Top 5: Interesting Historical Facts About Weapons
There are literally millions of facts floating around about firearms, from reload times to rates of fire, from muzzle velocities to types of projectile. Anyone can find these, all you have to do is look up Wikipedia. This Top 5 feature, however, looks behind the traditional ‘interesting’ gun facts to give you a list of 5 facts that you don’t already know about guns (and by ‘guns’ we mean handguns, rifles and machine guns, not artillery pieces!). We’ve trawled through countless pages of weaponry fan-boy webzines, dusted off dad’s old military history books for your leisure and now we’re cocked, locked and ready to rock.
1. The Earliest Guns
The world’s earliest firearms were developed in China in the mid 12th century AD. In the early 1970s in Pan-la-ch’eng-tzu village, Manchuria, an important find included a barreled powder-operated projectile weapon dating to about 1290AD. The functionality of these first weapons has been questioned as a result of the fact that the weapons of ancient and mediaeval China were usually designed to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. Some scholars, to put it simply, feel that the idea of the working firearm was enough to deter an enemy assault.
2. The Most Popular Guns
The American-made M16 and the Russian-made AK-47 assault rifles are the two most well-liked weapons in use today. Both weapons offer variable firing modes, quick rates of fire, moderate-high power, reliability, medium-long range and high levels of accuracy.
3. Accurate Guns
The longest hit on record was recently attested in Afghanistan.An American sharpshooter who was using the famed Barett .50 Cal Sniper Rifle shot and killed an enemy from an astonishing distance of over two miles away. The sniper apparently missed with his first shot, corrected and fired again, killing his target before the sound of either shot alerted the insurgent to the presence of an enemy sniper.
4. Heckler and Koch- Revolutionizing the SMG
Based in West Germany in the 1960s, this huge small arms manufacturer revolutionized the design of the modern submachine gun with the MP5. Since the weapon is so user-friendly, it’s no surprise that it is the standard weapon of choice for close-quarters spec ops teams all over the world including the SAS and many state SWAT teams.
5. The Sniper – Always a Specialist Soldier
The term ’sniper’ has denoted someone with a knack for a particular specialism since the earliest use of the word. That skill is sharpshooting over long distances, most likely from a concealed position. The term began among Imperial British soldiers in Commonwealth India in the late 18th century. To be a sniper, you had to shoot down a snipe, a small and very fast type of bird. The sniper, as a result of the skill he deploys, acts as a single unit, selecting and taking out targets at will. This makes him the most feared and loathed member of the rival force and perhaps the most valued asset among your allies.
Tags: Army, Guns, Weaponry Facts, Weapons