While looking over the extensive catalog of military books from Schiffer Publishing (schifferbooks.com), I came across these three titles.
The Schiffer Military History series contains many fine books on military aviation, naval and ground forces, the American Civil War as well as militaria and even modeling & collectable figures. However, until recently, they did not have much in the way of firearms books.
French author Luc Guillou has brought three interesting books to the Schiffer library. These represent the beginning of the Classic Guns of the World series. (Besides the three books already released and reviewed here, the Spring/Summer 2019 catalog mentions that a two-volume set profiling the German P.08 Luger will soon be released. These are also by Luc Guillou.)
American Submachine Guns, 1919–1950 deals mostly with the Thompson SMG, with a brief look at the M3 “Grease gun,” the Reising and the UD M42, made by United Defense Supply Corporation. Eight pages are given to the M3 “grease gun,” five to the M50 Reising, and four pages to the UD M42. This book was originally published in 2014 in French as Les P.M. Américains, 1919–1950. It has been translated into English by Julia and Frédéric Finel.
Beginning with a look back at the early development of the Thompson, this leads to the Model 1921, followed by the Model of 1928. Close-up photos of the internals depict some of the differences between the models. Later, during WWII, the design was simplified to create the M1 and M1A1 models. These are covered in detail, along with many accessories.
The Sten: The Legendary World War II British Submachine Gun naturally covers the various marks and models of the Sten gun as well as the Lanchester, based on the German MP28 11 and the Patchett prototype, which later developed into the L2A3 Sterling SMG. Numerous black and white photos from WWII show vast numbers being produced; also, a sequence of photos shows the disassembly of a Sten. Several foreign versions of the Sten are also covered, including the German MP3008 copy. A brief look at the Belgian ABL (armée belge/Belgisch Leger) is provided by guest author Patrick Denamur. This book was originally published in 2015 as La Sten: L’Arme de la Résistance.
German Submachine Guns, 1918–1945 was first published in 2013 as Les P.M. Allemands,
1918–1945. As with the other two titles, it was translated by Julia and Frédéric Finel. The German SMG book covers many designs, starting with the Bergmann MP18/1 and continuing with the MP28/11, MP35/1, MP34 and more. These designs all used wood stocks, giving them a “traditional” appearance similar to the Thompson. The infamous Nazi MP38 and MP40 guns, with their distinctive underfolding skeleton stocks, are covered in great detail. Many clear, crisp color photos illustrate manufacturing details, variants, and so on.
A chapter on foreign guns covers captured guns, mainly Soviet and British Commonwealth. Interestingly, at the War’s end, Germany was producing a copy of the Sten known as the MP3008.
The final chapter, chapter 12, delves into assault rifles. This may seem like a strange thing for an author of a book about pistol cartridge submachine guns to do. The author makes the point that the early prototypes used the Maschinenpistole term, such as the MP43/1 and MP44. This was prior to the final term Sturmgewehr, as with the StG44. Eleven pages are given to these weapons.
These books follow the same general layout—hardcover, 80 pages each and measuring just over 9in x 12in. The Sten book features 288 color and B&W photographs, the German SMG has 370 photos, and the American SMG has 450 photos. Many of the color photos are full-page, studio-type shots that portray not only the firearm but accessories and other related militaria. This provides an interesting visual treat. These photos are by Marc de Fromont, and the guns and equipment are from the Collection of the Royal Army Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels, and the Musée de l’Armée. Some of the manuals, etc., are in French. Presumably, this is because these books were first published in France, for a French audience.
On the topic of translation, there are a few awkward translations from French. Knurling or checkering of metal is called “grid pattern.” Or, while discussing the selector switch, it states, “… only conserved one automatic firing capacity.” I suspect this means “… was changed to full-auto fire only.” Aside from this minor issue, these are very nice books.
At only 80 pages, these books are not high-end research and reference manuals, but they are certainly worthy of consideration. The full-page photos noted above, disassembly sequences, side-by-side variant comparisons and accessory photos should appeal to small arms enthusiasts.
The first of the two Luger volumes mentioned above is out now. I do not know when Vol. II will release. Also, two other titles from the same Classic Guns of the World are due soon. The Colt M1911 and the M1 Garand, both by Jean Huon, are in the works.
American Submachine Guns, 1919–1950 // ISBN-13: 978-0-7643-5484-7
The Sten: The Legendary WWII British Submachine Gun // ISBN-13: 978-0-7643-5485-4
German Submachine Guns, 1918–1945 // ISBN-13: 978-0-7643-5486-1
- Author Luc Guillou
- Copyright 2018
- Binding: Hard cover
- Size: 9in x 12in
- Pages: 80
- schifferbooks.com
| This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V23N8 (Oct 2019) |
