Small weapons that can be fired by one person have been in use for centuries and remain an integral part of modern warfare. This resource showcases handguns, rifles, and more through 3D digital modeling that allows readers to see each weapon from every angle. Each weapon’s features and safety measures are fully explained, and accompanying text provides the history of its use, complete with fascinating war stories.

From the very first handguns of the fifteenth century to modern machine guns and rifles, Small Arms Visual Encyclopedia is a highly illustrated volume that examines all the significant small arms of the world, featuring more than 1000 of the world's handguns, assault rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and other more esoteric weapons. All the famous weapons of each type are featured, such as the M-16, Colt .44 Magnum and MG42. Each featured small arm is illustrated with an excellent full-color artwork, showing the weapon in great detail with full specifications tables that list country of origin, weights, dimensions and calibre (with all weights and measures provided in both metric and imperial). With more than 800 outstanding color artworks, Small Arms Visual Encyclopedia is a comprehensive and accessible reference work that will appeal to anyone with an interest in small arms.

This book initiates with the story of the evolution of firearms to enable the reader to appreciate the sequence of the development of firearms. It discusses different classes of small arms, their mechanics, internal and external ballistics. Further, it covers the design idea of barrels and actions, various operating principles and relevant discussion on ammunition and propellants. The principle of quality in the design of the small arms is also elaborated in the desired degree. The book brings out the relevance of modern manufacturing technologies like MIM and various surface treatments, and polymers for enhancement of product quality. To appreciate the sophistication of the architecture, the book presents the anatomical details of a few small arms of reputes. Provides complete understanding of overall small weapon systems Explores mechanics and physics of small arms Discusses proper design, quality control, and manufacturing process selections for a good weapon Covers common type of weapon failures and catastrophic failure Includes relevance of manufacturing processes The book is aimed at professionals and graduate students in Mechanical Design, Armament Design, Gun Design including personnel in the military, paramilitary, police, and all other armed forces and their maintenance crews.

With modern military emphasis on whiz-bang weapons technology and the constant quest for things that make a bigger bang on the battlefield, it’s easy to forget that at the dark heart of war stands an infantryman and his individual weapons. Those who understand warfare from research or from personal experience generally realize this about the conflicts that have plagued mankind since the dawn of time. Infantry weapons—often referred to as small arms—have fascinated soldiers and scholars for decades as they are the most personal aspects of combat. Small arms come into play when contact is close and potentially lethal. This was particularly true during the long, frustrating war in Vietnam, but much of the focus in studying that conflict has been either on aerial weapons—strike aircraft or armed helicopters—or on the originally much-maligned M16 rifle. There were huge numbers of other weapons used by both sides, but they are often ignored and rarely seen being used in combat action. This book solves that problem. Divided into easily digestible sections and preceded by cogent discussions of each weapon type, the authors have presented an intriguing collection of photographs that depict the primary small (and not so small) infantry arms most common on Vietnam battlefields. There are rare and stirring images here that depict what it was like to fight in the jungle-covered mountains and in the rice paddies. Viewing these images is like studying a primer about one of America’s longest and deadliest wars. "We have a new generation of combat veterans among us these days. Men and women who carried a new generation of weapons to war into places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, who have returned with a fresh understanding about the crucial importance of small arms in warfare. They understand...that there is no strategy or tactic that equals victory in armed conflict if it does not include that muddy, grimy, dog-tired infantryman with just his personal weapon to help him survive in a life-and-death encounter." – American Rifleman "It’s an excellent book for anyone with an interest in the details of 20th-century infantry weapons, especially historians and collectors." – Booksmith

The Effect of Soldiers' Weapons on the Turning Point of the Civil War The three-day battle of Gettysburg has probably been the subject of more books and articles than any other comparable event. Surprisingly, until this work, no one has analyzed the firearms and other individual soldier's weapons used at Gettysburg in any great detail. The battle was a watershed, with military weapons technologies representing the past, present, and future--sabers, smoothbores, rifles, and breechloaders--in action alongside each other, providing a unique opportunity to compare performance and use, as well as determining how particular weapons and their deployment affected the outcome and course of the battle. Small Arms at Gettysburg: Infantry and Cavalry Weapons in America's Greatest Battle covers all of the individual soldier's weapons--muskets, rifle-muskets, carbines, repeaters, sharpshooter arms, revolvers, and swords--providing a detailed examination of their history and development, technology, capabilities, and use on the field at Gettysburg. Here we learn that the smoothbore musket, although beloved by some who carried it, sang its swan song, the rifle-musket began to come into its own, and the repeating rifle, although tactically mishandled, gave a glimpse of future promise. This is the story of the weapons and men who carried them into battle during three days in July 1863.

Why do terrorist organizations use children to support their cause and carry out their activities? Small Arms uncovers the brutal truth behind the mobilization of children by terrorist groups. Mia Bloom and John Horgan show us the grim underbelly of society that allows and even encourages the use of children to conduct terrorist activities. They provide readers with the who, what, when, why, and how of this increasingly concerning situation, illuminating a phenomenon that to most of us seems abhorrent. And yet, they argue, for terrorist groups the use of children carries many benefits. Children possess skills that adults lack. They often bring innovation and creativity. Children are, in fact, a superb demographic from which to recruit if you are a terrorist. Small Arms answers questions about recruitment strategies and tactics, determines what makes a child terrorist and what makes him or her different from an adult one, and charts the ways in which organizations use them. The unconventional focus on child and youth militants allows the authors to, in essence, give us a biography of the child terrorist and the organizations that use them. We are taken inside the mind of the adult and the child to witness that which perhaps most scares us.