Mk III were made
in Redditch, and, after 1941, in supplementary factories in Leicester; production
in 193945, according to BSA figures, amounted to more than 59,300. There
were also 3200 15mm Besa Guns (193843). BSA Guns was the sole manufacturer
of the .55 Boys Mk I and Mk I anti-tank rifles68,850 being made in 193643,
initially in Small Heath and then dispersed to factories in Mansfield. Butts,
bipods, cocking handle, magazine and other parts were made for the Bren Gun
during the Second World War, together with tripod mounts. BSA Guns also made
the ill-starred .303 Besal machine-gun and the experimental 9mm Vesely submachine-guns,
eight of the latter being delivered in September 1944. BSA Guns Ltd was allotted
a variety of manufacturing codes: Small Heath used 'M 47A'; Redditch used 'M
47B'; Shirley used 'M 47C'; Leicester had 'M615'; and Mansfield was given 'M
616'. By the end of the Second World War, more than sixty BSA run factories
were employing nearly 28,000 people. Commercial operation were rebuilt in the
post war period thanks to the introduction of airguns such as the 'Airsporter'
and the 'Cadet', together with some efficient sporting guns built around a modified
Mauser bolt action and refinements of the pre-war Martini action .22 target
rifles. Though new designs continued to appear, the fortunes of BSA Guns Ltd
declined until, in 1973, the remaining assets were acquired by Manganese Bronze
Holdings. This enabled production to continue until, finally, in the 1980s,
the original BSA Guns Ltd was liquidated.
& M. Co.' was used to signify the 'Birmingham Small Arms & Munitions
Company' from 1873 until 1897, when the company reverted to its original name.
submachine-guns. These were tested in Britain in 19456, but were rejected
as needlessly complicated and expensive to make.
A popular acronym (and commercial trademark) for the German gunmaking business
'Berlin Suhler Werke'.
George T. Buckham, an employee of Vickers, Sons & Maxim, was co-recipientusually
with A.T. Dawsonof patent-protection for improvements in the Maxim and
Vickers-Maxim machine-guns.
A. Buckminster, a U.S. government arms inspector, marked carbines with 'AB'
in the years immediately prior to the American Civil War.
Buffington sight
Designed c. 1900 by Brigadier-General A.R. Buffington (U.S. Chief of
Ordnance by 1910), this was fitted to some Krag Jørgensen rifles.
Samuel F. Bugbee,
A U.S. government inspector working in 190010,
accepted small arms marked 'SFB'. Probably the son of Samuel T. Bugbee, below.
Samuel T. Bugbee,
working in 1861, inspected and accepted Starr cap-lock revolvers for the Federal
Army. They were marked 'STB'. He was probably the father of Samuel F. Bugbee,
William H. Bulkley, a U.S. Federal government inspector working in 1862, accepted
small arms marked 'WHB'.
Freeman R. Bull was a civilian employee of the U.S. National Armory, Springfield,
listed as a 'toolmaker' in 1863 and as an 'inspector for experimental arms'
in 1865. His 'FRB' identifier will be found on Laidley-Emery and other firearms,
and he has also been credited with the adjustable sights fitted to the Springfield-Allin
Marksman's Rifle. Freeman Bull retired from service in 1899.
Hanson B. Bullock. An Federal government inspector active in 1862, using the
initials 'HBB'.
C.R. Bunker. This government inspector, working in 1875, accepted small arms
marked 'CRB'.
James K. Burbank. The marks of this government inspector, 'JKB', will be found
on small arms accepted in 190010.
John S. Burns. The 'JSB' mark of this government arms inspector will be found
on small arms accepted in 1898B1911.
Everett Burnside, born in 1824 in Liberty, Indiana, rose to become an unexceptional
general during the American Civil War, a State Governor, and the first President
of the National Rifle Association. He is also remembered as the designer of
a breech loading carbine, protected by US Patent 14491 of 23rd March 1856. The
gun fired a unique conical cartridge inserted in the front of the breech-block
before the action was closed. A small hole in the base of the cartridge case
allowed a side hammer cap lock to be used. The inventor died in Bristol, Rhode
Island, in 1881.
The Burnside Rifle
Company of Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A, was formed in 1859 (by proprietors
headed by Charles Jackson) to continue the work on the Burnside carbine. Tooling
began in a new factory. Once again, the Civil War proved a boon: in July 1861,
the Chief of Ordnance, Brigadier General James Ripley, passed Jackson a request
for eight hundred Burnside carbines from Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island.
These 'Second pattern' carbines were finally delivered in March 1862.
The earliest or First
Pattern Burnside Carbines, made by the Bristol Firearms Company, lacked
fore-ends and had a separate breech-lock lever curving beneath the hammer. The
Second Pattern, usually credited to George Foster (foreman machinist
in the Burnside Rifle Company factory in Providence factory), had an improved
breech-block protected by U.S. Patent 27874 of 10th April 1860. The auxiliary
locking lever and the Maynard Tape Primer were discarded. Third Pattern
guns were similar, but had short wooden fore-ends and stronger hammers. The
Fourth Pattern Burnside was distinguished by an articulated breech-block
patented in 1863 by Isaac Hartshorn, Burnside's sales agent. The Fifth Pattern,
based on the Hartshorn breech, had an additional pin-and-track system, designed
by George Bacon, to open the breech automatically; Hartshorn guns required two
manual actions to be performed in the correct order, otherwise the breech-block
would jam. Later guns also benefited from an improved 'bell mouth' cartridge
that had been designed by Foster. These were made in a single piece, with a
circumferential groove inside the case mouth containing lubricating wax. The
Burnside system, largely because it relied on an external cap lock, was popular
with the military authorities. Total Federal purchases amounted to 55,567 between
1st January 1861 and 30th June 1866.
Horace Burpee, a U.S. Federal government arms inspector active during the American
Civil War, accepted rifle muskets marked 'HB'.
Burroughs Adding
Machine Company
Formed in 1905 in Detroit, Michigan, succeeding the Arithmometer Company, Burroughs
received a contract for 250,000 .45 M1911 Colt-Browning pistols during the First
World War; no guns were ever made.
Addison M. Burt of New York City delivered 11,495 Springfield rifle-muskets
against orders for fifty thousand placed of 26th December 1861. Some surviving
guns were converted to Allin-system breechloaders in the late 1860s.
Bethel Burton of Brookyln,
New York, was active as a firearms designer from the 1850s until his death in
1904. Burton was granted a variety of patents. Beginning with U.S. no. 26475
of 20th December 1859, granted to protect a 'breech-loading firearm' with an
early form of segmental 'straight-pull' bolt, they included 81059 of 11th August
1868 for a bolt-action 'breech-loading firearm' with interrupted-screw locking
threads at the rear; 92013 of 29th June 1869 for a similar bolt-action gun with
a tube magazine beneath the barrel; 143614 of 14th October 1873, jointly with
W.G. Burton, for an improved form of the 1869-patent magazine rifle; and 232880
of 5th October 1880 for a 'magazine firearm'. US Patent 390114 of 25th September
1888 was granted, while Burton was living in Britain, for an 'Automatic Machine
Gun', whereas 622443 of 4th April 1899, 640627 of 2nd January 1900 and 656807
of 28th August 1900 were all granted to protect bolt-action magazine rifles.
Burton's last effort, U.S. Patent no. 785085 of 21st March 1905, for an 'automatic
firearm' was granted posthumously to the Administrator of his estate, his son
Henry C. Burton. Bethel Burton also designed waterproof percussion caps, self-contained
cartridges, gun sights, and a combined bayonet and gun rest (613241 of November
1898). He was also involved with the Lee Burton and Ward Burton rifles.
Burton's Patent Double
Magazine Rifle, developed by Bethel Burton in the mid 1880s, attracted sufficient
attention to be included in the British Treatise on Military Small Arms and
Ammunition in 1888. However, it was too heavy and unnecessarily complicated
to succeed.
Captain John G. Butler of the U.S. Army, using a 'JGB' mark, inspected Colt
revolvers accepted in 1886.
The part of the stock
extending backward against the firer's shoulder. It may be integral with the
fore-end, forming a one-piece stock, or a separate component. The upper edge
of the butt is known as the comb, which terminates at the shoulder in
the heel. The toe is the lower tip of the butt, and the grip,
small or wrist is the narrow portion immediately behind the action
facilitating an effectual hand grip.
Butt was a U.S. government arms inspector, working in 1862, who accepted small
arms marked 'ZB'.
Butt or shoulder plate.
A fixture on the end of the butt, either to protect the wood or to ease the
shock of firing on the firer's shoulder. The traditional metal pattern generally
has a concave surface, known variously as rifle type or crescentic.
Butterfield of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., first achieved notoriety
by copying the Deringer, though his guns had a patented priming tube mounted
vertically ahead of the hammer. Butterfield also developed a cap-lock revolver
with a detachable tube of disc primers ahead of the trigger guard, protected
by U.S. Patent 12124 of 1855, but only about seven hundred five-shot single-action
'Army'-pattern guns were completed by Krider & Co. in 18612.
& Marshall of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a gunmaking partnership of Jesse
Butterfield and Simeon Marshall, traded c. 185660. It was suceeded by
Butterfield & Company.
And a crown, sometimes encircled. The view mark used by the Guardians of the
Proof House in Birmingham, 190454.
Found on small arms ammunition components made by HanomagHannover'sche
Maschinenbau AG vorm. Georg Egestorff of Hannover-Linden, Germany.
Used by Mauser Werke KG of Oberndorf am Neckar, Württemberg, Germany, on
machine guns, pistols, rifles and components, this code was granted in February
1941 and used until the end of the Second World War.
Found on German small arms components made during the Second World War by Genossenschafts
Maschinenhaus der Büchsenmacher of Ferlach/Kärnten.
Found on Kar. 98k barrels and other small arms components made during the Second
World War by Ruhrstal AG of Witten an der Ruhr, Germany.
Associated with German small arms components made in 19415 by Stettiner
Schraubenwerk Johannes Schäfer of Stettin.
Found on butts, pistol grips and other German small arms components made in
19415 by Fritz Wolf, Rob. Sohn, of Zella Mehlis.
Found on telescope sights and associated components made in 19415 by the
camera and camera lens factory of IG Farbenindustrie in Munich, Germany.