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Jonathan Ferguson | |
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| Born | 3 January 1979 |
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| Nationality | British |
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| Subject | History of firearms |
Jonathan Steven Ferguson (born 3 January 1979) [1] is a British firearm historian and author who is currently the Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, England. [2] [3] [4] He is also a technical specialist with Armament Research Services, a consultancy firm. [5]
Ferguson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in archaeology from the University of Exeter in 2000, and a postgraduate diploma in museum studies from the University of Leicester in 2002. He held posts at the Colchester Museum, Imperial War Museum Duxford, and National War Museum of Scotland before joining the Royal Armouries Museum in 2009. [6] He has appeared in two documentaries: Sean Bean on Waterloo (2015) and Sword, Musket & Machine Gun (2017). [6] He was also an interview subject in the mockumentary Cunk on Earth where he was interviewed as an expert on the Colt Single Action Army revolver. Ferguson is also a Technical Specialist with Armament Research Services, a technical intelligence consultancy.
Since 2020, Ferguson appeared on the GameSpot YouTube series titled "Firearms Expert Reacts". In the series, Ferguson analyses depictions of firearms from video games such as Escape from Tarkov , [7] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War , [8] Insurgency: Sandstorm , [9] and Cyberpunk 2077 , [10] and compares their design and function against their real-life counterparts using pieces from the Royal Armouries' collection. In 2021, Ferguson began a series on the Royal Armouries' official YouTube channel [11] in which he explains the history and functionality of select firearms from the Armouries. [12]
The SA80 is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The prototypes were created in 1976, with production of the A1 variant starting in 1985 and ending in 1994. The A2 variant came to be as the result of a significant upgrade in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch and remains in service as of 2023. The A3 variant was first issued in 2018 with several new improvements.
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, more compact, concealable and more maneuverable than a conventionally configured firearm. Where it is desirable for troops to be issued a more compact weapon, the use of a bullpup configuration allows for barrel length to be retained, thus preserving muzzle velocity, range and ballistic effectiveness.
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 20th century.
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun (SMG). It was tested by the British Army in 1944–1945, but did not start to replace the Sten until 1953. A successful and reliable design, it remained standard issue in the British Army until 1994, when it began to be replaced by the L85A1, a bullpup assault rifle.
The EM-2, also known as Rifle, No.9, Mk.1 or Janson rifle, was a British assault rifle. It was briefly adopted by British forces in 1951, but the decision was overturned very shortly thereafter by Winston Churchill's incoming government in an effort to secure NATO standardisation of small arms and ammunition. It was an innovative weapon with the compact bullpup layout, built-in carrying handle and an optical sight.
The L64 was an intermediate calibre British bullpup layout prototype assault rifle developed in the 1970s. At one time it was known as the 4.85 Individual Weapon, a reference to the calibre of the bullet it fired.
The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF), also known by the metonym Enfield, was a UK government-owned rifle factory in Enfield, adjoining the Lee Navigation in the Lea Valley. Some parts were in Waltham Abbey. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816. It closed in 1988, but some of its work was transferred to other sites.
The PTRS-41 is a World War II-era semi-automatic anti-tank rifle firing the 14.5×114mm cartridge.
The M93 Black Arrow is a 12.7×108mm anti-materiel rifle developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms.
The Minié rifle was an important infantry rifle of the mid-19th century. A version was adopted in 1849 following the invention of the Minié ball in 1847 by the French Army captain Claude-Étienne Minié of the Chasseurs d'Orléans and Henri-Gustave Delvigne. The bullet was designed to allow rapid muzzle loading of rifles and was an innovation that brought about the widespread use of the rifle as the main battlefield weapon for individual soldiers. The French adopted it following difficulties encountered by the French army in North Africa, where their muskets were overtaken in range by long-barreled weapons which were handcrafted by their Algerian opponents. The Minié rifle belonged to the category of rifled muskets.
The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a national museum that holds the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries family of museums, with other sites at the Royal Armouries' traditional home in the Tower of London, and the National Collection of Artillery at Fort Nelson, Hampshire. The Royal Armouries is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The Thorneycroft carbine was one of the earliest bullpup rifles, developed by an English gunsmith in 1901 as patent No. 14,622 of July 18, 1901. This bolt-action rifle featured a bullpup action in which the retracted bolt slid back through the stock nearly to the shooter's shoulder, maximising the space available in the body of the firearm. The rifle was chambered in the contemporary .303 British (7.7 mm) service cartridge, and held five rounds in an internal magazine.
The Protector Palm Pistol is a small revolver designed to be concealed in the palm of the hand. It was unique in that the revolver was clasped in a fist with the barrel protruding between two fingers and the entire handgun was squeezed in order to fire a round. The design was meant to resemble a pocket watch to the extent of being carried on a chain.
Sleeve gun or wrist gun is a generic term for a small firearm designed to be concealed under a long-sleeved coat or jacket—in fictional examples there is often a device with a mechanism to extend it out into the hand to fire.
The EM-4 rifle was an experimental bullpup rifle of British origin designed by Sir Dennis Burney of the Broadway Trust Company.
Forgotten Weapons is a website and channel appearing on YouTube, Utreon, Full30 and Floatplane, created and presented by Ian McCollum. Forgotten Weapons covers the history of antique, obscure, and historically important firearms.
Philip Andrew Luty was an English activist opposing gun control, who was notable for the production of homemade firearms and manuals providing instruction at the same time. He was charged with illegal arms construction in the late 1990s and sentenced to four years in prison, with other investigations ongoing at the time of his death.
Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866–2016 is a 2019 book by Ian McCollum about the history of French military rifles. Chassepot to FAMAS was funded through Kickstarter, and it was the first book by Headstamp Publishing, which McCollum co-founded with N.R. Jenzen-Jones of Armament Research Services and James Rupley. The photography for the book was provided by Rupley and the book was edited by Jenzen-Jones. Yann Carcaillon and Jonathan Ferguson are listed as contributors.
The 'Broomhandle' Mauser is a 2017 non-fiction book about the history and design of the Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol. Written by Jonathan Ferguson, it is the 58th book in the 'Weapon' series by Osprey Publishing.
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