We posted up earlier on C&Rsenal’s awesome video on how the German Gewehr 1891 functioned. Turns out that C&Rsenal has been busy putting together similar information on the myriad of small arms that were used in The Great War.

Popular Mechanics worked to collate a significant portion of the rifles including offerings from most of the major powers, all put together by a Redditor “Othais,” who Popular Mechanics reports is involved with the C&Rsenal project. Weapons available in the translucent “x-ray” GIF’s include rifles, semi-auto handguns, and an interesting look at the insides of a revolver, specifically the Revolver Mle.1892.

Most of the GIF images (and their corresponding YouTube videos) show the full cycling of the selected weapon systems from loading, firing, cycling, and behavior upon an empty feed mechanism.

To me, I enjoy seeing the early weapons designs, especially the various options for a disconnector across all the models. The Mle.1892 revolver is elegant in its simplicity and ingenuity. At the complete opposite of the spectrum is the Mauser C96 “broomhandle,” which is quite complex.

The project, including additional videos and GIFs is far from over. New “Primers” (a good pun) are introduced on a regular basis including a recent one on the T-Gewehr, the first anti-tank rifle. 

Check out the GIF album direct on Imgur or C&Rsenal’s fantastic YouTube channel.