Although the British SAS, or Special Air Service, was not the first unit to adopt the MP5, it can certainly lay claim to being the unit that made the MP5 internationally famous. The SAS enjoys notoriety in the modern world for its counterterrorism exploits, but it also has just about the longest and most contiguous history of any currently active …
Roller-delayed blowback firearms are legendary for their quality, endurance, reliability, and accuracy. Quite honestly, they have few rivals. But in a world dominated by plug-and-play AR-15s, the undersupported and more mechanically complex roller-delayed system can be intimidating. Where can you turn if you want to clean up the trigger on your Z-5RS or MP5? And if you don’t want to …
On May 29, 1453, Constantinople fell to Mehmed the Conqueror, the leader of the Ottoman Turks. Byzantium’s 1,500-year history came to a thunderous end as Ottoman bombards — massive siege cannons firing enormous projectiles weighing as much as a ton — battered the ancient walls to rubble. The Ottoman bombards were cast and crewed by a man known as Orban …
The FN FAL is often referred to as “The Right Arm of the Free World.” If one examines the NATO table of organization and equipment from the 1950s through the 1990s, this title seems difficult to dispute on the surface. However, the Heckler and Koch G3, and its more ubiquitous little brother, the MP5, can be found everywhere the FAL …
The Soviet experience during World War II differed greatly from that of the United States. Whereas the U.S. suffered virtually no direct attack on its soil (save for a few Japanese balloon bombs and one or two long range ship-based planes), the Soviet Union was ravaged by Germany, Hungary, Romania, Italy, and Bulgaria. After decidedly losing World War I, and …
So, gunslinger, you finally got your pass to SHOT. You have arrived. You are now the envy of all your friends — headed as you are to Vegas for a week of guns, gear, 24-hour casinos, and cheap buffets. You book a room at a grossly inflated price, and scope out some good chow on the internet. Who knew seafood …
The MG 42 is perhaps the most infamous general-purpose machine gun in existence. While the Maxim and Vickers guns have been around longer, the MG 42 and its immediate predecessor, the MG 34, changed the way machine guns were made. The new general-purpose machine guns were sleeker, lighter, and much more ergonomic than the clunky, modified variants of existing guns, …
Few guns in existence owe their fame to the units that used them. The Thompson submachine gun, for instance, is among the most iconic guns ever produced, as are the Luger P08, various models of Winchester lever-action rifle, the M1911 pistol and the Mauser model 98. While each of those guns was employed by one or more elite units, not …
The roller-delayed and roller-locked firearms produced from the Cold War to the present, and used by NATO and countless combatants around the world, have their origins in World War II. Under the Nazis, engineers had a field day producing everything from the first operational fleet of jet-powered bombers and fighters, to the rockets that would form the bases for the …
If you’re like us at Zenith, you too are an irritating person to watch firearm-rich action movies with. You probably point out everything from chronological problems, to poor trigger discipline, to those endless magazines we all wish we had. And since you’re reading this particular blog, we’re going to assume you are also a true aficionado of roller-delayed goodness, and …
