Top 5 Posts from 2020
As 2020 comes to an end (thank God!), I took a look at my site analytics and discovered that these were the top five most popular posts I had this year on the HCH blog.
Be sure to click each link for the full story. So, without further ado, here's a rundown of the top 5 from 2020:
Back in 2016, I wrote a piece about a patent drawing for a revolver that looks like a fish and fires via foot. At the time, only the patent's drawing had been digitized, leaving the purpose of the gun a mystery.
Thankfully, new documents are being digitized all the time and the text has finally made it online in the waning days of 2020. After reading through the text of the document, I'm thoroughly surprised as to its real purpose.
Let's take a look at a couple early 20th century revolvers with unconventional attachments, including built-in "brass knuckes" and a folding bayonet.
Orme's cased pair of pistols were made by London's James Barbar (active 1740-1780) and they bear his crest on the wrist escutcheons. Along with one of the shoulder stocks, the guns were recently acquired by Fort Ligonier, where they will be put on display at their sister site - Braddock's Battlefield History Center - along with the ONLY portrait of Orme outside of London's National Gallery.
This rifle was charred on Iwo Jima during the infamous battle during World War II. It was brought back stateside by a Marine who lived through the carnage.
On March 15, Colt and Savage submitted guns for a torture test to be completed at Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. The two guns used were the Colt with serial number 5 fired by E.G. Reising (of later M50 submachine gun fame), and the Savage with serial number 4 fired by Charles Nelson, an arms inventor with numerous patents assigned to Savage.
Alright, so there you have it! Thanks for reading and here's to an even better 2021!
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