jacobus@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Kirsten C. Jacobus) (03/13/91)
From: jacobus@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Kirsten C. Jacobus) I am an occaisional reader of sci.military, not being up on tech specs. However, I think this would probably be the best place to ask the following questions. What would be good literature for information on small arms from 1930 to present? I need specific information including weight of bullet, weight of charge (powder), length of barrel, etc. I have copious information on black powder weapons of the 1800s and a good source on weapons employed in the US/colonies from the mid-1700s to the Civil War. Thank you for any information. (PS: I might also like information on the "medium" arms of WWII to the present, including MGs and AT weaponry.) I have already exhausted the local libraries, they have sources, but none of them have the specs that I want.
wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin) (03/26/91)
From: Will Martin <wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL> Resubmission: my original seems to have been lost in the mail and never appeared in the Digest: From: jacobus@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Kirsten C. Jacobus) >What would be good literature for information on small arms from 1930 to >present? I need specific information including weight of bullet, weight of >charge (powder), length of barrel, etc. >I have copious information on black powder weapons of the 1800s and a good >source on weapons employed in the US/colonies from the mid-1700s to the >Civil War. I recommend two currently-available references: The 12th (1982) edition of Small Arms of the World by E. C. Ezell. Published by Stackpole, this is a standard reference most libraries have, or you can get via interlibrary loan. It's also available right now from Barnes & Noble mail order for $14.95, a bargain price. I just bought a copy to supplement my two earlier editions. I wonder if its availability at a discount means there is a 13th edition coming out? One would be due by now... Jane's Infantry Weapons. This is a massive annual publication, one of the "Jane's" series of books on military hardware. Many libraries have these but as non-circulating references, so I don't know how likely it may be that you can get one on interlibrary loan. Maybe some libraries would loan their older editions, keeping the latest in-house? If you want to buy a copy, remaindered issues have been sold for several years by a mail-order book/video/music dealer that recently changed its name to "Postings". They listed the 1988-89 edition at $49.95 in a recent catalog. The stock # is "H00578". Their number is 800-262-6604 (no non-800 number given except a FAX # of 614-777-1470). The first of these has more historical info, including field-stripping instructions, while the Jane's book is more oriented toward current equipment and as an identification guide. Regards, Will wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil