Top 5: Interesting Historical Facts About Weapons

There are literally millions of facts floating around about guns, from reload times to rates of fire, from muzzle velocities to types of ammunition. Anyone can find those, just look up a blog. This Top 5 feature, however, looks behind the traditional ‘interesting’ weapon facts (and by ‘firearms’ we mean handguns, rifles and machine guns, not artillery pieces) to give you a list of 5 facts that you don’t already know about guns!). For your leisure, we’ve trawled through countless pages of weaponry fan-boy webzines, dusted off dad’s old military history books and now we’re cocked, locked and ready to rock.

1. The Oldest Weapons
The world’s earliest weapons were designed and built 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 dated to about 1290AD. As a result of the fact that the weapons of ancient and mediaeval China were primarily designed to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy, the functionality of these early weapons has been questioned. Some scholars simply feel that the idea of the working weapon was enough to deter an enemy assault.

2. Popular Guns
The American-made M16 and the Russian-made AK-47 assault rifles are the two most popular guns in use today. Both guns offer variable firing modes, quick rates of fire, reliability, medium-long range high levels of accuracy and moderate-high power.

3. Very Accurate Weapons
In Afghanistan, the longest killshot on record was recently confirmed.An American sniper who was using the famed Barett .50 Cal Sniper Rifle shot and killed an enemy from over two miles away. The sniper is said to have 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 important small arms manufacturer revolutionized the design of the modern submachine gun with the MP5. It’s no surprise, Since the weapon is so durable, 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 – Forever a Specialist Soldier
The term ’sniper’ has referred to someone with a knack for a particular ability since the earliest use of the word. That specialism is marksmanship overlong distances, most likely from a covered position. The term began among Imperial British troops in India in the late 18th century. To be a sniper, you had to shoot down a snipe, a tiny and fleeting type of bird. The skill involved in being a sniper meant (and still means) that he acts as a single unit, selecting and taking out foes at will. This makes him the most valued asset among your allies and perhaps the most feared and hated member of the opposing force.

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