Rifles, Machine Guns, Mortars and Rocket Launchers, New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM)

Rifles, Machine Guns, Mortars and Rocket Launchers in the Collection of the New Brunswick Military History Museum, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown

(Author Photos except where otherwise credited)

.45 cal Thompson SMG, 9-mm Sterling SMG, .303-in Lewis Gun MG.

The majority of the military small arms found on this web page can be viewed in the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM) located with the 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.  A few of the Automatic Weapons in the collection are shown above, being prepared for display in the NBMHM.  For details on the museum's activities and collection please view their website: http://nbmilitaryhistorymuseum.ca/en/new-brunswick-military-history-museum-home.html.

This page of selected small arms on display in the New Brunswick Military History Museum has been compiled by the author, a volunteer and one of  the Friends of the NBMHM.  Corrections, amendments and updates to the data on this page would be most welcome.  Additional photos of the tanks, artillery and major weapon systems and displays in New Brunswick may be viewed in the Armoured Fighting Vehicles preserved in Canada section and in the Artillery preserved in Canada sections on this website.  Other military weapons and historical artifacts on display in New Brunswick may be viewed on these webpages under the heading of New Brunswick Military Museums and Monuments.

Photos are by the Author unless otherwise credited.

‍New Brunswick Military History Museum, 5 Canadian Division Support Base ( 5 CDSB) Gagetown, Building A-5, Oromocto, New Brunswick, E2V 4J5.  506-422-1304.  museum_gagetown@brunnet.net.  Captain David Hughes, Executive Director, and Troy Middleton, Technical Advisor.   

NBMHM Website: http://nbmilitaryhistorymuseum.ca/en/new-brunswick-military-history-museum-home.html.

On Monday, 15 April 2024, the New Brunswick Military History Museum received an important donation of five antique firearms dating back to before confederation in 1867. The gift included a sword and a bayonet along with the accouterments that accompany them. The artifacts, valued at more than $36,000, were donated by Bocabec resident Lance Howard. They were used by New Brunswick militia units before Confederation. The donation included the following:

(Author Photo)

(Author Photo)

– a 1780s British Short Land Pattern Musket (2nd model) belonging to the Saint John County Militia (circa 1793).

– a British India Pattern Musket commonly known as a Brown Bess. The butt is marked “Sunbury Militia,” established in 1770 by an Order in Council of the Government of Nova Scotia.

(Author Photo)

– a British Baker Rifle. One of the first weapons with a rifled barrel issued in the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). GC Rifle Companies were formed in selected N.B. Militia Units in 1828 and they were issued with Baker Rifles. (Baker Rifes were the weapon of service in the Sharpe's Rifes Napoeonic War TV series.

– a British 1853 Enfield Long Rifle, marked on the Butt plate N.B. 943. Twenty-five hundred of these rifles were purchased by provincial authorities.

– a British Snider-Enfield Long Rifle Mark II 1862, one of the last pattern 1853 Enfields to be converted to breech loading. The lock is dated 1862 and has the N.B. stamp.

– a British 1853 Enfield Long Rifle Socket bayonet and scabbard that goes with the 1853 Enfield Long Rifle. "This is a rare find because both the bayonet and the scabbard have matching numbers."

– a Victorian Infantry Officer pattern 1845 sword and scabbard, white buff leather belt with sword slings and knuckle guards with Queen Victoria cipher. The N.B. Militia imprint appears on the waistband buckle.

‍

Brown Bess nickname for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives.  This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical importance.  It was in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design.  These versions include the Long Land Pattern, Short Land Pattern, India Pattern, New Land Pattern Musket, Sea Service Musket and others.  The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all .75 calibre flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until 1838 when they were superseded by a percussion cap smoothbore musket.  The British Ordnance System converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as the Pattern 1839 Musket.  The Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the 19th century.

Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket (also known as the Pattern 1853 Enfield, P53 Enfield, and Enfield rifle-musket) .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifle-musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867, after which many Enfield 1853 rifle-muskets were converted to (and replaced in service by) the cartridge-loaded Snider-Enfield rifle.

Spencer repeating rifle, manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges.  The Spencer carbine was a shorter and lighter version.

Snider-Enfield .577 breech loading rifle. The firearm action was invented by the American Jacob Snider, and the Snider-Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties.  It was adopted by British Army as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading rifles.  It was introduced in 1866, and was used by the British Army until it was superseded by the Martini-Henry rifle in 1871.  In Canadian service from the 1860s to 1901.

Snider-Enfield Carbine .577, also in service from the 1860s to 1901.

Martini-Henry Model 1871 .577-450 calibre rifles.  The M1871 is a breech-loading single-shot lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British Army.  It first entered service in 1871, eventually replacing the Snider-Enfield.  There are four classes of the Martini-Henry rifle: Mark I (released in June 1871), Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV. There was also an 1877 carbine version with variations that included a Garrison Artillery Carbine, an Artillery Carbine (Mark I, Mark II, and Mark III), and smaller versions designed as training rifles for military cadets.  The Mark IV Martini-Henry rifle ended production in the year 1889, but remained in service throughout the British Empire until the end of the First World War.

Lee-Metford rifle (a.k.a. Magazine Lee-Metford, abbreviated MLM) .303-inch bolt action British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and ten-round magazine with a innovative seven groove rifled barrel designed by William Ellis Metford.  It replaced the Martini-Henry rifle in 1888, but was in service for only a short time until replaced by the similar Lee-Enfield.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395151)

Royal Highlanders of Canada soldier cleaning his Short Lee Enfield rifle, June, 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3581685)

Lee Enfield Mk. 3, ca 1940.

The Canadian Militia received the Mk. I Long Lee Enfield rifle in 1896.  They used this rifle in the Boer War 1899 to 1902.

They used the MK.III & MK.III* in the First World War, as well as the No. 4 Lee Enfield in the Second World War, the Korean War and into the late 1950s.  The No. 4 rifle was manufactured starting in 1941 by Small Arms Limited and later by Canadian Arsenals Limited, in Long Branch, Ontario, Canada.  The No. 4 rifle is still used for drill and was used for range shooting by cadets.  The No. 4 was used by the Canadian Rangers until 2016.

Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, .303-inch repeating rifles.  The Lee-Enfield was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century. It was the British Army's standard rifle from its official adoption in 1895 until 1957.  The Canadian Forces' Rangers Arctic reserve units still use Enfield No. 4 rifles.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207117)

Seaforth Highlander with sniper rifle, Foiano, Italy, 6 Oct 1943.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3596657)

Corporal S. Kormendy and Sergeant H.A. Marshall of The Calgary Highlanders cleaning the telescopic sights of their No.4 Mk. I (T) rifles during a scouting, stalking and sniping course, Kapellen, Belgium, 6 October 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206370)

Sergeant H.A. Marshall of the Sniper Section, The Calgary Highlanders, armed with a a No. 4 Mk. I (T)  rifle, Kapellen, Belgium, 6 Oct 1944.

During the Second World War, standard No. 4 rifles, selected for their accuracy during factory tests, were modified by the addition of a wooden cheek rising-piece, and telescopic sight mounts designed to accept a No. 32 3.5× telescopic sight.  These rifles were designated as the No. 4 Mk. I (T).  The accuracy requirement was ability to place 7 of 7 shots in a 5 inches (12.7 cm) circle at 200 yards (183 m) and 6 of 7 shots in a 10 inches (25.4 cm) circle at 400 yards (366 m).  The wooden cheek-piece was attached with two screws.  The rear "battle sight" was ground off to make room to attach the No. 32 telescope sight to the left side of the receiver.  Each No. 32 and its bracket (mount) were matched and serial numbered to a specific rifle.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3596658)

A Canadian sniper with Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk. I (T) with telescopic scope, Kapellen, Belgium, 6 Oct 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3599772)

Lee-Enfield Mk. 1 rifle with scope.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3596209)

A Canadian soldier with a P-14 Enfield rifle with scope, on a training exercise in England, 23 Apr 1943.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395234)

Canadian Mobile Workshop for the repairing of Ross rifles and Lewis Guns at Vimy Ridge, May 1917.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395242)

Canadian Mobile Workshop for the repairing of Ross rifles and Lewis Guns at Vimy Ridge, May 1917.

Ross .303-inch rifle.  The Ross was a straight-pull bolt action .303 inch-calibre rifle produced in Canada from 1903 until 1918.  The Ross Mk. II (or "model 1905") .303-inch rifle was highly successful in target shooting before the First World War, but the close chamber tolerances, lack of primary extraction and overall length made the Mk. III (or "1910") Ross rifle unsuitable for the conditions of trench warfare.  By 1916, the rifle had been withdrawn from front line service, but continued to be used by many snipers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force until the end of the war due to its exceptional accuracy.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3589887)

Corporal of The Royal Winnipeg Rifles handling a Ross .303-inch sniper rifle, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 30 July 1942

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3241489)

Canadian .303-inch Vickers Machine Gunners, Vimy Ridge, 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3238876)

A Vickers .303 machine-gun manned by PPCLI soldiers training in England, 3 Dec 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199887)

Officers of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.) with a Vickers Heavy Machine Gun, Lingfield, England, 8 April 1942.

Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun, a water-cooled .303-inch British machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army.  The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one fired, one fed the ammunition, the rest helped to carry the weapon, its ammunition and spare parts.  It was in service from before the First World War until the 1960s, with air-cooled versions of it on many Allied First World War fighter aircraft.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4292626)

RCAF Bristol Bolingbroke rear Gunner with his .303-inch machine-gun.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3583131)

Bristol Bolingbroke, RCAF, with Mk. III turret, 28 Jan 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3521946)

Canadian Lewis gunners shooting at German aircraft, July 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566425)

Soldiers of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch (RHR) of Canada, with a Lewis gun on board HMCS Ottawa, near Botwood, Newfoundland, 22 June 1940.  

Lewis guns .303-inch (or Lewis automatic machine gun or Lewis automatic rifle).  The Lewis Gun is a First World War-era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire.  It was first used in combat in the First World War, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War.  It has a wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel, often omitted in when used on aircraft, and a top-mounted drum-pan magazine.  It was commonly used as an aircraft machine gun, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, during both world wars.  The Lewis gun with the carrying handle is on loan to the NBMHM from the NBM in Saint John.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3229941)

Corporal E.H. Pruner of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, carrying a PIAT anti-tank weapon and a Thompson sub-machine gun with a short box magazine, Motta, Italy, 2 October 1943.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208268)

Sgt. D. Wilson, Pte. J. Brunelle, Pte. A. Munro, all of Highland Light Infantry battalion, on Piat training, during landing and advancing inland exercise, 13 April 1942.

The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) Mk I was a British man-portable anti-tank weapon designed in 1942 in response to the need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943.

The PIAT projected (launched) a 2.5 pound (1.1 kg) shaped charged bomb using a cartridge in the tail of the projectile. It possessed an effective range of approximately 115 yards (105 m)[3] in a direct fire anti-tank role, and 350 yards (320 m) in an ole. The PIAT had several advantages over other infantry anti-tank weapons of the period: it had greatly increased penetration power over the previous anti-tank rifles, it had no back-blast which might reveal the position of the user or accidentally injure friendly soldiers around the user, and it was simple in construction. However, the device also had some disadvantages: powerful recoil, a difficulty in cocking the weapon, and early problems with ammunition reliability.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227107)

Private Danny Dafoe with a Thompson SMG by his side and Lance-Corporal L.H. MacWilliam, both of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, in a slit trench, Spinete, Italy, ca. 22-23 October 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3592340)

Canadian soldier with Thompson SMG and German PW captured during the Dieppe raid, 19 Aug 1942.  

Thompson submachine-gun, two versions in the museum.  The Thompson is an American .45 calibre submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1918.  The Thompson had excellent ergonomics, compactness, fired a large .45 ACP cartridge, had reliability and high volume of automatic fire.

Paul M. Ripley, a private collector has shown members of the museum his collection of four Thompson SMGs. One of these Thompson SMGs is stamped with the Royal Arrowhead. These Thompsons were destined for the UK, but apparently a few were sent to Canada for use by the Veteran's Guard, guarding Prisoners of War (PW) in Canada.  The same collector also had a Thompson chambered to fire 9-mm rounds so captured German ammunition could be used.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.

RCAC soldiers armed with Thompson SMGs, training in the UK, ca 1943.  (Although both have their fingers on the trigger - not good, neither of them has a magzine on their Thompson)

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191599)

Agnes Wong of Whitecourt, Alberta, assembles a Sten gun produced for China at the Long Branch, Ontario, Small Arms Ltd. plant, April 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3196070)

Sten gun being examined at the Long Branch manufacturing plant, Ontario, c1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226042)

Sten gun magazines being reloaded, Munderloh, Germany, 29 Apr 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3226174)

A Canadian soldier armed with a Sten gun, riding on a captured German half-track, Caen, France, 10 Jul 1944.

STEN (or Sten) guns.  The STEN is a family of British 9 mm submachine-guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout the Second World War and the Korean War.  They were notable for having a simple design and very low production cost making them effective insurgency weapons for resistance groups.  STEN is an acronym, from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield.  Over 4 million Stens in various versions were made in the 1940s.  Mk. III variants were produced in Canada.  The STEN gun in Canadian service was replaced by the C1 SMG.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607604)

Soldier firing a Sten gun.

C1 9-mm Sterling Submachine-gun.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235912)

LdSH patrol, UN, Cyprus, 9-mm Sterling SMG, ca 1960s.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3195829)

Finished Bren gun sitting on a table top at the John Inglis Co. Bren gun plant, 10 May 1941.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3193596)

Female workers Kay Grove and Pat Kling of Toronto, Ontario, check tags of Bren guns bound for China at the John Inglis Co. plant, April 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194848)

Veronica (Ronnie) Foster, employee of the John Inglis Co. and known as "The Bren Gun Girl", poses with a finished Bren gun in front of a poster of Winston Churchill at the John Inglis Co. Bren gun plant, 10 May 1941.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3197327)

Workman John Hawkins of Toronto checks the tags of Bren guns destined for China at the John Inglis Co. plant, April 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4232983)

Soldier cradling a Bren Gun, c1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3000602)

Canadian soldier firing a Bren Gun.

 (Vancouver City Archives Photo, AM1184-S3-: CVA 1184-127)

Bren Gun training, British Columbia, 30 Mar 1942.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3230704)

Canadian soldiers serving a Bren Gun, 3rd LAA Regt, RCA, Antwerp, Belgium, 30 Sep 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4485890)

Twin .303-inch Bren guns serving in the anti-aircraft role at sea in the Mediterranean, 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3529250)

Private J.E. LeBlanc, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, cleaning his Bren gun in a foxhole in the Hochwald, Germany, 5 March 1945,

Bren Gun .303-inch light machine-gun.  Usually called simply the Bren, it is one of a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991.  The Bren was a modified version of Czechoslovak-designed light machine guns, the ZB vz. 26 and its descendants, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s.  The later Bren featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider and quick change barrel.  The name Bren was derived from Brno, Moravia, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed (in Zbrojovka Brno Factory), and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory.  The Mk. II was produced in Canada by John Inglis and Company.  A contract was signed with the British and Canadian governments in March 1938 to supply 5,000 Bren machine guns to Great Britain and 7,000 Bren machine guns to Canada.  Both countries shared the capital costs of bringing in this new production facility.  Production started in 1940, and by 1943 Inglis was producing 60% of the world output of Bren machine guns.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3378957)

First Special Service Force (FSSF) soldiers with Browning 30. cal GPMG, Anzio beachhead, Italy, 27 Apr 1944.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3358102)

Browning .30 cal GPMG, Calgary Highlanders, Universal Carrier armed with a Browning .30 cal GPMG, Calgary Highlanders, Doetinchem, Netherlands, 1 Apr 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235754)

C5 GPMG being fired from an M113 C & R Lynx, Germany, 1964.

C5 GPMG, based on the M1919 Browning .30 calibre air-cooled medium machine gun.  Many M1919s were rechambered for the new 7.62×51mm NATO round and served into the 1990s.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235713)

Browning .50 cal MG Section, c1950s.

Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun, (aka M2 Machine Gun), a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of the First World War by John Browning.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3257117)

Lifebuoy Flamethrower, Balgerhoek, Belgium, 4 Oct 1944.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524539)

A Lifebuoy flamethrower, Xanten, Germany, 10 Mar 1945.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235958)

Royal Canadian Dragoons Reconnaissance Squadron Trooper on UN Duty with 7.62-mm FN C1 Rifle, observing the Turkish North side from Mount St Hilarion, Cyprus.

Canadian 7.62-mm FN C1 Rifles.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4314352)

Cleaning an FN C1 rifle.

Canadian 7.62-mm FN C2 Rifles.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235844)

FN C2 with advanced scope.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3559780)

Russian 9-mm PPsH submachine-gun presented to HMCS Athabaskan, 11 May 1953.

Russian 9mm PPsH submachine-gun.

Russian Dragunov Sniper Rifle, two 7.62-mm Degtyaryov light machine-guns (LMG), (minus their ammunition drums), and two 7.92-mm RPK LMGs.

SPG-9 Kopye (Spear) is a Russian tripod-mounted man-portable, 73-mm calibre recoilless gun developed by the Soviet Union.  It fires fin-stabilized, rocket-assisted HE and HEAT projectiles.  It was accepted into Soviet service in 1962.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607517)

3-inch Mortar crew in training in the UK, c1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223281)

Children examining a three-inch mortar with infantrymen Gérard Gauthier, Charles-Eugène Lafond and Omer Manceau of Les Voltigeurs de Québec, England, 20 August 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3661951)

3-inch Mortar crew, Regina Rifles, Normandy, 9 Jun 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524605)

3-inch Mortar crew, Essesx Scottish Regiment, Groesbeek, NE, 24 Jan 1945.

Great Britain, 3-inch Mortar.

Small arms from other nations

China, 7.62-mm Norinco 87S (RPK) LMG.

China, 7.62-mm Norinco Type 56, SKSD Rifle with folding bayonet.

China, 7.62-mm Type 54, copy of Soviet PPS 43 SMG.

East Germany, 7.62-mm MPi-AK-47 Assault Rifle.

East Germany, 7.62-mm MPi-AK-74N.

East Germany, 7.62-mm MPi-KMS side folding stock Assault Rifle.

France, 8-mm Berthier Lebel M16 Carbine.

France, 7.5-mm MAS-36G1 Rifle (top) and MAS-36 Rifle.

France, 7.5-mm MAS-49 semi-automatic Rifle.

German First World War Small Arms

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3404923)

Canadian soldiers examining a captured German 9-mm MP 18 Bergmann SMG, Amiens, France, Aug 1918.

German 9-mm MP 18 Bergmann SMG preserved in the New Maryland branch of the NBMHM.

The MP 18 manufactured by Theodor Bergmann, Abteilung Waffenbau was the first submachine gun used in combat.  It was introduced into service in 1918 by the Germany Army during the First World War as the primary weapon of the Sturmtruppen, assault groups which specialized in trench combat.  Although MP 18 production ended in the 1920s, its design formed the basis of most submachine guns manufactured between 1920 and 1960.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395395)

Canadian soldiers examining a German 13-mm Mauser T1918 T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle mounted on small trailer during the advance East of Arras, September, 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395388).  

Canadian soldiers examining a German 13-mm Mauser T1918 T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle captured during the Battle of Amiens,  August, 1918.  One is held in the NBMHM.

Germany, 13-mm Mauser T1918 T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.  3250984)

Canadian with a German Mauser rifle examining a captured German Spandau Maxim schweres Maschinen Gewehr 08 (MG 08) heavy machine gun, Nieuport, Belgium.  

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3522120)

Canadians examining a captured German 7.92-mm MG 08-15, France, Mar 1918.

Germany, 7.92-mm Spandau Maxim leichtes Maschinen Gewehr 08/15 (MG 08/15) light machine gun.  Two are held in the NBMHM.

German Second World War Small Arms

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3211669)

German rifles surrendered to Canadians being stacked for storage, Ijmuiden, Netherlands, 11 May 1945.

Germany, 7.92-mm Gewehr 98 Mauser Rifles.

Germany, 7.92-mm Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 (G43, K43, Gew 43, Kar 43), semi-automatic rifle.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396194)

Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlander soldier armed with a German 9-mm MP 40 submachine-gun storming a building in Caen, France, 10 Jul 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396063)

Canadian and First Special Service Force, with captured German and Italian automatic weapons in the Anzio beachhead, Italy, 20 April 1944.

Germany, 9-mm MP 40 submachine-gun.  

Germany, 7.92-mm Sturmgewehr 43/44 (StG44, MP 43, MP 44) Assault Rifle.  This weapon was on loan to the NBMHM from the NBM, in Saint John.  It was returned in June 2014.  

Germany, 7.92-mm Maschinengewehr 34 (MG 34) machine gun.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4232837)

Canadian soldiers inspect a captured German MG34 machine gun.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.)

Canadian soldiers inspect a captured German MG34 machine gun.

‍

Germany, 7.92-mm Maschinengewehr 42 (MG 42), and 7.92-mm Maschinengewehr 34 (MG 34) machine gun comparison.

(Author Photo)

Germany, 7.92-mm Maschinengewehr 42 (MG 42), machine gun. An MG-38 is shown in the centre for comparison.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3409521)

Soldiers with the Regina Rifles examining German weapons, Zyfflich, Germany, 9 Feb 1945.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3525813)

Canadian soldier examining a captured German 7.92-mm MG 42, Brettevukke-Orgueilleuse, France, 20 June 1944.

Germany, 7.62-mm MG 81 quadruple AA machine-gun mount.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3394409)

Royal Canadian Navy, naval rating loading an ammunition drum onto a Hispano 20-mm anti-aircraft gun aboard a warship, Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 1941.

Spain, 20-mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Autocannon.

Denmark, 20-mm Madsen Cannon M/38 Heavy machine gun, stamped with the Nazi occupation marks.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3228409)

Private R. Neel and Sergeant R.B. Swain of The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada examining a German 8.8-cm RPzB 43 Panzerschreck reusable anti-tank rocket launcher, Hochwald, Germany, 5 Mar 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3529264)

Private R. Langlois of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division examining a collection of captured German weapons, which include a number of 8.8-cm RPzB 43 Panzerschreck reusable anti-tank rocket launchers near the Hochwald, Germany, 3 March 1945.

Germany, 8.8-cm RPzB 43 Panzerschreck reusable anti-tank rocket launcher.

Israel, 5.56-mm IMI Galil Assault Rifle.

Israel, .62-mm 7FN FAL Rifle.

Italian Second World War small arms

Italy, Carcano bolt action Rifle.

Italy, Mannlicher M1895 bolt action Rifle.

Italy, 9-mm Beretta MAB 38 submachine-gun.

Japanese Second World War display inside the NBMHM.

Japanese Officer Gunto Swords.

Japanese Second World War Small Arms

Japan, 7.7-mm Arisaka Type 38 Rifles.

Japan, 7.7-mm Arisaka Type 99 short Rifle.

Japan, 7.7-mm Nambu Type 99 light machine gun.  This LMG is currently preserved in the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick.

Foreign weapons in the NBMHM collection

Poland, 7.62-mm AK-47.

Sweden & Egypt, 6.5-mm Hakim AG-42 Ljungman Rifles.

USA .30 cal M1 Carbines, (Universal M1).

USA, .22 cal Quackenbush MM Junior Safety Rifle.

USA, .30-06 cal M1 Garand Rifle.

USA, .30-06 M1918 Browing Automatic Rifles.

USA, .45 cal M3A1 SMG.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3404617)

2-inch mortar, Lake Superior Regiment, Aldershot, UK, 25 Nov 1942.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607608)

Canadian soldiers training with a 2-inch mortar in the UK, c1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524603)

2-inch mortar, NCO School, Ravenstein, Netherlands, 26 Jan 1945.

USA, 2-inch Mortar.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4234726)

RMC cadets training in Camp Borden with a 3.5-inch M20 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4234720)

RMC cadets training in Camp Borden with a 3.5-inch M20 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher, ca 1965.

USA, 3.5-inch M20 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher.

USA, 5.56-mm Colt Commando M16A1 Assault Rifle.

USA, 5.56-mm M16A2 with M203 grenade launcher.

USA, 7.62-mm M14 Rifle.

Yugoslavia, 7.62-mm Simonov M59.66 (SKS) Rifle.

The NBMHM is missing a number significant items from its collection of Canadian small arms, including the Boys Anti-Tank Rifle, a Portable Infantry Anti-Tank (PIAT) projector and an M41 Johnson light machine-gun among others.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3599769)

Soldier carrying a Boys Anti-Tank Rifle disembarking from HMCS Bayfield during an exercise, 21 September 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3593048)

Soldier of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada, who is armed with a Boys anti-tank rifle, taking part in a training exercise, Bognor Regis, England, 7 April 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203628)

Infantrymen of The Highland Light Infantry of Canada with a PIAT anti-tank weapon during a training exercise, England, 13 April 1944.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3592070)

Parachute-qualified soldier, who is armed with a PIAT anti-tank weapon, undertaking winter infantry training at A-35 Canadian Parachute Training Centre (Canadian Army Training Centres and Schools), Camp Shilo, Manitoba, Canada, 20 March 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3378973)

First Special Service Force (FSSF) soldiers with M41 Johnson LMG, Anzio beachhead, Italy, 27 Apr 1944.

NBMHM Small arms collection, German Panzerschreck AT Rocket Launcher with blast shield, MG 34 machine gun, G98 Mauser bolt action rifle.

NBMHM Small arms collection, 2-inch Mortar, .303 Bren Gun, 9-mm Sten Gun, .45 cal Thompson SMG, .45 cal M3 SMG, .303 Lee  Enfield rifle.

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