All meetings held at 19:00 at the Royal Armouries unless specified otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
January<\/strong> \u2013 AGM<\/p>\n\n\n\n February <\/strong>– The technical and tactical evolution of the Light Machine Gun – Stephen Cater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the start of the 20th century, the medium machine gun was an integral part of the infantry and would dominate the battlefields of WW1. Why then, was it felt necessary to develop a smaller, lighter machine gun (LMG), how was this achieved, and why did the LMG quickly find itself obsolete after WW2?<\/p>\n\n\n\n March<\/strong> \u2013 Some guns acquire a degree of popularity, or maybe infamy, far beyond their technical merit. This evening we will examine a number of these, challenging our members to identify the gun and explain why it became infamous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n April<\/strong> \u2013 Hungary may not be the first thought that springs to mind when it comes to firearms design but the country has seen some innovative designs, a few of which entered production. In April Noel will discuss the designs of P\u00e1l Kir\u00e1ly<\/p>\n\n\n\n P\u00e1l Dedai Kir\u00e1ly was born in Budapest, Hungary where he earned his degree in Machine Design at the Technical University of Budapest in 1902. He became a Professor’s Assistant at the university. He also earned a Military Reservist degree with an Artillery Lieutenant rank. During World War 1 he served in the military and reached a rank of Artillery Captain. In 1915 he wrote his first publication about automatic weapons. After the war, Hungary was prohibited from weapon development, so he moved to Switzerland and worked for SIG Neuhausen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From 1928 weapon development was again allowed in Hungary, so Kir\u00e1ly started to develop automatic weapons for Hungary. SIG refused to release some of Kir\u00e1ly’s research to Hungary as they originally agreed, so Kir\u00e1ly moved back to Hungary to work with the Danuvia Rt, but he still worked for SIG under contracts in the 1930s. During 1929-44 he was paid from the Danuvia Factory’s profit sharings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1945 Kir\u00e1ly escaped to Switzerland before the Soviets arrived. In 1947 he moved to the Dominican Republic, where he was employed by the Armeria of San Crist\u00f3bal, ran by a fellow Hungarian, S\u00e1ndor Kov\u00e1cs. Kir\u00e1ly developed several weapons there, the most successful of which was his Crist\u00f3bal Carbine, of which 250,000 were sold. His last design was adopted in 1962, when he was 82.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May<\/strong> \u2013 There is no better way of understanding a firearm than stripping it down and seeing how each and every part works. Normally we refrain from doing so to the many rare and historic firearms entrusted to us for inspection, but in May two of our members will provide a selection of firearms with the explicit intent that they be taken apart !<\/p>\n\n\n\n June<\/strong> \u2013 KNIL – Koningkliijke Nederlands Indisch Leger. With a title like that it can only be another of the Gunnings’ expert talks on the military force maintained by the Netherlands in its colony of the Netherlands East Indies (also known as the Dutch East Indies), and the varied weapons issued to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n July<\/strong> – Library study evening<\/p>\n\n\n\n August<\/strong> \u2013 To be confirmed<\/p>\n\n\n\n September<\/strong> \u2013 Following on from previous talks about the Medium and Light machine guns, we round off with a consideration of the sub-machine gun. Why was its development considered so urgent, and why is it now apparently obsolete?<\/p>\n\n\n\n October<\/strong> \u2013 Against the grain: alternative propellants. Gunpowder in one form or another has been around and the basis of firearms propellant technology for over 500 years but are there any other alternatives? Hypergolic liquids perhaps ? Electricity ? <\/p>\n\n\n\n November<\/strong> \u2013 Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC<\/strong> (11 April 1832 \u2013 8 May 1907) was also a designer and inventor of several innovative firearms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n December<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018Bring and Show\u2019 evening<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All meetings held at 19:00 at the Royal Armouries unless specified otherwise. January \u2013 AGM February – The technical and tactical evolution of the Light Machine Gun – Stephen Cater. At the start of the 20th century, the medium machine gun … Continue reading